This is a pinned post (i.e., this post will always appear at the top of this blog though newer posts appear below it) for prospective faculty to IITs/IISc. Please, please read this site and the old post and this post. There are over 500 comments and replies to these comments in these posts. Post all your questions and comments here.
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233 comments:
1 – 200 of 233 Newer› Newest»Just to make the number of comments to >0 ! All the best guys!
I am in old pension scheme in a central university. Recently, I received appointment letter from a new IIT for Associate Professor. I came to know that I will be in new pension scheme as new IITs do not have old pension scheme. Today, somebody told me that government is considering putting all those faculty members of new IITs in old pension scheme who were in old pension scheme before joining a new IIT.
Can somebody provide more detail about such a proposal.
Prof. Madras, recently i have heard that if some one has done phd from IISc, some departments of IISc (ex:- CSA) are considering them inferior or not allowing for the post of faculty. They are going to consider candidates from abroad only and not from iisc itself ? is it true ? Waiting for your reply.
I have posted some queries that you have not yet answered. Please do let us know.
The proposal to put those faculty members of new IITs in old pension scheme who were in old pension scheme before joining a new IIT has been discussed for quite some time. This was especially relevant when some senior faculty wanted to move from IIT-Madras to IIT-Hyderabad, for example. But no directives have been received from MHRD.
Regarding, Ph.D from IISc, it is certainly not correct. The current chairman of CSA himself is an accomplished scientist and he is a Ph.D from IISc. There are several Ph.D from IISc even among new faculty.
Thanks
Giridhar
I have received an offer from an IIT. I do not have 3 years experience and they have given me a contract position for two years. At present, I have one year and 2 months experience. However, I will be joining only after 8 months. Will the contract position be there for two years from the start of date or will it be reduced to one year from the start of date based on my revised experience. In other words, can the offer be negotiated..? I would appreiciate if Prof. Madras or Prof. Sriram or other experienced people can inform..
Best
KS
KS,
My first advice would be to not get hung up on whether you will get upgraded two years later or one year later (or one year and two months later). Things rarely work with such precision! Just join and at the time of joining, note in your joining letter that you have x years of experience and should therefore be eligible for being upgraded to regular (non contract) appointment as of June 2012 or whatever. If the IIT admin and your HoD are concerned, this is all it should take.
Hello Prof., I have been contemplating applying to IISc or IITs for faculty positions but had a general query on citizenship that I did not find in many of the posts or comments - can foreign nationals apply to these institutes for a faculty position?
Thank you for the reply, Prof. Sriram....
KS
Dear anon@March17-2:24 am, for IITs, the policy is "persons of Indian origin may be appointed to permanent faculty positions .. (other) foreign nationals shall be appointed for fixed tenure not exceeding five years on contract basis". My department (IITM Aero) has one person of Indian origin in a regular position and one 'other' US Citizen on a contractual appointment.
I have recently appeared for an interview at an IIT. How long after an interview are the selected candidates informed regarding the decision of their selection/rejection? Will it be advisable to contact the concerned HOD of the department and ask him about the decision?
If I should wait, how long should I wait before asking the concerned HOD of the department?
Please respond to these queries.
sir, i am a cs student and qualified in cs gate-2011 but not applied for mtech at iisc because online application is already closed. can u say ? is there any second chance to apply for mtech at iisc?
thanks.
Dr. Giri,
Recently DST approved a project of mine (i am a new faculty). when they release the funds do schemes in IISC intimate the PI that funds have arrived or the PI have to find that out himself. Some people told that sometimes the funds are received but association of that fund with the PI is not automatic due to the lack of the PI's name in the fund transfer documents.So my questions are
1. How much time DST takes to transfer funds after approval
2. Does Schemes inform the PI (as a matter of fact does DST do the same) after funds are received.
Sorry for asking these questions but i am new here.
DST will send you a letter (with a copy to the registrar, iisc) informing you about the funds and the breakup for every year. This will take 1-3 months depending on the PAC you applied to. After you get this letter, take a copy of this letter and give it to schemes. They will allot you a debit head within a week.
are iisc or iit faculties considered as Gazetted officers
Dear prof Giri and iitmsriram,
Could you throw some light on the Pandit jawaharlal Nehru fellowship for new PhDs? what is your opinion on working in one of the national labs like NCL and NPL?
It is quite amusing that professors don't know whether they are gazetted officers or not....It is a very simple question...would appreciate if you can answer...RK
RK writes "professors don't know whether they are gazetted officers or not". Perhaps they do, but that was not the question posed earlier - the question was if they are considered gazetted officers. The answer to that would depend on who is doing the considering.
