Science is a public good, not an abstract pursuit: Soumya Swaminathan at IISc convocation

2 min readBengaluruUpdated: Jul 12, 2026 10:09 AM IST

Dr Soumya Swaminathan, former chief scientist of World Health Organisation (File Photo)

Science is not just an abstract pursuit, but a public good, said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, chairperson of the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation and former chief scientist of the World Health Organization (WHO), Friday. She was speaking virtually as the chief guest at the 2026 convocation ceremony of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.

Emphasising the interconnected nature of modern research, Dr Swaminathan noted, “The most important discoveries of the future are not going to come from within single disciplines, but at their intersections. If you look at Nobel Prizes, you will see that many researchers start in one discipline and pivot to another.”

She added, “Your generation has a tremendous advantage because you have been trained in this new era, where collaboration has become the norm rather than the exception. Protect that instinct.”

The event also featured addresses from the Guest of Honour, Senapathy Kris Gopalakrishnan, Infosys co-founder and chair of the IISc Council, and Dr V Narayanan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro).

Earlier in the ceremony, Isro chief Dr Narayanan urged the graduating class to acknowledge everyone who supported their academic journey, ranging from their parents and teachers to the campus gardening staff.

Reflecting on India’s post-Independence infrastructure development, Dr Narayanan shared a personal anecdote on the power of collective effort. “My village received electricity only when I was studying in the 9th standard,” he recalled.

“Hardly 3,061 villages had access to electricity before Independence, but today, every village in the country is electrified.”

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He concluded with a reminder on the necessity of continuous learning: “A graduating student who passes out today and stops reading tomorrow will be considered illiterate the day after.”

The graduation ceremony at IISc, one of India’s premier scientific institutions, saw degrees conferred on 1,452 PhD and Master’s students and 118 undergraduate students. Additionally, 82 students were awarded medals for outstanding academic excellence across various scientific domains.