Pinned post for prospective faculty to IITs/IISc
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3,339 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 3201 – 3339 of 3339@anon May 8, 2017 at 4:54 PM
thanks for the detail. Best of luck.
Hello Prof. Madras and fellow bloggers,
I have a question that has been bugging me since my mid PhD life. I am a second class masters in chemistry, but with a PhD from IISc and some good publications. My first postdoc was from Max-Planck and also went fine with some more publications and I hope to get even more publications in my second ongoing postdoc.
Question is, will I even get a chance to fight for a faculty place in one of the IITs/IISERs with a second class masters degree since all of these places demand "PhD with a first class in the preceding degree and three years of postdoc experience"? Even if I forward my CV to these places, will I even be considered for a position? Or are my hopes of entering IITs/IISERs over?
Please answer.
Regards,
Q.
Seems there is an update in Shortlisting status of IIT Tirupati faculty recruitment. However, the information is not clear. Did anybody receive interview notice, esp. for Mathematics department (at IIT Tirupati)?
@annon 12/17 7:17PM Got interview call letter from IIT Tirupati in Mathematics department.
@annon May 13, 2017 at 4:54 PM
Best of luck for your interview. When is it?
@anon on 24 and 25 May.
@Q. May 12, 2017 at 4:59 PM
I am sorry to say that, unless you have a very high quality journals you candidature may not be considered for most of the IITs/IISERs. I have gone through the similar phase, though for an engineering discipline. Initially some IITs were interested in my application, but at the later stage it was turned down and I didn't get any call for interviews - informally, later I came to know that some of the senior professors were rigid about the first class degree.
Best wishes.
Faculty recruitment portal at IITM is down.
Anyone got interview letter for ME Engg or Chemistry Dept from IIT PKD?
WannaCry ransomeware? Well I hope not!
Since many current faculty of IITs regularly visit this blog in addition to Professors Madras and Sriram, I would like to ask a question as a young faculty.
I joined an IIT a couple of years back and now the initial papers from my lab are coming out. Although I've sent some papers to the 'regular' journals in which I used to publish while abroad, I also want to publish some papers in Indian journals. I couldn't find many good options, but some highly-read Indian journals seem to be 'Current Science' and 'Sadhana'. They publish articles with a fairly broad scope.
My question is: is it wise to publish in Indian journals keeping in mind that the selection committee (for associate and full professor positions) will view 'Indian' and 'International' journals separately? Can someone share a personal experience?
My original aim behind publishing in Indian journal is to contribute to the development of Indian S&T.
Thanks
PS
Dear Prof. Sriram,
I know that you have completed your role as the Dean of Admin of IITM, but by any chance are you aware why IITM faculty recruitment website is down.
Thanks Prof. Sriram, now it is up.
I had applied to IIT-Hyd in October last year and my referees were contacted sometime in November.
But I have not received any further communication.
Has anyone got interview/seminar calls from engineering departments in the last 3-4 months?
Can we expect IITM to update us regarding the faculty interview dates sometime next week?
Hello. Can anyone please update on IIT-GOA and IIT-DWD faculty appointments ?
Anonymous@May19, 2017 at 3:34 PM
IITH has finished taking the seminar/interview in March. Offer letters were sent in April.
Can anyone comment on the current situation at IIT Jodhpur?
I am concerned about the current ranking, reports on faculty termination
and dictatorship.
Also how are research facilities?
Hello all,
I am working as a post-doc fellow at NTU singapore. I have applied for IIT bhubaneshwar 8 months back and got a call for interview/seminar only yesterday asking me to appear in-person immediately next week. I think there is no option for taking the interview through skype. It is difficult for me to travel immediately. Moreover, my current post-doc funding is also extended till Feb 2019. Suppose, If am not taking the interview/ seminar this time citing a valid reason, will they shortlist me for next round of interviews, If I apply again?
@ Anon May 21, 2017 at 5:58 PM
I was interviewed by IIT Bhubaneswar through Skype this year. Please check with the dean and your department if they can arrange a Skype interview for you. If they do not arrange a Skype interview and you cannot travel to India then inform them that your current commitment will not allow you to visit India in such a short notice.
Any body applied in IIT Jodhpur? How long process takes? What about IIT Indore?
The IITM faculty recruitment website is now showing "Shortlist Status", but the landing page has no updates on the list of departments for which shortlisting is complete.
I have been asked to give presentation for faculty recruitment at IIX.
It is expected in the presentation to 'portray your technical achievements'.
I am confused as what exactly am I suppose to cover in this ?
Kindly suggest.
Thanking you in advance.
When does IITKGP conduct interviews for faculty recruitment?
Dear All,
I am planning to apply for the position of Assistant Professor in the CS department of IIT/IIIT. I completed my PhD in the US and I am working in an Industrial research lab. It would be great if I can get more information regarding the following.
1) How is the (grant proposal) funding pressure on the faculty? Are there any yearly/bi-annual targets that the faculty should meet? How are the proposal acceptance rates in the govt and Industry?
2) Is the 7th pay commission already in place? If not, when is the expected time frame for it to be put in place?
3) I see rolling advertisements for faculty. But is there a "good" time to apply? In general, I think it is a good idea to probably apply 6-8 months in advance - w.r.t the time we plan to join?
I did go through several comments on this blog and they were very useful. But I couldn't find the answers to these questions.
- MVR.
anyone got call letter from IIT-Madras mechanical department or IIT-Palakkad mechanical department?
@anon:May 26, 2017 at 12:09 PM, I had applied to the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT Palakkad and IIT Tirupati. So far, I have not received any interview call letter and I am under the assumption that my applications were unsuccessful.
I received B.Tech. in Electronics and Communication Engineering from an old NIT. I did MS and PhD in the area of Mechatronics. I have three journal publications and eight conference publications. According to Times Higher Education World University Rankings and QS World University Rankings, my MS and PhD degrees are from a university ranked in the top 25 for engineering and technology. I was expecting to make it at least to one interview. Feeling disappointed. Anyways, its life!
Does anyone know whether the new IITs are not interested in faculty applicants with interdisciplinary background?
To the anonymous above:
I have a similar profile as described by you (although i never went abroad and cannot go due to some personal reasons).
