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" The news that PROFICIENCE is celebrating its 25th anniversary was not only exciting but also came as a pleasant surprise to realize how time flies. It looked as though the activity started very recently because its history is so fresh in my mind. The PROFICIENCE programme started at a time when the interest of IISc faculty in teaching was declining and more attention was being paid towards research. However, a few of us in the Centre for Continuing Education thought that this move was not in the right direction and were convinced that persons involved in quality research were the right persons to get involved in continuing education programmes for working professionals. PROFICIENCE was a brain child of late Dr. Ramakrishna, who was convinced that working professionals who could not take time off during working hours should have some opportunity to listen to quality lectures at least in the evening hours and week ends. When we put this idea before a few professional societies we were pleasantly surprised to see the tremendous response we got from them. In the beginning, there were so many societies eager to associate themselves with this programme that we had to resort to some weeding process. The fact that the lectures given under PROFICIENCE were of the same standard as those given to regular students of IISc convinced Prof. Dhavan to consider giving course credits to any student who would attend the evening lectures and pass the tests. The PROFICIENCE programme also provided opportunities for experts working in R&D establishments to give lectures in their areas of specialization and expose students to problem on which they were working.

I am of the opinion that the Indian Institute of Science has an obligation to the working professionals in providing opportunities for exposure to recent developments in Science and Technology and to high quality lecture programmes through continuing education channel. It is pleasure to say “Thank you” to CCE and PROFICIENCE for the services rendered and congratulate the organizers on this happy event."