About St. Stephen's College
The ICICI Centre for Mathematical Sciences

St. Stephen's College occupies a prominent position in the educational firmament of India and in Indian society. The college is nearly 120 years old and has fine traditions. It is rated as India's best college and has produced some of the country's most distinguished citizens including a President of the Republic.

Its students occupy prominent positions the world over in academics, government, non-governmental organisations, the literary arena, the realm of sports and in the corporate world. Many of the brightest mathematicians, economists and physicists that India has produced have been students of St. Stephen's College. The college has consistently displayed initiative and originality in its activities and has gained recognition for quality and relevance.

A recent initiative that the college has undertaken has been to form the Centre for Mathematical Sciences. The Centre is a think tank which comprises some very competent mathematicians, economists, physicists and computer experts. It is hoped that this shall not only enhance the image of the college, but also contribute in a positive fashion to higher education.

The formation of the Centre was prompted by a major lacuna faced by able students in non-technical institutions in the University of Delhi. Courses are necessarily structured keeping in mind the abilities of the average student in a very large university. This consideration affects both the coverage of material and the levels of difficulty of courses and examinations. Such courses do not offer any real challenge to the ablest students in St. Stephen's College. Thus the student does not get either the opportunity or the incentive to utilise fully the three most important and formative years of his or her life in an educational institution. The courses are also often distanced, sometimes to the point of irrelevance, from the kind of choices of further education and career made by the best of our undergraduates. The University, for its part, seems to lack the flexibility that is required for regular revision and updating of courses in the light of changing professional requirements.

The Centre should enrich the academic life and enhance the career prospects of both students and faculty of the college. It will provide incentives and opportunities for research and development of the faculty. At the same time, the formation of the Centre is a natural expression of the impulses within the college which seek to contribute in a meaningful way to the education of todays student, so that he will be well equipped in the matter of realising his true potential and in choosing a successful career.

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