BTech from an old NIT, PhD from an old IIT, with more than 15 journal/conference publications and also INSPIRE Faculty award. My profile is also inter-disciplinary.
In the past 2 years I have appeared in only 1 interview at an IIT (a new IIT) and the selection committee members (all from core engineering discipline in which I had applied) virtually dismissed my research as unimportant. On the other hand, candidates with much lower research output in terms of publications and funding, and academic credentials (BTech from state colleges/private colleges, although PhD from IITs) were selected just because there PhD work was in the core area.
So, I can say for sure that new IITs don't give any preference to inter-disciplinary candidates, in fact they are discouraged at all levels of selection procedure. Even if someone makes it to the interview, he/she would be rejected in most cases. New IITs want teachers who can run the BTech courses and research is put on the back-burner.
Another point, rarely discussed anywhere on the blog or internet, is that many IITs have a strong regional bias when shortlisting possible candidates. Being from central India, I can say that IITs in North India fare much better on this parameter than their southern and eastern counterparts; they call equal number of people from all over India. Although, IITs in North are also dominated by our friends from the east and the south.
I have interacted with at least 10 people personally who had applied to IIT Tirupati and Palakkad in various departments and none of them have been shortlisted including me. All of us are from North or Central India. Although, I am sure that many candidates from South India were also not shortlisted, but I would really like to see the absolute numbers from all the regions. You can see the final selections at these institutes after a few months and you will realize that this regional bias is a reality.
Anyways, I do think that you have a really good profile and eventually you will find a suitable place. I am also hopeful. But be cautious about what you write in your future research and teaching plan, they should be in line with the department you are applying to.
Good luck..
@anon:May 26, 2017 at 3:50 PM, thanks for sharing. I am from a south Indian state and I do not know whether an applicant's state of origin makes any difference. Ideally, it should not, but in practice, I do not know.
But the interdisciplinary factor, if what you shared is mostly the case, would indeed be a bummer for applicants like us!
Good luck to you too mate.
Biases are inherent to the nature of humans. Our friends from east fare worst in this regards. There's eastern mafia in every IIT. Deterioration of a productive research and teaching culture is directly correlated to regionalism in an IIT.
There are some check and balances to ensure a fair system, but it doesn't always work.
Regarding applicants short-listing at New IITs:
I have also applied to new IITs (Tiruupati and Palakkad) but my application was unsuccessful too. I have 17 Journal publications and around 25 international conferences. My publications are not from great Journals, but are decent enough in my research field. When I inquired over the short-listing process, I got some information. This time, each department of these IITs received around 250-400 applications (many from abroad) and so obviously the cut-off for shortlisting must have been very high. They would have not even shortlisted 1/10 of the applications. Besides, the requirement could be less. They also do not consider conference publications and count only standard Journal publications. Also, they did not short-list Associate professors to many departments (then, why the hell they call-for such positions in advertisement). Even, I heard a faculty works as an asst. professor in IITM who applied for associate professor to IIT-PKD was not shortlisted (basically, the guy is from Palakkad and wanted to go back and note that could have IITM mentored the selection process). I dont think that there is a bias of south or north (because I am from south and not selected). So, even my application was not short-listed, I still believe that the process was genuine (though I cannot guarantee for 100%) and I suppose that there are chances that I could easily fall into the 9/10 unsucessful applicants. But, let someone who involved in short-listing process can give an anonymous input.
oh wow, 250-400 applications is quite high. Which department is this in? Do you know such statistics for Computer Science department?
Also, how strict is the "preferably" under 35 yrs age limit for Asst. Professors?
-mvr
Age <= 35 is very strict. I know this from my experience at my IIT (old), as well as from people who were involved in IIT-PKD, IIT-Tirupati shortlisting committees. The person involved said that they put a strict bar on age. Even people just over 35 years of age were not considered.
Actually IIT-Tirupati fixed the upper age to be 38 years for Asst. Professor and 42/43 for Associate (as per advertisement). Only IIT-PKD has fixed the age to be 35 years and 40 years for asst. prof and asso. prof respectively. So, if the same committee involved in shortlisting for both IITs, then, there are chances that for IIT_tirupati they would have not checked the age bar properly and deserved people who just crossed 35 would have left-out in shortlisting. Also, I suppose, the applicants who got contract appointments last year at these IITs would have been shortlisted now and probably thro' in the interview even though they would have not met the shortlisting norms. How do I say this? Applicants who have been shortlisted last year (and not selected) are not shortlisted this time despite having increased 2 journal publications in this year. I dont think that the contract candidates would have increased their publications rapidly in this year. I strongly feel someone should apply RTI/challenge the shortlisting process so that the truth can come out. I see that some Universities inform to the applicants that why they have not shortlisted and at least such a transparency all IIT should follow.
Thank you for answering my question on the age restriction. Perhaps instead of mentioning "preferable" in the job advertisement, they should specify that it is mandatory that the candidate is less than 35 yrs of age.
- mvr
The shortlisting process at IIT Madras is completed for some departments, but not for the department I applied. Fingers crossed!
Dear all,
Recently I was asked to appear in person for faculty selection in one of the new IITs. Currently, I am doing post-doc outside India. Hence, I asked them for skype interview. Dean replied that for current recruitment cycle they can allow applicants from abroad for skype interview only if, on selection, they agree to join within a month or two. He also told that they conduct interviews regularly. Since my post doc tenure got extended for one more year and as I have given assurance to my professor to work in the extended project, I replied Dean and head of the dept that I am happy to re-apply again for the next recruitment cycle by updating my application. Will they shortlist me for the next recruitment cycle, If my updated application is found satisfactory?...
Which IIT ?
IIT Bhubaneshwar
Is the post-PhD experience (in terms of the number of years) calculated from the date of PhD viva or from the data of PhD thesis submission?. I have joined as a research associate at NTU after my thesis submission on 15 June 2015. However, I have defended my PhD thesis on 08 Jan 2016. From Feb. 2016, I am a research fellow at NTU.
@anon: May 30, 2017 at 3:52 PM, I calculate post-PhD experience from my PhD defense date. I count the work experience gained between my thesis submission and defense as pre-PhD experience. This way, I am being honest as well as accurate.
