Senior professors at the institute believe the institute has introduced dramatic changes in its operations and that the maturing of the infrastructure has supplemented the growth of the institution over the years. According to Arindam Ghosh, a physics professor, 2021-22 witnessed a significant increase in high-impact research papers including those related to Covid-19. “I believe that IISc has just grown ambitious over the last five years. The building of strong infrastructure for research over the years is now bearing fruit. The number of younger faculty members producing high-impact research papers has gone up significantly, which is an encouraging sign,” said Ghosh. “The research around Covid-19 vaccination, oxygen cylinders and ventilators, among others, has helped startups in healthcare. Although the research labs were closed due to the lockdown, the institution later managed to open them in a graded manner allowing research work to resume first, followed by course work,” said Ghosh.

The parameters based on which institutes were ranked include academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio and the international students ratio. According to QS spokesperson William Barbieri, the IISc achieved gains in 4/6 metrics and most notably, it has drastically expanded its number of international faculty members. Significant improvements in academic and employer reputation parameters and teaching capacity have combined to propel the IISc to the peak of India’s educational hierarchy.

Said TV Ramachandra, a wetland specialist at the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the IISc, “The principal reason to excel is the prevailing environment with academic freedom. Freedom to think, design and execute (with a cooperative bureaucracy) naturally helps to do better science. This has been aiding in the creation of new knowledge with innovations for the benefit of society. IISc has been actively involved in society-relevant research evident from innovations—the response from the scientific fraternity to the recent pandemic.”

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A professor from the biochemistry department, who did not wish to be named, believes the institution has scope for improvement in attracting international students. “The institution has not made a significant breakthrough in attracting international students. Although the numbers are low, the kind of intellect and ideas that international students have brought over the years is remarkable. However, the department has made interesting breakthroughs in infectious diseases. There has been a sudden spurt in research activities in the fields of virology, plant biology, influenza virus research, Covid virus research and rabies diseases..,” said the professor, adding that the department produced at least 50-70 research papers every year.

Yash, a B Tech student interning in the electronics and communications engineering department, said, “I have been interning for a medical imaging project for the past one month now. There are a lot of takeaways from the last one month. I read at least seven research papers and have written numerous codes, applying machine learning. The best part of being in IISc is the cultural vibe, inclusivity, infrastructure, the greenery around the campus and the innovative research work that one can explore with freedom.”

Vaishnav, a student of the robotics department, said, “The curriculum is designed in such a way that 70 per cent of it relies on research while the rest is course work. This naturally makes you research-inclined and helps you explore many innovations. The digital infrastructure after the pandemic has significantly improved, making it robust for students to work on research projects.”