IISc Bangalore won the Praj-IISER Pune ‘Mimamsa 2023’—the coveted National Level Science Competition. Dr Pramod Chaudhari, Founder & Executive Chairman, Praj Industries Ltd—an industrial biotech company—bestowed the Winner’s Trophy and Certificates at the Grand Finale held at the CV Raman Auditorium, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER)—a teaching and research institute set up by the Ministry of Education, Govt of India—Pune on April 9, 2023. The finale comprised three days of problem-solving rounds requiring a focus on critical thinking and science fundamentals.

Bettering all previous records, Mimamsa 2023 saw the participation of 1,384 teams, represented by more than 4,800 students from around 450 colleges across the country. The highlight of this year was the participation of the 332 All Girls team, with a rise of 66 percent as compared to last year. Four teams that made it to the finals included IISc Bangalore, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, and IIT Madras.

Since 2019, Praj has been associated with Mimamsa, helping scale-up the competition in all aspects. In the past three years, Mimamsa has grown by 375 percent in student participation and by 312 percent in terms of institute participation. Given rising participation from renowned institutes, there is a strong assertion about the continued traction for Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics (STEM). Mimamsa is an ideal platform for budding science enthusiasts to demonstrate their capabilities. 

Prof Jayant Udgaonkar, Director, IISER Pune, stated, “We at IISER are delighted with the prospect of continuing our association with Praj Industries, who have agreed to sponsor the Mimamsa science competition for another three years. With the support of Praj, the profile of the competition as the nation's premier science competition has grown significantly, and we hope to forge ahead with this unique industry-academia collaboration.”

While delivering the Valedictory Address, Dr Chaudhari, commented, “Congratulations to team IISc Bangalore, on the well-deserved victory and compliments to all participants. Kudos to the organizing committee for their tireless efforts to make Mimamsa 2023 a grand success. We are pleased to strengthen our partnership with IISER to grow Mimamsa further. In an era dominated by Digital technologies, Mimamsa redraws focus on science fundamentals, which is critical for innovation and research.”

For more information: www.praj.net