Since 2009, I live in Europe. Therefore, my answer may or may not be in agreement with the definition used by professors at Indian institutes.
@anon wondering about "date of completion of PhD", it is actually the date on any provisional certificate issued by the University or in the absence of this, it is the date of the PhD degree certificate. The date of submission of thesis is simply like the date on which one took an exam - that date does not signify completion of the course / degree. Similarly, the date of viva is like the date on which the exam script was evaluated - that also does not signify completion of the course / degree. It is only the date of publication of the result of the evaluation that is the date of completion - and the provisional certificate is what states this.
Prof Sriram
What about DST Sponsored project when one move from one institute to another institute?
@iitmsriram, do you know when the shortlisting process at IIT Madras would be completed for the current faculty recruitment cycle?
PS (Anonymous on May 16, 2017 at 12:27 PM),
This is a young faculty member from an IIT speaking. Indian journals don't count as much as the international journals. Our institute has a grading system for journals in place and the Indian journals are considered to be second tier. I understand that you would like to contribute to the development of Indian journals, and, I respect that point of view. But it is best to be aware of the pitfalls at an initial state of your career, specially when you wish to apply for promotions, awards, etc.
I believe the time has come for Indian institutes [IISc, IISERs (old) and IITs (old)] to start diversifying their recruitment strategy. At this moment the major recruitment is done at the Asst. Prof. level. There is nothing wrong with this method but it is counterproductive and does not bring in different perspective at the senior level. People promoted within the Institute does not necessarily carry a vision for the all round development. At this moment what India need is growth at the research and development end which is possible only through diversifying their leadership.
How to do it?
1. Get the best talent from Indian institutes and promote them to the higher position. Give them incentives to move to other institutes. For example, the best Associate Prof from Jadavpur Institute could be brought into the IISc. The best Asst Prof from IITK can be offered a jump to Assoc at IITD or IITM. The best Prof from IITM could be brought to TIFR Mumbai with a handsome startup package with bigger lab space! This will promote the exchange of talent and ideas amongst institutes. At this moment IITX is doing great with filings patents and converting patients into workable products. Why can't IITY with less than 10 patents filed in the last 5 years try to recruit atleast one person from the IITX.
2. Get rid of the burden. Now that you have hired 100s of Asst Profs, just check whether they are as productive as their last position (postdoc, PhD and so on). Please let them go elsewhere. We want to be as good as the universities in the USA, let us atleast follow some of their examples.
http://www.opia.psu.edu/sites/default/files/spring10-tenureflow.pdf
This report shows that approximately 55% of profs hired at 10 US research universities from 1990-2002 eventually attained tenure at the universities where they were hired (note: gender and racial biases seem small to nonexistent in this dataset). Also, ~65% of Asst Prof. made it to the Associate Prof. level at the US universities (Harvard 50-55~ and Penn state ~75%)
In India, it is almost 100% safe job for promotions and tenure! This is dangerous and extremely disappointing. Without any accountability, this is a burden on taxpayers (our Rs).
3. Hire senior people from outside India. Not sure how much it is going on but I have seen few examples in some institutes. I believe in bringing some one from the US or Europe or even Singapore to India, must involve high commitment and motivation on the part of the faculty. This could be an uphill task but perhaps worth pursuing it. Even if one person at the senior rank is hired to the leading department, it can change the tone of the departmental meetings (some of the new Asst.f Prof could be more reluctant to challenge old faculty members) as well as the department culture.
Profs. Sriram and Madras can take the lead and I am sure something along these lines is already cooking in the head of scientific leadership of our country.
Thanks to Anon at May 31, 2017 at 8:40 PM for sharing their perspective on Indian Journals.
PS
Hi, does anyone has any update on IIT-GOA and IIT-DWD faculty appointments ?
To Anon above: Which department? I know that for physics the seminars were held in April.
Ohhh Ok....I was looking for physics dept only.
I submitted my application on 16-17 Feb. So, don't know whether that was considered in the ongoing cycle or not :P
Any update in IIT Jammu recent advertisement for faculty positions?
Anybody applied in IIT Jodhpur?
IIT Jodhpur should be the last choice in IIT ecosystem as long as the present director continues. It is an absolute dictatorial system. Faculty have no say in anything.
Director never meets faculty and just sends out one way communications which are to be obeyed.
Even the NIRF rankings were never discussed.
New faculty members are promised seed grant but it is just kept pending
on pretext of so called seed grant presentations.
Even they do not get a printer or computer from that grant.
If you can bear or tear this system only then you should think further!
How can such directors continue?
To all who are availing Ramanujan Fellowship: Recently, I got my first sanction order from SERB which states NIL money for “Non-recurring”. Officials from my host institute told me that purchase of equipment comes under the “Non-recurring” grant.
My question: Does it mean that I cannot buy any equipment/laptop from the annual 7 lakh research grant?
Has anyone got interview calls from IIT Jammu, Bhilai, Dharwad, Goa for engineering departments?
Any info would be useful. Thanks..
@Anon June 15, 2017 at 12:09 PM
Are you working currently at IIT Jodhpur, since you have shared this experience?
@ anon, June 14, 2017 at 6:46 PM
Yes, I applied at IIT Jodhpur recently. When did you apply?
Anon @ June 24, 2017 at 2:00 PM
I had posted in details of the scenario at IIT Jodhpur on June 14, 2017 at 11:45 PM.
Yes I do work at IITJ where MHRD one fine day decided to send the best possible person they could find as director!
The post is for two reasons:
1. to make aware the aspirants of the current scenario
2. to spread a word around hoping that we will be relieved of the dictator/director
The whole institute in shambles. All decisions are taken by director and a couple of staff members who had helped him sail through the crisis in 2015.
Some pointers from 2015 about the current dictator
http://zeenews.india.com/news/rajasthan/iit-jodhpur-students-protest-continue-for-sixth-day_1573947.html
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/iitj-students-demand-directors-removal/article7069279.ece
https://scroll.in/article/718653/iit-jodhpur-students-bury-peace-of-mind-in-mock-funeral-urge-director-to-quit
Faculty even doesn't know the members of BoG!