I got an offer from an IIT for AP position. The offer letter says that first one year as probationary period. I don't have 3 years of post-PhD experience. I have an year and half experience after PhD. The basic pay is Rs. 27930/-. However, nowhere it says that it is a contract position. Will it be regularized in a year after joining or Am I missing something..? I just wanted to clarify in the forum before contacting the corresponding IIT.
Prof Srirams answer would make politicians proud :) The short answer is IIX profs are not gazetted officers. CSIR faculty are, as per my understanding. If IIX's require attestations, they will probably recognise their faculties signature. For other official GOI matters, you would need to go a real gazetted GOI officer.
TD
All officers belonging to Govt.(state or central) whose name are published in the Gazette of india are called "Gazetted Officers".
Officers of Autonomous organizations,Contractual Staff employed in Govt.,PSU,Bank do not enjoy Gazetted status.
Therefore, faculty of IITs are not gazetted.
Probation is always for one year, irrespective of whether the position is contract or not.
Dear prof Giri,
Could you please give some input on pandit Nehru fellowship and working in NCL or NPL? Please give some feed back?
Dear anon with IIT offer,
Looking at the basic, I would say it is a contractual position only. Perhaps there is wording in the offer letter that states that upon satisfactory completion of probation, you would be confirmed with a basic pay of 30000 + 8000 agp? If the contract period is going to be subsumed by the probation period, why mention it at all (and have the candidate wonder what is this contractual appointment?). Incidentally, I am having to choose my words carefully (like a politician) as my writings are sometimes being given more weightage than personal opinions. And, finally, I dont know about working at national labs, so I have not ventured an opinion.
Re anon seeking info on Nehru PDFs at NCL/NPL, I'll reply even if the question is specifically directed to Giridhar/iitmsriram. As per Giridhar's article (http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/10sep2010/577.pdf), NCL's h-index and p-index are 49 and 61, compared to 56/69 for IISc and 44/55 for the IIT with the best score. This seems to indicate that (see disclaimer) quality of research publications at NCL is better than that at an average IIT, and in the same category as IISc (or IIT Kanpur). I would assume that beyond such broad claims it really depends on which area you work and the scientists you are collaborating with. In any case, these numbers suggest that you should at least explore possibilities at NCL! We are always looking for talented folks to work with us (as collaborators here or elsewhere). Disclaimer: I have no idea if even such a conservative claim is warranted from these metrics, and I work at NCL.) On a lighter note, perhaps Giridhar can comment on whether his results in the current science article warrant the statement that "IISc research finds that NCL is better than any IIT!". :-)
I think NCL is excellent for chemistry and chemical engineering but probably not so good for physics or mathematics. Similarly, there are national labs that good in biology (CCMB) that are not so good in other subjects.
The superiority of NCL in branches like chemical engineering is not just based on scientometrics. Look at the number of Bhatnagar winners in chemical engineering at NCL. It is higher than that of any IIT/IISc.
I did not reply to the earlier comment on postdoc fellowships because they are not permanent positions and also it asked about NCL/NPL. Working in permanent positions and as postdoc are very different. Also, NCL can not be compared with NPL -- depends on branches.
Thanks
Giridhar
I think NCL is excellent for chemistry and chemical engineering but probably not so good for physics or mathematics. Similarly, there are national labs that good in biology (CCMB) that are not so good in other subjects.
The superiority of NCL in branches like chemical engineering is not just based on scientometrics. Look at the number of Bhatnagar winners in chemical engineering at NCL. It is higher than that of any IIT/IISc.
I did not reply to the earlier comment on postdoc fellowships because they are not permanent positions and also it asked about NCL/NPL. Working in permanent positions and as postdoc are very different. Also, NCL can not be compared with NPL -- depends on branches.
Thanks
Giridhar
"Today, somebody told me that government is considering putting all those faculty members of new IITs in old pension scheme who were in old pension scheme before joining a new IIT."
I have been told that this has been denied. However, the faculty can take retirement from the old IIT, get pension and move to the new IIT under contract and get full pay.
Industrial profesionals should be encouraged for faculty positions in IITs, as IIT is something to do with enhancing TECHNOLOGY in India along with the basic SCIENCE (IISc can be excluded). Jawaharlal Nehru's vision in starting IITs was to have India an excellence in its own technology. This should not be diluted...
There is a PANIIT event coming in July. Does anyone know if a faculty recruitment event is likely to happen at that forum?
Ankur, the Pan IIT event scheduled for July first week in New York has been rescheduled to 'fall 2011', perhaps sometime in October.
