Aiming for the skies

Forty-six years after the first rocket launch,the VSSC campus is home to the first deemed university of space science in India. Set up in 2007 by the Department of Space,the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) is training the next generation of Indians—433 of them—to take the space programme at ISRO forward.

With Dr APJ Abdul Kalam as chancellor,IIST has already carved itself a niche in science education. Till last year,candidates were picked from the JEE reservoir. For the next academic year,the institute will conduct its own entrance exam,ISAT. As many as 86,000 candidates have applied to take the entrance exam,to be held in major cities on April 16—the proposed intake is 156.

The first batch of 138 students will graduate in July 2011. The institute,now functioning at the VSSC facility at Veli,12 km from Thiruvananthapuram—earlier used by ISRO to train its scientists—will move to its permanent campus at Valiyamala,18 km from Thiruvananthapuram,in July. The new residential campus,sprawled over 40 acres,will have an observatory and associated science lab at nearby hill station Ponmudi.

IIST Director BN Suresh said that as of now,IIST intends to cater exclusively to the human resource requirement of the ISRO. “We are the only institute in the world where undergraduate,masters,postgraduate and doctoral space science programmes are being offered under a single roof,” he said. “Even the International Space University in Strasbourg,France,offers only short-term programmes.”

IIST offers B Tech programmes in three streams—avionics,aerospace engineering and physical sciences. Avionics students can specialise in digital electronics,microwaves,control systems and software engineering. Aerospace students are taught flight dynamics,aerospace structures,machine design and manufacturing technology,while the physical sciences branch focuses on astronomy,earth system science,remote sensing and astrophysics.

The institute also has an M Tech course,open only to ISRO scientists,and PhD courses,which anyone with the required qualifications can take up. Ten have joined the PhD programme and 15 have enrolled for the M Tech in Soft Computing and Machine Learning. There are also short-term courses on robotics,computing,astronomy,etc.

“The curriculum for B Tech has been framed by academicians and researchers after extensive discussion,keeping in mind the requirements of the ISRO,” said Director Suresh. He added that the faculty was mainly drawn from the IITs,ISRO and other leading science institutions. Discussions are on with foreign universities for exchange programmes for the faculty and students. The institute has 64 faculty members,besides VSSC scientists who double as adjunct faculty—that makes for a faculty-student ratio of 1:7.

There is no course fee. In a semester,the institute incurs a cost of Rs 46,000 towards each student. That apart,the students are given Rs 3,000 per semester for textbooks. “However,if the average grade obtained by a student in a semester is less than six out of ten,he or she has to pay the fee for the next semester. It is a fine for poor performance,” said Professor Kurien Issac,head,Aerospace Engineering Department.

At the end of the course,the students are expected to “be able to theoretically and experimentally analyse the performance of various sub-systems in rockets and satellites—as space engineers they will conceive,design and fabricate new systems and sub-systems for space missions,“ said Professor Issac.

During the course of four-week summer and winter internships,students will join ISRO centres for a real-time feel of space science. Prakhar Agarwal,from Lucknow,who is in the sixth semester of the aerospace engineering programme,said,“Our advantage is that we get to interact directly with the scientists at ISRO centres,particularly at VSSC.” Agarwal is one of the 20 students involved in the development of a sounding rocket,a project initiated by the students. “We work on the project in our spare time and holidays with the support of the faculty and scientists from VSSC,” said Agarwal. The senior students are also developing a satellite as part of a project.

According to Kuruvila Joseph,head of the Physical Sciences Department,the institute will focus on research in nanoscience and technology. “Nanotechnology will help reduce the weight of a satellite and enhance its properties. It will go a long way in developing low-cost space technology,” Joseph said.

The students come from across India,with a major chunk hailing from Andhra Pradesh. The number of girls has seen an increase from just 10 in 2007 to 24 in the 2009 batch. Director Suresh said all graduates will be absorbed by ISRO. At the time of admission,students have to sign a bond under which they are obliged to work for ISRO for five years,or pay a penalty of Rs 10 lakh.

The students don’t seem to mind this caveat. Nidhi Sharma,of Delhi,said she wanted to pursue aeronautical engineering at IIT,but her JEE rank did not meet the requirement at IIT. “IIST offered aerospace engineering,and a job guarantee,so I took it up,” she said. Vishwa Thejas,from Karnool,Andhra Pradesh,is in his sixth semester of avionics,and he is visibly excited about the prospect of working with ISRO. His classmate Sasank Adimulam,from Hyderabad,said,“A scientist’s salary will not be as hefty as that of an IIT or IIM graduate. But the job satisfaction from being associated with a critical segment of science would be wonderful,” he said. Thejas said that at the time of admission,there was talk out of an initial monthly salary of Rs 30,000 upon completion of the course.

Tejaswitha Sharma,from Agra,who is in the sixth semester of the physical science programme,said she wanted to pursue higher studies after the five years with ISRO. “I would like to continue studying physical science. However,ISRO itself has immense opportunities for research and promises exposure to the latest in space technology,which is what a student like me is looking forward to,” she said.