@anon, June 24, 2017 at 11:02 PM
I do know of the student strike that happened in 2015, but how is the situation now, can you please explain in details what sort of problems you are facing exactly? When did you join and what is the teaching and research scenario? Labs, offices, grants, accommodation, new campus ? Any specific problems would help, as I have applied to IITs including Jodhpur.
IIT Goa director booked by CBI for having ill-legal assets...now it's a matter of question what's the percentage people need to give for him to get the job? start your numbers...
For state government, the basic fare is 10-20 lakhs...
Hi...i had my final interview for IIT - Tirupathi for the physics department few weeks back through skype...did anyone participated in the interview or got offer? Please update...
@anon, June 24, 2017 at 11:22 PM
Hello, was this second interview before selection committee? Can you please tell about departmental seminar, when was that and who were present and also about final interview?
Hello all,
I have been shortlisted for Asst.Prof. position (Engg. dept.) at IITM, they scheduled the seminar and interview on back to back dates. Is this the norm in IITM? generally based on seminar candidates are called for interview. Also, I would be grateful if someone kindly share their interview experience (type of questions, duration, any tips etc.), thanks in advance.
@IITM candidate anon, all candidates called for seminar + interview will be interviewed by the selection committee, there is no further shortlisting, this is IITM mode of operation. There is "seminar only" interaction at the department level, this is before formal short listing and occurs earlier. Depending on number of candidates, it is either seminars followed by interview on same day or on successive days. ME and CE have 13 and 16 candidates (AP + Asso Prof), so the seminars and interviews are on successive days. EE, MME, ChE etc all have less than 10 candidates, so seminars and interviews are on same day. Interview is typically under half an hour, plus minus.
Dear Prof. Sriram,
Initiative for biological systems engineering (IBSE) has been started couple of years ago at IITM for promoting interdisciplinary sciences and collaboration across departments. Can you provide some numbers in terms of number of faculties recruited at ISBE? Is ISBE still active?
Does selection committee prefers candidates with interdisciplinary sciences background based on your experience at IITM?
Thank you.
@anon, IITM has recruited one faculty member last year under IBSE, is looking for one more this year also. It has not taken off in the way anticipated.
Interdisciplinary recruitment is like recruitment for another department - there is a specific (interdisciplinary) requirement and candidates are sought for that and will be benchmarked against that requirement. It is unlikely that a candidate will meet both this requirement and the regular departmental requirement, so I don't really think there is a question of such a candidate being preferred.
There seems to be so much confusion and uncertainity among the prospective IIT faculty applicants. I am among those applicants and we are not sure how the process takes place at different IITs and the timelines seems to differ so widely at various IITs and also the selection procedure.
Can someone clarify what the interview means? I see so many people asking about interview but I don't understand whether this means departmental seminar and teaching presentation or final selection committee interview. What is the standard procedure followed? Are there fixed one or two rounds of institute level selection committees in the year? Do they happen all at the same time for all the departments? Do the departments conduct department level seminars ahead of this selection committee at all the departments? If yes, how much in advance? OR there is selection committee for each department happening at different times throughout the year?
Is there a difference in the procedure followed at new IITs? At some of the new IITs. some departments like IIT Gandhinagar do not even have HOD, how do they carry out their seminars, who shortlists the applications and who attends the seminars etc? I have so many questions in mind and I am sure many others have. Any thoughts on this would be highly appreciated.
Thanks Prof. Sriram for your information on IBSE recruitments.
To all those who have attended presentation+interview at IIT Tirupati, Palakkad or any other new IIT recently --- please share your experiences regarding the selection procedure.
what was the duration of selection committee interview?
what questions were asked - basics or related to PhD/post-doc research?
Any info would be useful for aspirants like me..
Thanks in advance
Hello All,
I agree. Sharing the interview experience would be useful for us.
I have a question regarding the funding for out of India conference travel. What are the different funding mechanisms (especially for Computer Science Asst. Profs) for supporting out of India (Europe, USA) conference travel? Does the institute (IIXs) provide the necessary funding?
- mvr
I am AP at a new IIT. I now have a possibility of consulting for industry.
In this regard I have few questions:
1. The company wants to use a commercial software for its solution. But I heard that academic licenses are not meant for commercial consultancy?
2. Is it possible to hire quality manpower at rates higher than DST rates of JRF/SRF?
3. As a consultant can I charge some fees? And is there a limit on that in percentage of total project cost?
1. The company wants to use a commercial software for its solution. But I heard that academic licenses are not meant for commercial consultancy?
Ans: Yes, academic licenses by nature are not meant for consultancy and it's in the user license agreement as well. Although some profs. use it. If your project is really big, you can always include the cost of commercial software in your budget.
2. Is it possible to hire quality manpower at rates higher than DST rates of JRF/SRF?
No, technically you can not do that. There are ways to top up that salary, but that depends on individual institutes.
3. As a consultant can I charge some fees? And is there a limit on that in percentage of total project cost?
You will charge honorarium as your fees/payment for your to keep. The percentage that institutes charges as overheads and fees are constant. You cannot change that.
It's always a good idea to start collaborating with a senior professor for consultancy projects till you get a hang of things by yourself.
Anon above Thanks a lot for your answers! Really grateful.
The project is not big and I can not bill the license cost.
And I am worried if it might land me in trouble to use existing licenses!
We do not have any Professor at our Department
and that's why I was directed to this forum!
Hello,
Has IITM started issuing offer letters for the current recruitment cycle? will appreciate some information on the tentative schedule for the same.
Thanks.
IITM offer letters are expected to be issued on 21/7. I have updated applications portal to show this, thanks for bringing this up.
One of the state universities in Kerala recently called for full Professor positions in various departments (AGP 10000). But they set the maximum age limit to 41. This makes many people ineligible to apply for these posts. At the age of 41, it is very hard to satisfy the eligibility criteria to be considered for full professor. Usually, I see the age limit 55 for full professor. I tried to search for any circular from UGC regarding this and I did not manage to find anything. I am wondering if anyone has any idea about this?
Dear Prof. Sriram,
Thanks for your response on IITM offer letter issue. Will the selected candidates be informed via email/portal also on 21/7?
