Hey everyone!

I had the privilege to participate in the 2025 Vigyan Vidushi STCS programme held at TIFR, Mumbai. It is an all-expenses-paid summer school for women in computer science, which aims to expand their horizons in the field of Theoretical Computer Science and hopefully inspire them to consider pursuing a career in the same.

Logistics of the programme

Eligibility is women-identifying students who have completed 2nd year of college to anyone not currently enrolled in a PhD programme.

The programme reimburses you for travel for a tier-3 AC round train ticket, taxi fare from the stations, and handles all the on-campus expenses like stay and food.

The programme has various courses in the field of Theoretical Computer Science taught by amazing professors of that field, with some special lectures and engaging sessions.

Programme application dates

Vigyan Vidushi STCS is being conducted by TIFR, Mumbai since 2021, and the applications roll around early February, so it’s better to keep an eye out for them on their webpage.

The application consists of questions which gauge your interest and intent with the program, including questions about your prior experience in theory CS, grades in formal university courses, and participation in contests/Olympiads.

I do not have a high GPA and did not have any prior experience with theory CS, but still ended up making it to the cohort — so I would suggest not overthinking about your profile, but expressing your interest as honestly as you can. Your answers matter a lot.

The results of the applications are sent via mail around May, and the program is held around June.

My experience

In our cohort, 37 girls were selected out of 1200 applications. There was a lot of diversity in the pool of selected girls, from 2nd year undergrads to people working in corporate. Everyone was from different colleges, including IITs, NITs, BITS, and private colleges.

TIFR Mumbai is located right beside the Arabian Sea, so you could wake up in the morning and have a sip of coffee while staring into the sea, and when you’re done, go back to a lecture being taught on Theory CS by an amazing professor.

We had a session with people who had completed their PhDs and a session with people who were pursuing PhDs, so we could ask any questions we had regarding pursuing a career in research.

We had a special dinner with the STCS faculty where we could talk to them casually. It was particularly helpful, as a researcher ate with us and provided guidance on how we could land research opportunities in India, or why we should even consider academia.

I honestly can’t emphasize enough how valuable it could be, if you’re someone who wants to pursue a PhD, to attend a programme like Vigyan Vidushi.

I emailed one of the professors I met during Vigyan Vidushi for a semester internship, and he generously agreed to host me. It is a great place to build connections and understand what a career in research would look like.

Here are some of the pictures I took at TIFR — and if anyone reading this has any queries about the program, feel free to drop a comment or reach out to me on LinkedIn.

Snapshot of Coding Theory lectures Snapshot of Coding Theory lectures

TIFR Mumbai, sea coast view TIFR Mumbai, Sea coast view

TIFR artwork TIFR has a lot of great artwork (additionally)