Promoting an interdisciplinary approach in teaching and research
Meet the faculty at the Interdisciplinary School of Science, Savitribai Phule Pune University.
Avinash Kumbhar obtained his Ph.D. degree in 1993 from University of Pune. He joined as Lecturer at Department of Chemistry, University of Pune (1991-2003). He was a postdoctoral fellow at University of North Carolina, USA (1998-1999). He was promoted to Associate professor at University of Pune (2006-2009) and was selected as a Fulbright Nehru Senior Research Fellow at University of Houston, Texas, USA (2013-2014) he was promoted to Professor at same department (2009-2020). He is presently Senior Professor at the Department of Chemistry.
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Some of the special events at the Interdisciplinary School of Science.
A two day cultural and sports festival called Parna was organized by IDSS for students of all the three courses during 12-14 March 2020. Various games, competitions and performances of students as well as teachers were planned accordingly. The festival began on an enthusiastic note. But due to the COVID-19 related precautionary measures, it had to be first curtailed and later cancelled on 13th March.
The workshop was conducted by Prof. Rekha R. Srinivasan from Case Western Reserve University, USA. The event intended to enhance the teaching practices in STEMM with various new concepts and methods, to bridge the gap between teaching and learning. The workshop contained several in-class activities designed to encourage students to engage with each other and the material spontaneously.
The aim of the workshop was to get all of the stakeholders in BSc (Blended) program together to reinforce the philosophy and principles of the program, the curriculum and its implementation, the scheduling the examination and quality assurance process.
Melbourne, Australia
October 2019
USA
January 2020
USA
February 2020
Melbourne, Australia
February 2020
Melbourne, Australia
February 2020
Melbourne, Australia
February 2020
Melbourne, Australia
February 2020
Netherlands
March 2020
Australia
March 2019
The logo of IDSS is inspired by the shape of the leaf of Peepal tree (ficus relegiosa). The Peepal tree, widely found in India, has a long life span. It is known to survive tough climatic conditions. Peepal tree is considered sacred by the followers of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. It is called as Ashwattha in Sanskrit. In Bhagwadgeeta Krishna says, I am Ashwattha among trees. In its 15th Chapter, an upside down Ashwattha tree is also used as a metaphor for the complex organization of body of knowledge. According to Buddhism, Gautam gained enlightenment under the Peepal tree called as Bodhee Vruksha. In a way, Peepla tree is not just a strong, sturdy and commonly found tree in India but it also has a high symbolic value for culture and knowledge. The leaf of Peepal has a beautiful shape and has an intricate and interconnected mesh of veins. Banking on its rich symbolic value of the Peepal leaf, the logo of IDSS likens the leaf and its mesh of veins with the interconnected, organic knowledge. The left green part of the leaf in the logo represents biological sciences, the right blue part represents the physical sciences and the veins represents a combination of biological and digital networks. The curved tip of the leaf resembles a nib which symbolizes the expressive arts. The leaf in the logo is grounded in a brick structure which resembles a seating arrangement for people. Called as ‘Paar’ in Marathi and ‘chaupal’ in Hindi, such seating arrangement around trees is often found in towns and villages in India. The Paar is often a place for open social meetings and discussions. In a sense, the brick structure in the logo represents the social discursive space. Thus, the logo symbolically represents an interconnection of natural sciences, physical sciences, expressive arts and social sciences. This logo therefore, represents the spirit of Interdisciplinary School of Science (IDSS) which runs three interdisciplinary course- BA Liberal Arts, BSc Blended and Master of Design.