At IIT-H for faculty recruitment at what stage reference letters are requested?
Thank you.
I couldnt resist adding my thought to the discussion.
1) The major issue I felt in one of the recruitments I attended in India was that, I was informed only 3 days before my travel to India about the requirement of teaching demo without slides. I was traveling over the weekend only for the interview and back. And until I received this email I was under the impression it would be an administrative interview as it was the final round and the university website stated the last round was administrative. I have a more interactive style of teaching (socrative method) and I ask questions go from there.
2) A lot of us work in different field from our basic training and it is almost impossible to expect or prepare for some of the questions that are asked at the interview. With two weeks (at the most) after notification, one doesnt have the time to go over all the chapters in the courses they said they could handle to know every formula in the book or definition for that matter. When one teaches they go from one chapter to another not all the chapters in one day. And every one has a different perspective towards teaching to some remembering somethings might seem futile while to some not so. If so, they should clearly state what the interview is going to be about and give us atleast 3 months notice so we can prepare.
I use a socrative method of teaching which i dont feel comfortable using when the panel is filled with 6 to 8 professors and iam made to sit in a chair (I prefer moving around while presenting).May be the teaching assessment should be done by real student representatives who will ask realistic questions. It shouldnt be professors pretending to be students as not many can ask questions like a UG student.
I was also told by somebody that they were told they should be able to handle any core subject for an hour on the spot. This to me is counter intuitive. A good teacher would never ever say they can teach without preparing. No matter how many years you take the same subject or lesson there are updates and one should know to access the audience , tweak the material. It is never one size fits all. Every class is different and thats something a good teacher would identify.
3) Sometimes it annoys me to see departments that have all male faculty and not a single woman on board.(even new IITs ). Please it is not possible they didnt find a single qualified female candidate to recruit. This could affect the hiring process as again the recruitment committee (ones who shortlist) is predominantly male and some good candidates may not even make it to the interview where external professors are invited.
4) Sometimes in India when there are multiple people on the recruitment panel, they tend to discuss among themselves a lot. A question is directed to the person being interviewed and they barely are given the time to process the question, if there is even a second of silence they start talking amongst themselves. This is very very distracting for the interviewee.
5) Its my personal opinion that all recruitment interviews should be recorded. And the interviewee can request to see it. It would help us understand where we could have done better.
It has also been pointed out by Prof Giridhar that he takes a walk when one of his student's is one to be interviewed or does not ask questions. But then isnt it still not fair to the others as some of the difficult queries that could make or break their career could have come from you while your student has one less examiner examining him?. In an ideal world the committee member should be chose such that they do not have ties with the student or in the event they do ask as well the committee member should deny being on the panel at all. I understand that it might be difficult to find some person who has no ties with any of the candidates depending on the field but atleast we can try.
July 19, 2017 at 5:19 PM :
At least he is trying to avoid conflict of interest. in the recent IIT Ropar chemical engineering interview, there were three committee members: KK Pant, Chhabra and one more. The first two selected two of their own students. They selected one more student to make a total of five students just to appear fair. There was no stepping out..just ask their own students some simple questions and say they are wonderful.
At least Prof. Giridhar does not do that. Well, you do not need to appreciate it but do not keep on criticizing him. Prof. Giridhar has also said that even if he knows beforehand that his student is going to be interviewed, he refuses to serve on the panel most of the time.
why should one compare to the worst case scenario. And the previous query was not criticising him but just an observation based on what he had commented. It can be anybody else for that matter not just him. And a person whose work is valued his questions and their not being answered may influence other people's judgement of the candidate and it is not the same playing field if that person is not participating for some candidates.I did give the benefit of doubt to the professor saying the institute should choose only people to serve on the panel who dont have ties to the interview and in the event they still ask a professor to serve they should deny being on the panel. I never said anything about a specific person here at all.a process cannot be improved if noone questions. There can be other neutral tones apart from appreciate and criticize.
At IIT-H for faculty recruitment at what stage reference letters are requested?
Thank you.
@Anon above, They are asked the next day you apply at IITH
http://blogs.nature.com/naturejobs/2017/07/19/ageism-in-academic-jobs-in-india/#more-14309
An interesting article on various age-limits on faculty and other academic jobs in India
@ Anon above thanks for sharing the nice article!
I don't hope to see any change in the system in next 10 years.
@Anon at July 20: Thanks for the information.
@ Prospective faculty applicants at IIT Jodhpur:
You will be entitled to get a generous amount of INR 60000
for buying a printer and computer to set up your office.
This will be an advance from your seed grant of 24 lacs which
probably you will get when you don't need it anymore.
You will also get INR800 towards your telephone expenditure (subject to bills)
out of which INR200 will be deducted for your desk phone with
only internal extension calling facility.
Does any other IIT (Director) offer these kind of generous incentives?
@anon at July 21, 2017 at 10:32 AM, when did you apply to IITH? I applied in Dec last year, reference letters were asked on the next day and then nothing has happened for last 7 months.
@anon at July 21, 2017 at 10:41 AM, are you working in IITJ? I had initial interview there but nothing after that.
Anon@July 21, 2017 at 2:13 PM In the same blog page it is mentioned that the interviews were conducted in March and offer letters were sent in April this year at IIT-H (but I don't if it was done for your department).
IITH: Yes, interviews for several departments were conducted in March/April this year. If you applied in December and didn't hear from us then most likely you were not shortlisted for the interview. You can better call and ask the head of the department for a confirmation.
The age rule is not followed seriously in a lot of institutes. IISER tvm has shortlisted assistant professors recently in which there is one who is 40 years old with a 10 year experience as a independent scientist in CECRI karaikudi has a h index of 40. Another person selected is 37 years old and he has 4 publications all together may be 5 but more than 8 years experience. Of the 5 2 are in nature and hence the recruitment i believe. The ad states preferably less than 35 how is some one with 4 years postdoc experience supposed to compete with someone with 10 years or more experience.
Dear All,
I have been a frequent visitor to this blog and its comments. I thought of sharing my views since I used to have a lot of confusions when I started applying. Please note that it is solely my opinion. Feel free to ask any questions you want.
