NATIONAL INITIATIVE ON UNDERGRADUATE SCIENCE (NIUS)
CHEMISTRY
Announcement for 2025 – Batch XXI Programme
NIUS chemistry is a flagship programme of HBCSE–TIFR, Mumbai which aims to provide vibrant exposure to different areas of chemistry to undergraduate (UG) students through sustained mentorship.
Applications are invited for the exposure cum enrichment camp (Batch XXI) from Second year UG students with chemistry as one of the subjects/paper pursuing B.Sc./ B.Sc. with Honours/ BS/ Integrated M.Sc./ BS-MS programmes in Indian academic institutions with minimum 60% marks or equivalent both in their Class X and Class XII examinations.
The camp will be held at HBCSE from December 22 – 31, 2025. Only second year students are eligible to apply for this camp.
The camp is designed to expose students to different domains of chemistry through interactive theoretical sessions; hands on experiments; workshops focusing on reading research papers; understanding concepts in a given area of chemistry using guided inquiry approach; planning of experiments and academic writing. A special focus of the camp would be understanding experiments, their design, procedural understanding, data analysis, and making meaningful conclusions. The camp will help students to enhance their self-learning abilities and will give participants a fresh perspective about modern chemistry.
The exposure camp will be followed by an extended nurture component. For a subset of selected students this will be in the form of long-term projects carried out at different institutions across the country. These students will be required to visit their respective mentor’s institutions during vacation periods over the next 1.5 years to carry out the projects. A final report at the end will mark the completion of the NIUS project. The NIUS programme will pay for travel to and from the mentor’s institutions and for lodging and boarding expenses as per norms. A contingency grant also covers, for example, the purchase of books or participation fees for conferences relevant to the NIUS project.
Students who do not opt for projects or are not selected for projects will be eligible for a follow-up camp that will be held in June 2026. The follow-up camp will be focused on exposure to instrumentation and wet lab techniques in chemistry. Their eligibility for the follow-up camp is subject to them attending the first (exposure cum enrichment) camp.
The list of selected students will be uploaded on the NIUS website (https://nius.hbcse.tifr.res.in/) on October 31, 2025 and an email invitation will be sent to each selected student.
Please note:
The number of applications received by HBCSE is usually much higher than the numbers that can be accommodated in the NIUS programmes. Efforts are made to select as many deserving candidates as possible within the organizational constraints. The decision of the selection committee shall be final and binding and no appeals for reconsideration of applications will be entertained.
HBCSE is aware of the examination and vacation schedules of various universities and institutions across the country. Unfortunately, the academic calendars of different institutions are quite asynchronous, it is difficult to find a long enough window to fit the NIUS camp during the vacation time of every university. Best efforts have already been made to ensure that students from maximum number of institutions can avail themselves of this opportunity. Please do not approach HBCSE with requests to reschedule the camp due to clashes with your academic calendar. If you cannot commit to attending the camp from December 22 – 31, 2025, please do not apply for the programme.
Click here to apply online for NIUS Chemistry 2025. Last date for receipt of completed applications is October 17, 2025.
In case of facing any problem while filling up the form, you can email us at: niuschem@hbcse.tifr.res.in.
Selected outstation students will be reimbursed to and fro travel fare (maximum III-AC train fare) for attending the camp. Food and accommodation in the HBCSE Hostel will be provided to all students during the camp(s). Local students from the Mumbai Metropolitan region will be reimbursed one-time to and fro travel fare from their home/college.