Thanks, iitmsriram! I had another question: the prospective faculty guide that Prof Madras etal have prepared talks of a 3 month "vacation" that IISc profs have during which they can work anywhere, collaborate, etc.
a) Is this applicable to IIT profs?
b) What are the terms of this "vacation"? Does one get paid by the institute even while being away?
I got admission into IISc M.E. Computer Science and Engineering. I also got admit in IIT Bombay for Mtech CSE. I am confused between these two. Can you please suggest me which one would be better
Ankur asks about vacation,
"a) Is this applicable to IIT profs?"
Yes
"b) What are the terms of this "vacation"? Does one get paid"
Yes, one gets paid regular salary. If you take vacation, you lose out on earned leave - if you avail the full vacation, you get left with no earned leave at all, and if you work through the entire vacation, you get 30 days of earned leave, the same as clerical or other non-teaching staff.
Thank you iitmsriram. Following are some more clarifications I was looking for. I am asking incrementally because I dont want to create a very long post.
a) Several IITs support international conference travel once every x years. Can one use research grants to support additional intl conferences? If so, which grants allow this?
b) What is the exact procedure for allotment of on-campus housing? Does one get to choose amongst available flats or does one get allotted a flat exogenously? In the case of the former, what happens if two faculty want the same flat? At what stage is the allotment done - when the offer is made or when actually joining?
c) What are approximate specifications of flats (area, bhk etc) that asst profs are eligible for? Would you know specifically what these are for IITB?
d) Finally, if spouse is also a faculty at the same institute, does that alter the kind of housing or the HRA one is eligible for?
"What are approximate specifications of flats (area, bhk etc) that asst profs are eligible for? Would you know specifically what these are for IITB?"
I am not iitmsriram, but here is my 2 cents anyway:
In the late 90s, some of the asst profs I knew were allocated rooms in the staff hostel (IITB) and there was a big waiting list for flats. I knew a senior professor who stayed at the staff hostel by choice so "maybe" this accommodation is not all that bad. The situation could well have changed in the last 10 years. Perhaps one of the new asst profs at IITB may post more recent information here.
My suggestion would be to contact the HOD and arrange a short visit for a seminar series (~10 days). If you planning to join the department you graduated from, this is pretty easy to set up. Arrange for guest house accommodation and talk to some of the new recruits. You need inside information and this is the best way to get reliable data.
Thanks to iitmsriram, it is now easy to get information regarding policies at IITM. However, I have not seen a senior administrator from IITB post with their real name.
Former IITB Faculty
It is indeed quite unfortunate because there are several faculty from IIT-B who read this blog. They should make a similar site like what Giridhar has made for iisc.
Here are some partial answers based on my own experience many many years ago.
"At what stage is the allotment done - when the offer is made or when actually joining?"
Accommodation is allocated after you accept the offer.
"d) Finally, if spouse is also a faculty at the same institute, does that alter the kind of housing or the HRA one is eligible for?"
I have no idea regarding this. But this question reminds me of a colleague of mine who attempted to relocate with his wife from North America to India over a decade ago. He was offered a faculty position at IISc and his wife also got an offer from a different department. Eventually, only one of them could join because IISc regulations prohibit both husband and wife from taking up faculty positions. I find this story somewhat hard to believe but I took my colleague's word for this and never bothered to check. Perhaps, someone at IISc can confirm if such a regulation exists or used to exist in the olden days.
PS: In case anyone is wondering how the story ends, after several years of struggling to solve the two-body problem, one of the IITs offer them a solution, which sounds very good in theory. But, as is usually the case, eventually one of them becomes unhappy and so they relocate back to where they started, hoping to find a better balance of happiness. I am not quite sure if they are any happier than they used to be. Not surprising, since this is the fundamental characteristic of the intractable 2-body problem.
Query: "Finally, if spouse is also a faculty at the same institute, does that alter the kind of housing or the HRA one is eligible for?"
Answer: To the best of my knowledge, it does not alter. In fact, if X and Y(spouse) are GOI employees residing in same city,
GOI rules allow only one of the two to claim housing/HRA/Leave travel benefits. Only housing or HRA can be claimed, not both, i.e., X claiming housing and Y claiming HRA is not allowed.
Likewise, X and Y both claiming HRA is not allowed.
However, X can claim housing and Y can claim leave travel benefits and vice versa whichever is more beneficial.
Others may correct/clarify.