1. Interdisciplinary research is valuable, more so if you can connect your research to the traditional subjects. For example, people working in interdisciplinary areas like multiscale modeling (including DFT), multiphysics problems, etc., can and should connect their research to the disciplines they are applying (mechanical, civil, aerospace, chemical, etc.)
2. Senior faculties at a department would be interested in knowing how your interdisciplinary research can advance the traditional discipline. In this regard, be prepared with an example or two on how your research can transform the traditional discipline.
3. The interview process is very fair and unbiased. I come from one part of the country, but have been selected across the different IITs located at North, East, West and South India. I did not see any regional bias.
4. The questions asked in the final interview panel (with director, HOD, external experts) in most IITs were related to: (a) My vision for the concerned IIT, (b) My research focus, (c) If I will be able to teach a subject they mentioned, (d) Why interdisciplinary research, (e) Why did I apply to the concerned IIT.
5. It is always good to revise some of the undergraduate and graduate level courses, especially the ones you have mentioned in teaching interests.
6. Number of publications is not more important than where you publish it. It is immaterial if you publish in 20 SCI journals which other researchers have never heard of. If you have 10 publications in journals of good repute, that should be better than 20 SCI journals of no-repute (in my opinion).
7. An impressive research statement which is not a delta extension of PhD or postdoc research. A research statement having a focus on societal benefits is a good go.
8. My application to selection timeline varied from 6 months to 8 months. Departmental presentation to selection for final interview varied between 2 weeks to 1 month. Final interview to result varied between 1 day to 3 weeks.
Why should a research statement not be an extension of someones PHD or Postdoc work. It is still your work and your idea. And one can only propose in their area of expertise not make up some new story just so that it is not in the PhD or Postdoc domain. Novelty doesnt mean an area you have never worked on. and it might your experience that you were asked about your research but some have been cornered about teaching only without much interest being paid to research presentation at all too. And to say brush up on the topics you can teach, only if you are in the same field. If you have shifted areas and are given just a weeks time you cant read a whole text book in 1 week(and be prepared for questions for sure)
Dear Anonymous@July 23, 2017 at 4:35 AM
1. Please understand I said that the research statement should not be a delta extension of PhD or postdoc work. Delta as in "small". Over the course of your PhD or postdoc, you must have been exposed to ideas from several areas with focus on one particular area. Try incorporating the different ideas. Research proposal typically focuses on 4-5 years timeline. Choice remains yours though what you want to do :)
2. Of course it is my experience. It is clearly mentioned that "Please note that it is solely my opinion". Someone else's experience might be different, without saying.
3. Regarding brushing up. I understand it is difficult to read "books" in two weeks. But you must have written your teaching plan/proposal at least 4-5 months before you're called for interview. I had started brushing up the undergraduate and graduate subjects since the day I applied. Again it's your choice, what you want to do :)
My comments were meant to be helpful. I am sorry if it offended you. That was not my intention.
Was not offended but guess it hit a sore spot:P. As at a recent interview they mentioned I should propose something not related to my phd or postdoc work. My proposal was not just an addition to the two works but a mix of the two for doing something else. But they didnt even let me explain. And personally I have tried reading up but if you have moved away from the area for a decade it takes quite some time and especially if your current work has no relation what so ever to the field of training. Lets a civil engineer who is now working in biosciences or a electrical engineering working in bioengineering for a decade. Unfortunately in India since their training is not in bioengineering they cant apply to bio departments and a decade is a long time away from their training. Which means it takes time to brush up as compared to someone who is still connected to the field. 4-5 months is not a lot of time in such a case and especially for some mathematical courses it takes a while to understand if you havent used it in ages. Also it depends on the current work load someone is dealing with. For eg sometimes like in France you will have to teach in french. Speaking a language is one thing but teaching in it is another. It does take a lot of preparation. I understand the system somehow is stuck this way may be only way to go about is to prepare for the interview, but what they are going to ask at the interview is something you never know. They ask 3 4 courses you think you can handle and ask something from all of it or from one of their choice. Which one should one prep for. If it is really teaching skill assessment they should provide a material to everybody and see how they handle that material instead. That way its uniform for all the candidates.
Also i havent had a lot of universities call back in 4 5 months. Its been a 6 mths to year or more in some cases to even shortlist candidates for interview.
Has anybody received offer letter (or any email intimation for the same) from IITM for the current recruitment cycle? offer letters are supposed to be issued on 21/7.
I have the same query, the facapp portal is showing status up to shortlisting, haven't received any email either, so most likely not selected?
I guess the experiences of different people vary vastly regarding timelines of the application process. Some were called in 3-4 months, some in 8 months and some more than a year! So I believe that there is no uniformity in IITs and different departments.
@anon, there is 100% uniformity at IITM. Advertisement comes out twice a year in March and October, shortlist in May and November, interviews in June and December and appointment offers issued in July and January (some + -, June interview may be end May to early July and so on). October advertisement started a couple of years ago and may go away if recruitment targets are met. In addition to above fixed time lines, visiting faculty offers are made at any time of the year.
@iitmsriram Yes sir, I have observed it from discussion here that IITM has fixed timelines and it follows it strictly. I have not applied to IITM as it does not ask for my specialization currently. But at other IITs, this is definitely an issue.
Dear Prof. Sriram, How is faculty housing scenario currently at IITM? Does newly recruited Asst. Professors get on campus housing in few months or years?
Thank you.
@anon enquiring about (new) faculty housing, I am not sure whether I should bother to reply. There has never been a situation in the last 20 years when new asst. profs. had to wait for years to get housing. Of course, if you want to qualify and say that anything below xxx is not considered appropriate housing etc., that is precisely the line of argument I am not interested in getting involved in, I most likely have better things to do with my time.
Yes, there have been times (like right now) when the wait has stretched to months. There have also been times when there was zero waiting. 96 professors' quarters are nearing completion (scheduled completion date July 2017 :-( ), the cascading etc should all be completed by Dec / Jan. So, from Jan 2018, IITM is expected to be in a situation of new faculty housing with zero waiting.
I have also been encouraging new APs to consider staying off campus (instead of staying in the guest house) - with the new announcement on allowances with HRA going to 20k+, this should be considered a viable option.
Thank you Prof. Sriram for info.
