Bose Institute (BI)

The Bose Institute (BI) was set up in 1917 by Sir J.C. Bose, the founder of modern science in the Indian subcontinent. It is Asia's first modern research centre devoted to interdisciplinary research and bears a century-old tradition of research excellence.

Bose Institute

Inspired by lofty nationalistic ideals, Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose (1858 - 1937), the father of modern science in the Indian subcontinent, founded Bose Institute. Acharya J.C. Bose dedicated the Institute to the service of the nation on his sixtieth birthday (30^th November 1917), while delivering his famous speech "The Voice of Life". Rabindranath Tagore who was then visiting USA, composed the soul-stirring "Matri mondiro punya angono" for the occasion. This song (manuscript in Bengali and translation in English) is the anthem of the Institute. The Institute was founded as "not merely a laboratory but a temple", with its principal aims being the advancement of science and diffusion of knowledge.

Swami Vivekananda, Sister Nivedita (whose influence is reflected in the Institute's emblem of vajra), Sara Chapman Bull (whose generous philanthropy was significant in setting up of the Institute) and Rabindranath Tagore were among those who had consistently inspired and supported J.C. Bose in his endeavours. Over the last century, the Institute has endlessly strived to preserve the legacy of its illustrious founder. 

Ever since the establishment of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India in May 1971, Bose Institute has been an autonomous grant-in-aid institution of DST.

Campuses

• Main Campus
• Centenary Campus
• Unified Academic Campus
• Madhyamgram Campus
• Darjeeling Campus
• Falta Campus
• Shyamnagar Campus

Research

• Plant Research
• Structural Studies and Biophysical Problems
• Computational Biology
• Molecular Medicine
• Basic and Applied Microbiology
• Systems and Synthetic Biology
• Physical and Environmental Sciences
• Complex Systems

BI-IFCC

The Bose Institute Indo-FAIR Coordination Centre (BI-IFCC) is an extramural project at Bose Institute, Kolkata for facilitating the coordination of India’s participation in building the largest upcoming accelerator facility worldwide - Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) at Darmstadt-Germany. India is a founder member and the third largest contributor of this upcoming international facility with Bose Institute as the shareholding Institute of the country. BI-IFCC is the nodal centre in India to facilitate Indian activities in FAIR at GSI, Germany. FAIR, founded on 4^th October 2010, will be fully operational by 2025. It will deliver beams for research in nuclear physics, hadron physics, high energy heavy ion collisions, atomic and plasma physics.

Centres

• The Acharya J.C. Bose Biotechnology Innovation Centre is focused towards the development of crops.
• The Centre for Astroparticle Physics and Space Science (CAPSS) is focused towards research in Astrophysics, Cosmology, Quantum Physics, Radiophysics and climate-related topics.
• The Centre of Excellence in Bioinformatics is involved in understanding the molecular basis in biology using computational tools, data mining, database management, statistical analysis, etc.

Academics

Ph.D. Programme

Bose Institute admits students into its Ph.D. programme beginning in the first week of July and January in chemical, physical, life and interdisciplinary sciences. Students can simultaneously apply to more than one stream. Candidates should have a valid award of JRF (CSIR-UGC-JRF/DBT-JRF/ICMR-JRF/DST-INSPIRE/DBT-BINC or equivalent). Master’s degree in Engineering/Science/Technology in any branch of Science or Engineering.

Integrated Ph.D. Programme

Students are admitted annually for Integrated Ph.D. in physical sciences through an interview conducted by the Institute. Applicants should have qualified Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST), in which Bose Institute is one of the participating institutions. Applicants should have a minimum CGPA of 6 on a 10 point scale or 60% marks in overall percentage as well as in the major subject or percentage equivalent converted from CGPI/CPI in B. Sc. (Physics/Mathematics)/B.E./B.Tech.

Students are admitted annually for integrated M.Sc.-Ph.D. in life sciences through an interview conducted by the Institute. Applicants should have qualified Joint Graduate Entrance Examination for Biology and Interdisciplinary Life Sciences (JGEEBILS), in which Bose Institute is one of the participating institutions. Applicants should have a minimum CGPA of 6 on a 10 point scale or minimum 60% marks or percentage equivalent converted from CGPI/CPI in B.Sc./B.E./B.Tech.

Postdoctoral Programme

Bose Institute has an active postdoctoral programme through which research associates and postdocs are recruited.

Summer Training

Bose Institute offers an annual short-term training for a total duration of two months to outstanding students in life sciences, physical and chemical sciences from different universities/institutions during the months of May to July.  The training is conducted by faculty members of the Institute who select students based on their own academic interest and those of the students. The advertisement with eligibility criteria will be posted every year during February-March. 

Outreach

Rural Biotechnology

To communicate with the weaker section of the society Bose Institute has started a Rural Biotechnology Programme. Out of seven campuses of Bose Institute, Falta Experimental Farm was chosen as the Centre for Rural Biotechnology Programme. On the recommendation of the Scientific Advisory Committee, Rural Biotechnology Programme was initiated at Falta Experimental Farm in 2008. From 2013 another societal programme was initiated under the umbrella of Rural Biotechnology Programme named Scheduled Tribe Specific Rural Biotechnology Programme as one of the core programmes of the Institute with a special fund from DST, Government of India.

North East School Students' Training in Basic Sciences (NESST-BASE)

Every year Bose Institute organizes a hands-on training programme on basic sciences for the school students of North-Eastern states during summer. The students from Sikkim, as well as Darjeeling, also participate in the North East School Students' Training in Basic Sciences (NESST-BASE) programme. Three students from classes XI-XII, along with one science teacher from each of the North-East states, along with Sikkim and Darjeeling participate in this program which is held for 15 days. The main goal of this program is to give hands-on training to students on different aspects of physical, chemical and biological sciences. Students' are encouraged to perform the experiments themselves, ask questions and take part in discussions. A one-day popular lecture programme, open for all the school students of Darjeeling, is also arranged on this occasion which is delivered by an eminent scientist.

Darjeeling School Students' Training in Basic Sciences (DST-BASE)

A training programme in the same spirit as that of NESST-BASE is also being organized exclusively for the school students of Darjeeling. The Darjeeling School Students' Training in Basic Sciences (DST-BASE) programme is organized usually sometime in August-September for one week. Bose Institute at its Darjeeling campus has developed an “Activity Hub”, a unique facility to nurture the young minds of school students of Darjeeling. It provides the space and necessary tools to students for testing their own understanding and convert ideas into reality.

Winter Workshop and School on Astroparticle Physics (WAPP)

Bose Institute organizes Winter Workshop and School on Astroparticle Physics (WAPP) jointly with Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. The venue of the program oscillates between Cosmic Ray Laboratory (CRL) Ooty and Bose Institute, Mayapuri, Darjeeling in every alternate year. The philosophy of the winter school is to expose young minds to the excitement in the field of experimental high-energy astroparticle physics. The school program consists of two sessions of a total of 7 hours 30 minutes duration every day. The first session in the morning consists of a set of 3 lectures. In the second session in the afternoon, the students would have an opportunity to acquire hands-on experience by working with state-of-the-art equipment exposing them to the excitement of original research. The students participating in the winter school would be exposed to the modern concepts in these areas, which could motivate them to take up a career of research in these frontier areas.

Useful Links

• Science News @ Bose Institute
• J. C. Bose Museum
• Centre for Translational Animal Research
• Central Instrument Facility
• Bose Institute Web Magazine

Source: Bose Institute (BI)