“The very first day I came here, I was moving my stuff with my parents,” Soumyadev narrated an incident from his first days at IISER Mohali, “The lift’s button wasn’t responding, and a loud siren rang off. Clueless as we were, we panicked. Some senior came, pulled the lever and told me ‘this is how you use the lift’…” he chuckled, “My parents looked concerned.” He continued to hang onto the subject of lifts; how they’ve always been the lovely reflections of IISER Mohali’s overall condition, and certain happenings like the sudden appearance of a 27th floor in H6 made it to the IISER meme stock.
Expectation vs Reality
“I think many students, when they first join IISER, have these rose-tinted glasses on. We all are guilty of believing that everything is going to be great, and research is going to be amazing. You know, all pumped up with excitement.” However, he was quick to realise that not everything was going to be smooth sailing– all the coursework and academic pressure made it a little stressful.. “But I had a great time. I learnt a lot, a little bit of everything in the core years.” MS19 suffered through the COVID era, but Soumyadev spoke for them all when he added that they made the most of it.
He emphasized his holistic growth, from a teenager to an adult. He confessed he did not participate in every single thing. “And in the end, I have a few regrets(?) But that’s okay.” Like most of the students, his first year was an ‘all out’ year where he was trying everything he found interesting. “That’s how it should be, honestly,” he admitted, “the coursework is heavy but it’s not life or death. You don’t have to get 10 CPI. Just get a decent grade and you’ll be good. Live a little.”
“Live while you can.”
Academics
Soumyadev was pretty much that one kid who was doing internships every summer, was genuinely striving to learn and explore and understand his field. “I was well set about taking a biology major,” but just like any other freshman, he wasn’t sure what field he was going to specialize in. “I think I liked the idea of studying the brain but that’s not something you study in your high school, so you’re not really familiar with neuroscience as a field.”
The journey of recognising his interests began in the summer after his first year. “I did an internship on cell division back then. Well, it was online so it wasn’t much. But you know, I read some research papers for the first time and wrote a little.” Out of all of this, he at least figured that cell division wasn’t the field he was interested in. He understood that cell biology came with a lot of specifics he did not really care about. In his sophomore year, Soumyadev had his first lab experience in Dr. Prasad’s lab. “I really liked the BIO102 course on evolution, and honestly the lab was a good experience too.” Unfortunately, evolutionary biology wasn’t the one either. “And then I kind of circled back to what I was thinking in the beginning…” He thought he did not know enough about the field until he was in his third year when he worked with a professor at IISc. “I worked remotely through the year, then ended up spending my summer in his lab.” He finally felt satisfied after learning that a lot was going on in the field. Its interdisciplinary nature was also flattering. “Fourth year was a big year,” his smile grew. “I did an internship at ANU. They have an exchange with IISER.” He was majorly indulged in electrophysiology. “It was my first full immersion in a lab, although it lasted only three months.”
The Final Year
“Thesis year is another hurdle, probably the biggest one.” His time at Paris-Saclay made him value the independence granted to set your own goals and explore. All you do is research and that too on your own basis. “It’s a little hard to stay motivated,” he admitted. When asked whether he believes he has a complete understanding of his field, he was quick to turn it down. “In fact, I wouldn’t even say academics is about reaching the point where you understand everything because that’s not science, let’s face it.” He surrendered and acknowledged how the task was at times daunting. How he had to read numerous papers and deal with terms and concepts he did not entirely understand. The fear of asking for help, of not knowing what exactly to do. “But these things go away eventually, not entirely but a little bit.” However, it was clear from the conversation that Soumyadev is now capable of at least finding what’s important and felt confident that neuroscience is what he wants to pursue. “While getting results or a publication out of your work is certainly a plus, the biggest thing you learn from your thesis is to get an idea of how doing research actually works, and if that is something you indeed want to pursue.”
Milestones?
Apart from his internships and academic growth, Soumyadev’s most highlighted milestone was the recent poster presentation which he called the ‘full circle moment’. “It’s crazy because in my first year, MS15s presented their poster and they felt like a world apart from me. The fact that now I’ve completed my fifth year and presented my poster is an exquisite feeling.”
Manthan
As a part of the Manthan Core back in his third year, he had been closely connected to the team. He started by appreciating the current core on how they’ve improvised and introduced progressive initiatives like ‘The Manthan Times’. Soumyadev mentioned that he wasn’t interested in becoming a convenor but got a chance to become one of its managing editors. “At that time it used to be a magazine which came out once a semester. We had categorized editorial teams, nothing strict but I edited science-related articles and such.” He reminisced about the time when they welcomed our current managing editors to the team. “I believe the four of us did as much as we could have considering it was a tough transition from COVID. But you know, we handed it over to Jayashree and she did a phenomenal job.”
Making Friends
“In the core years, the whole batch attends the same classes and we see each other almost every day. You end up making a few friends but then you feel stuck.” Soumyadev narrated every student’s story right there. “But as you spend time together you begin to like them and feel like you belong.” Although everyone had to go their separate ways, they were still together. “But then during the presentation I got to see everyone again and without a doubt everyone did a fantastic job.”
A little advice from him: find your people and stick with them. “Those are the people who will be there with you. There might be some serious lows but you will survive.” He seemed to genuinely value his friendships and all the connections he made throughout his journey. “Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if I did that medical or engineering degree, how it would have been different. But now that I’m here, all my decisions and actions are based on being a part of IISER— it’s not a placeholder anymore.”
Interviewed by: Pranaya Chugh
Edited by: Anamika SS & Hanisha Vadlakonda
Manthan 