@iitmsriram According to the pay commission table (http://7thpaycommissionnews.in/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Pay-Matrix-May-2017.png), the GradePays are 7600, 8700, 8900 and 10000. However at IIT's, the GPs are 8000, 9000, 9500 and 10500. Why is this the case?
multiplyed by (2.57 to 272) of present pay and fix in the next index under same level
7th Pay Commission Pay revision for Kendriya Vidyalaya Teachers and Non-Teaching Staff – No arrears payment till budget allocation is made – 7th Pay Commission Allowances is not applicable to KV Teachers and non-teaching staff until further orders
“Approved the recommendation for implementation of 7th CPC to employees of KVS at par with other central government employees @kvschoolschd (sic),” Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said in a tweet.
“Over 46,000 KVS employees to benefit @kvschoolschd,” he added.
Javadekar had earlier this week announced at an event that the 7th Pay Commission recommendations for colleges and varsities would be approved soon.
NIT, tRICHY has a plane (AIRFORCE) in its campus thanks to Ex.Director Dr.S.Sundarajan from DRDO
VC of JNU is now proposing to put a tank for National feelings( JNU is awarding degrees for Army college without conducting any class in defence subjects - Times of India article); Navy will not lag behind - a floating aircraft carrier in some campus
Teachers will come with pistols(they should be trained as to which way to hold) and students in army uniforms (Times of India article)
A grievance was raised about the non-implementation of the 7th Pay Commission for pensioners of autonomous bodies. In its reply the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said, " itis informed that the proposal of extension of the revised pay scale of pay pane to the employees of autonomous bodies is under consideration of Finance Division, Department of Commerce. The benefits of commission and enhanced Dearness Relief to the pensioners will be considered after finalization of the pay scales of the employees of the Autonomous Bodies in accordance with pay panel.
Read more at: http://www.oneindia.com/india/7th-pay-commission-manpower-infrastructure-being-set-up-for-arrears-and-pension/articlecontent-pf28135-2456639.html
Union Minister Prakash Javedekar said at the National Convention on Higher Education Perpectives in India that teachers would soon get the benefits of the 7th Pay Commission.
Read more at: http://www.oneindia.com/india/7th-pay-commission-teachers-can-smile-check-guidelines-of-pay-fixation/articlecontent-pf29578-2511803.html
Army protects nations and makes A university is supposed to promote the power of sacrifices for their survival - and non-violent didactics, to create new ideas but it does not create them (not and extend the frontiers of knowledge,to nurture democracies, at least) freedom - of thought,sppeech and enquiry=and
to question, not comply.
To associate, or equate, a weapon JNU tank is nothing but a well-crafted strategy
of war with nationalism or patrio
tism goes far beyond jingoism
Army protects nations and makes sacrifices for their survival but it does not create them (democracies, at least)
A university is supposed to promote the power of the intellect - and non-violent didactics, to create new ideas and extend the frontiers of knowledge,to nurture freedom - of thought,sppeech and enquiry=and to question, not comply.
A battle tank is the power of the state
Nationalism is a concept born out of intellectualism, not militarism; nation making and creation of national identities is a product of thinkers,lawyers,teachers, poets and, most important, the common man on the street facing bullets and lathis
The government has said that the benefits of the 7th Pay Commission and enhanced DA for pensioners will be considered after the finalisation of the pay scales of employees of autonomous bodies in accordance to the pay panel. On the other hand banks have been told to ensure adequate infrastructure and manpower for pension processing.
Never appoint a civil engineer as Director of a New/Under Construction IIT.
If you don't agree, welcome to IIT Jodhpur!
New software The functionality of pay fixation in terms of 7th CPC which entails new fields like Level & Index in the Pay Matrix should be incorporated in the software that the Banks are using for pension processing and calculation of arrears. The credit of revised pension in the bank accounts of pensioners/family pensioners and payment of arrears should be in a time bound manner after receipt of Revision Authority from CPAO (through electronic mode). It should not be later than the next due date of credit of pension in the pensioners accounts
Read more at: http://www.oneindia.com/india/7th-pay-commission-manpower-infrastructure-being-set-up-for-arrears-and-pension/articlecontent-pf28137-2456639.html
To the person questioning the rationale behind research statement away from PhD/ PDF extension.
After serving on selection committees for faculty in the US, Canada, and Singapore, I can assure you that your research statement should not conflict with your supervisors. I am sure Indian Institutes are trying to get the same outcome. Logics are very simple
1. As a scientist, you are expected to be independent with your original idea. Inspiration can be drawn from the previous work but should not be the extension.
2. Ask yourself a simple question, Will you be able to compete with your Ph.D./ PDF supervisor in 5 or 10 yrs time? Study sections will be concerned about the innovation and novelty.
3. Niche. You want to be identified as a Prof. XYZ who works on ABC which she/he has discovered/ established/ inveted. Not Prof. XYZ who carried out his PDF work to corroborate findings in different system.
For example (not so good ones)
After working with C. elegans in PDF, a candidate suggested he will repeat results in mouse!
Person "A" worked in liver but would like to work with kidneys to see if the results obtained in liver will have affect on kidneys too (exact same experiments!).
Person "X" did Mass Spec in her PDF and would like to do Mass Spec for everyone at the new institue!
Person "Y" suggested that he is so smart that he can do a better job then his PDF boss so let him do the same experiments. May be true but again no originality.
Person "Z" built an algorithm for radar system for a Western agency, and would like to transfer technology to India. This might not go down well with the country of training for sure.
Anonymous@August 9, 2017 at 7:19 PM Thank you very much for this advice; your comments have enlightened me.
contact physics chairman
iisc fac
Hi everyone....
I am a inspire faculty in a csir institute. I am afraid no regular position has come in that institute so far after 4 years. Please advise what one should do in such case
Anon @aug 9th 2017 I think the extension if in itself is a new area to be done in India what is wrong in setting up research in a similar field. And the examples you give are very short term extensions and those are not a 5-10 year research statement. The case that was putforth is that sometimes, the committee is impatient to listen out the candidate and if any keyword remotely related to the postdoc is mentioned like nanoparticles they stop and say dont relate to your postdoc.
