The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali held its 15th annual convocation on Tuesday, awarding degrees to 348 students. The event marked the debut of the Dr Manmohan Singh Awards for Academic Excellence, established earlier this year to commemorate the late Prime Minister's longstanding connection with the institute.
Inaugural Awardees
Four students received the inaugural Manmohan Singh Awards: Kaustubh Purohit (Biological Sciences), Nandana KK (Chemical Sciences), Pahul Arora (Mathematical Sciences), and Amitesh Gupta (Physical Sciences). Each was presented with a cash prize of Rs 50,000 during the ceremony, which was attended by Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Trustee of the Dr Manmohan Singh Trust and former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, along with Dr Vijay Tankha, Dr Singh's son-in-law.
The Dr Manmohan Singh Trust instituted these awards, alongside fellowships set to commence from the 2026-27 academic session, in recognition of Dr Singh's pivotal role in founding IISER Mohali and the broader IISER system across India.
Graduating Class
Among the 348 graduating students, 215 completed the Integrated BS-MS programme, 107 received PhDs, 10 finished the BS programme, nine completed the Integrated MS-PhD programme, five earned an MS, and two obtained a BS Honours degree.
Convocation Highlights
The convocation was presided over by JS Yadav, Chairperson of the Board of Governors, while Director Anil Kumar Tripathi presented the annual report. Chief guest AS Kiran Kumar, former Chairman of ISRO, encouraged graduates to apply science for national development, drawing upon his experience with missions that enhanced communication, navigation, weather forecasting, and disaster management.
Kaustubh Purohit, who also received a Manmohan Singh Award, was additionally honoured with the President's Gold Medal for achieving the highest academic standing. Deep Sehgal was awarded the Professor SN Kaul Medal for Best Overall Performance.
Institute Achievements
In his report, Director Tripathi noted that IISER Mohali faculty published over 500 papers in leading journals and secured 49 externally funded projects worth nearly Rs 25 crore in the past year. The institute's incubator, i-RISE, has supported more than 50 startups in fields such as biotechnology, healthcare, artificial intelligence, and sustainability.
