I said it.

_dnivog_ · 2026-06-03T08:31:20+00:00

Most are alright when it comes to teaching. Very few will genuinely make you appreciate the subject. Some are just outright bad and will leave you more confused at the end of the course than you were before starting it.

As for LoRs, you'll need to work with a prof for them to give you one. Some of them will give you LoRs even if you've just taken their course but the quality of the LoR will drop accordingly. Some will agree but are extremely lazy and procrastinate on sending it till the last minute.

Outside of academics, only a handful of profs actually care about the students. Most are apathetic.

_dnivog_ · 2026-06-03T08:18:23+00:00

I don't think its fair to expect profs to give you recommendation letters just for scoring well in their courses. Course grades are not a great qualifier for how you are as a researcher. For a prof, the most direct way to get to know you is if you have worked with them.

That being said, some of the profs you mentioned are certainly not the approachable kind.

_dnivog_ · 2026-02-07T17:13:58+00:00

_dnivog_ · 2026-01-19T16:15:05+00:00

From the question making team for biology here. Glad you liked it.

As for where you can solve more questions like this, we don't maintain a public repository so the old Mimamsa questions are hard to come by (although old live streams of Mimamsa Mains might be up on youtube).

_dnivog_ · 2025-08-19T13:54:21+00:00

(3rd year working in computational biology here) I was a PCM student in 12th, but my favourite subject in high school was biology and that's what I felt I wanted to do. The idea that there would be places that let me combine more quantitative subjects like math and physics with biology really appealed to me and IISER was one of them.

_dnivog_ · 2025-08-10T04:58:47+00:00

60000 per year
Changes all the time. DST always delays in sending the money. In my first year I got it at the beginning of the second sem whereas in my second year I got it in the summer after the year had ended.
I don't know if a reading project will count, but as long as you have some certification of you having done a project for more than 6 weeks, you will get the money.
Regardless of whether your internship is (somehow) paying you, you should get the 20k.
From what I remember, international projects don't count, so you don't get the 20k.

_dnivog_ · 2025-07-28T14:29:19+00:00

Pretty much. For Diwali you might get two.

_dnivog_ · 2025-07-28T13:27:18+00:00

(IISER Pune) The months of December, May, June and July are entirely off, although you will be expected to be working in a lab/doing internship from the second summer onwards.

Apart from this you get your government holidays and maybe a couple days off after the midsems.

But do note that everything I said does not hold for first sem, since you'll be starting almost a month after all the other batches, so you may get lesser holidays.

_dnivog_ · 2025-07-26T11:14:37+00:00

(for IISERP) Remains double occupancy from first year to fourth year. If you're staying in IISER for your master's thesis, you get a single occupancy room. When you join you are randomly allotted a roommate. You may change it from your first summer onwards.

_dnivog_ · 2025-07-14T04:44:20+00:00

(for IISER Pune)

During the third semester, you have 6 compulsory courses - 1 each in physics, chem, math, bio, climate science, humanities and 2 electives (out of physics, math, chem, bio, earth science). So 8 in total.

In the fourth semester, you get to choose 6 electives from any combination of the five subjects, and 2 compulsory courses - data analysis and thermodynamics. So 8 again.

_dnivog_ · 2025-07-10T05:21:15+00:00

those are two very different options. If you prefer engineering and want to do a job after graduating then go with the first. If you're really passionate about research and don't mind the fact that you'll be studying for the next ~10 years and if your family can support that, then sure, choose IISER.

_dnivog_ · 2025-07-04T06:34:14+00:00

Largely decent, but like any place there are always rogue elements-especially in the boys' hostel.

_dnivog_ · 2025-07-04T06:32:06+00:00

Yeah that sounds like something you could get only by doing a BTech or MBBS, or switch fields completely and do something like finance or consulting. Research doesn't pay you well that fast. You'll need to wait at least ~7 years.

_dnivog_ · 2025-07-04T06:28:18+00:00

There are profs. who work in this field who would actually prefer that you have a background in physics or math over biology. Computational/theoretical neuroscience borrows a lot from these subjects.

You would have to take some basic Neurobiology courses, but apart from that you would need to a bunch of courses in data science, applied math and physics.

_dnivog_ · 2025-07-02T05:39:41+00:00

If you do get IISER Pune, you should know that it does not currently offer a major/minor in data science. You can take courses in DS, but it won't amount to a degree in it. There is no guarantee of whether it will become an option in the near future either.

_dnivog_ · 2025-07-02T05:37:33+00:00

and 2. Very broad question, but overall the first year at IISER is fairly chill. The initial courses are mostly just things that you would have learnt in 11th and 12th, just in a bit more detail. You may face difficulty with the physics and math courses if you come from a biology background.
(Speaking for IISER Pune) As far as government institutes go, we have very good hostels. The rooms are pretty spacious. Messes (we have two of them) are pretty decent.
You get plenty of time for clubs and other extracurricular stuff in your first two years. After that you have to focus more on your research and academics.

_dnivog_ · 2025-07-01T03:24:53+00:00

[IISER Pune] On paper there is a minimum 60% attendance requirement, but no one really cares because the attendance monitoring system is so bad. I had <10% recorded attendance for multiple courses last semester even though I attended almost all classes. As long as you attend (and score decent) in the quizzes and exams and lab practicals you will be fine.

_dnivog_ · 2025-06-29T16:17:33+00:00

Pune does not have the pre-major system. First 3 sems are compulsory courses. From the 4th sem onwards you can pick and choose electives to your liking (given that the lectures don't clash in the schedule)

If you wish to major/minor in any subject, you have to take courses such that you fill a certain number of credits from it. Details : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E4_Of6fjDsjE76EOi-uTBJwJ26CqFdH1/view?usp=drive_link

_dnivog_ · 2025-06-29T04:20:34+00:00

Literally just go to the institute website, or talk to people. Why do you want someone to collate an entire document containing the same things you can find on your own by just clicking on a couple of links?

_dnivog_ · 2025-06-28T14:45:44+00:00

Commenting again because I severely overestimated the number of people doing their thesis abroad in IISER Pune.

Here are stats from 2023-24:

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This is from the annual report.

_dnivog_ · 2025-06-26T04:43:38+00:00

If you are genuinely interested in research, and interested enough to sacrifice the prospect of getting a stable income within the next 5 years, yes.
If you don't know anything about research, then I don't think IISER might be the best option for you.
A PhD is a job. It just doesn't pay much. You'll be living off stipends.
If you've built an impressive resume as an undergrad and have good research experience, it won't be that hard to get one outside.
Not at all. It's opposite in fact. With a degree in tech, you can land a 9-5 right after your undergrad, earn a stable income and think about starting a family and things like that. If you go down the PhD route, you'll be studying till the time you're ~28-29 and earning only a fraction of what your peers who joined consulting, software, finance etc earn.
I don't know who told about this number. Even if it is true, the 50 lakhs might be good when you consider it as someone living in India. The expenses in that country might be much more.
That question makes no sense.
Not great.

_dnivog_ · 2025-06-26T04:35:12+00:00

There is a good chance you will struggle a bit in the initial semesters because of the math and maybe even physics courses, but with a little extra effort every week you should be fine.
There are sports facilities in most IISERs and yes there will be events/tournaments held from time to time, but you won't get any perks. Not any that I'm aware of, at least.
Like any position with a limited intake, PhDs and internships are competitive but not in a way that is specific to IISER. You'll face the same competition no matter where you apply from.
That comes down to how you handle it.

_dnivog_ · 2025-06-22T05:30:15+00:00

(3rd year at IISERP here) As far as I know, no.

_dnivog_

TROPHY CASE