Well if X worked on mass spec for PDF and wants to set up a new research using mass spec in collaboration with their PDF group (if this was not done before in India) why it cannot be accepted as new research. Novelty is not coming up with new ideas always but to use existing techniques in new ways or improving techniques too. Unfortunately all you examples are about going to war with the PDF boss while it can be a collaborative effort too.
Students are trained to repeat exactly text for getting admission for research for 22 years - how to expect original output at research? Training should be for attempts than for success. System should prepare for changes as they progress
What kind of questions to expect in DST presentation of 10mins?
-New AP
Would like to share the pathetic experience of IIT-Jammu seminar+interview held recently at IIT-Delhi.
1. No accommodation was initially offered in the interview letter. Once requested, accommodation was offered in IIT Delhi.
2. We were asked to vacate the rooms in the evening of the second day. Imagine someone has a flight/train the next day. Where he/she is supposed to stay??
3. There was no arrangement for lunch on both the days. Candidates were called at 930 in the morning and the seminars/interviews were continuing till evening. Only tea and light snacks were served in the first day but there was absolute nothing on the second day.
4. Forgot about lunch there was even no proper arrangement for drinking water.
5. Washrooms near the boardroom in the main building where interviews were held were in pathetic condition with shit lying all around. Can't believe I was in IIT Delhi, one of the premier institute in India.
Please bear in mind that we candidates are human and need food/water like others. If this is the way they conduct interviews and treat us, GOD knows what will be the ground situation in Jammu.
Skype interview at iit delhi chem engg dept what to expect? the presentation seems to focus primarily on research plan with a very short teaching component. How many rounds of interviews are usually conducted and how many panel members are to be expected?
@ Anonymous (Aug 27, 2017 at 10:38 PM)
I am really sorry to hear about your experience during the interview at one of the premier institutes of India. I hope that there is some sort of feedback requested from the applicants after the interview process, so that the shortcomings can be rectified in future. You should share your experience with the concerned authorities.
Good luck!
Dear Prof. Sriram at IIT-M and others,
I about to join a new IIT and I am wondering if I will run into problems after two years when I apply to an old IIT. Due to professional and personal reasons, the old IIT, which is located in a metro near to my home town, is my first choice. But since my CV is not good enough currently, I am not able to compete with other candidates at the old IIT. I am positive that in two to three years time, my CV will substantially improve and I can reasonably compete at the old IIT.
My questions are (a) Will the old IIT reject my application just because I am applying just after two years time joining a new IIT? (b) Will the new IIT refuse to send my application and refuse to give NOC as I am applying immediately after two years?
I am just wondering what is the wise thing to do after two years if I join the new IIT now.
Thanks,
@IIT Jammu IIT Delhi Interview Candidates
This is the big issue with recruitment. At most places, candidates are treated as beggars. The selection committee is also aware that candidates do not have much choice so they do not make any specific attempt to keep candidates comfortable. In West, candidates are treated royally. They are taken for faculty dinners. Every meal is in the company of some one from the department. Best possible accommodation near the venue is provided. Candidates are given tours. Selection committee knows that the effort made to short list and invite a candidate is huge and is very expensive. So they do not want to repel excellent candidate just because the department was not responsible enough. Every candidate has a choice of multiple excellent institutes so they are sorted aggressively. Hope in India, selection committees realise that they are trying to attract the best talent. I have seen at least 4 excellent candidates who did not feel good about the top institute in Bangalore and instead joined ivy league universities and Univ of California system in the US. I am sure Indian science is at loss by creating such a bad impression. Also, I hope this forum will set a ground for making an effort by committees in future. This is usually visited by aspirants so hope once they are in they can bring the change.
IIT Jammu experience is not uncommon. It is only a primer after you join. If you think that the bathroom of the board room of IIT Delhi is not neat, just imagine the state of the restrooms of your department in IIT Delhi. Everywhere it will stink.
Even in IISc, aspirants are treated badly because that is the state of affairs even after they join. Please don't compare ivy league schools to IISc. It is an insult. People don't come back to India to do science. Most come back because they are lazy or have family issues.
At one of the interviews we were arranged lunch but the selection committee was running late so we were not allowed to eat either. We were not given a time slot, made to wait from morning till midday for the interview and some were interviewed only at the end of the day but were asked to show up at 9am. Also the selection committee was having lunch at a table next to us bus would not even smile at us or talk to us as if we were not humans. The head of the department and the dean were the two people who gave us company.
The point is it is the same everywhere. If you apply for DST or dbt for funding, you will be called for presentation at 9 am if you are shortlisted. No accommodation will be provided and you have to travel air India. After reaching the venue, you will be as slotted for the 16th presentation. That will be at 5 pm.
You will have a separate lunch from selection committee members so that you will not influence them to give you funding.
This is how everything works in India. So think of selection committee in IIT Delhi as training for you.
I had a similar experience at IIT Delhi. They called us 9 am in the morning and my interview was at 5:30 pm in the evening. Nobody came to ask us even for water or tea, forget lunch. My interaction with the office staff and the HOD gave me an impression of bureaucratic system infested with red tape. Selection committee asked me questions that they did not know correctly. I had to explain it to them. I was offered the position with enhanced pay, but I had multiple offers from other top IITs where I was treated more professionally. It gave me good vibes about the work environment and culture. I joined here and never regretted for a bit.
Had a much better interview experience at another new IIT recently...
Director, Dean, HOD, even selection committee members had their lunch after the candidates.
They were smiling and cordial to all the candidates ---(although during interview, the candidates were grilled as is normally done at other places).
A query from senior people on this blog -- can i include my parents as a dependent for medical benefits? My father recently retired from a state govt service. He has no health plan (no CGHS, State scheme etc.), only the health expenditure will be reimbursed upon production of original bills, i.e. no cashless treatment. Being the only child, my parents would be staying with me and I want to include my parents as my dependent at the new IIT where I am joining. I could not find any details on internet or in the forms provided to me. It would be really helpful if anyone can elaborate the dependent rules for retired parents.
Thanks....
new AP....
Hi everyone can anyone tell me what should be the seminar topic or presentation supposed to be made at the interview of assistant professor post in IIIT/IIT
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