Sridhar
Sridhar is correct in his comments about faculty couples. I dont believe the IISc faculty couple story, certainly not from a decade ago. During my student days at IITM (70's), there was a faculty couple, so this 'no faculty couples' is not in force for some decades now. At present IITM has one EE - EE couple and at least three more (all with one spouse in AE) that I know of.
Ankur,
To answer your question on faculty quarters for assistant profs, I think you should use the word "barracks". The quarters are quite unlivable, even by Indian standards. If you are moving from the US, I would recommend taking your miserable HRA (about 11k pm), combining it with some personal funds and living off-campus.
Senior faculty get a better deal on acco, but new recruits get a raw deal. IISc is specially pathetic- there is a campus called Vigyanapura, where you will probably get a place as a newbie. Avoid the ground floor even if the alternative is a tent on the roof, since ground floor apartments flood during the rainy season. It happens EVERY year, and nothing has been done about it in a decade. IISc senior faculty involved in administration is completely nonchalant (incompetent?) on this issue. The higher the h-index, the greater the apathy (now you know what else that ridiculous index can measure.)
IIT-Kanpur supposedly has the best faculty housing and Kharagpur is not bad either. IIT-B is just as bad as IISc, if not slightly worse. What makes things very difficult in both these cities is that off-campus rents are extremely high if you need a short commute.
More on your other questions later.
Assistantprofessorus Readytoquittus
Thanks to everyone who responded. I think I have a clear answer to my question (d). Can someone help me out with (a) (b) and (c)?
OK, (a) - all IITs have the CPDA scheme now; you get 3 lakhs every 3 years for travel etc (a lot of these details are available at the IITM faculty ad that is on the iitm website); IITM supplements this funding if you run out of it on a case by case basis. There are very few government project grants that will allow foreign travel on it; industry funded projects will mostly come with no restrictions. As for (b), allotment is usually based on seniority. Also, demand exceeds supply, so there is usually a queue and as and when some quarters become available, they will be allotted based on seniority of those wanting it. As for (c), typical entry level asst prof quarters are 2bhk 1000 sq ft. In the metro IITs, these are usually multi-storey flats. In IITK and IITKGP, most quarters are bungalow type. IITB has very few bungalows left while IITM has some. The actual sizes also vary by IIT, with IITB having relatively smaller flats. In the metro IITs, you may not get this 'eligible' quarters upon joining and may have to wait some months, staying either at smaller flats or even in a visitors hostel / guest house. Rents are probably not affordable for new asst profs near IITB campus, but the 'miserable HRA' will get you a 1000+ sqft flat just outside the back (Velachery) gate of IITM campus. Both IITM and IITB are building multi-storey faculty quarters and things are getting much better (in terms of the wait etc).
Thank you iitmsriram. Your answers are answers are always clear and very helpful.
Dear Assistantprofessorus Readytoquittus,
You say "to answer your question on faculty quarters ...". My question was about *specifications* of quarters. But your answer seems to be about the *condition* of the quarters.
I understand condition is also important in the final decision, but condition is a time varying quantity so it is easy to make use of information about it.
The story of couples not offered in IISc is incorrect. There are atleast 3-4 faculty couples in IISc, one such couple is due to retire indicating that such policies did not even exist 30 years back.
Regarding international travel, other than the 3 lakhs in 3 years, one can also apply for grants from governmental agencies; fellowships like ramanujam, swarnajayanthi, jc bose all allow for foreign travel.
regarding apartments, all faculty are given 2 bedroom housing either on campus or 3 km from campus. It is their choice to choose what they want. Associate professors get 3 bedroom (1000-1200 sq ft) housing. Currently, we are building 72 1200 sq ft apartments, which can be given to new faculty. Will take 3 years to complete.
My question was about *specifications* of quarters. But your answer seems to be about the *condition* of the quarters.
You are welcome to sign up for your new job based on the *specifications* and worry about the *condition* later.
Sigh! As they say, to each their own...
Ankur,
From your postings, it appears to me that you know pretty well what you want to get out of life. Your track-record shows great promise and you will be an asset to the institution you ultimately join. Perhaps, somewhere along the way it will be a good idea to try and establish contact with A{*}N and S{*}B (two of the finest scholars you should have encountered during your academic infancy) and get their views on what life is really like in the promised land.
Best wishes,
Anon Uncle
Ankur,
To answer your question (c): Until very recently IITB had severe shortage of accommodation to offer newly-joined faculty. People had to stay in the guest house for months. But more B and C-type faculty housing is coming up soon; so by next academic year things should be better.
You can follow this page and the links to know more about how acco@IITB works:
http://www.iitb.ac.in/deanpl/allotment.html
From our experience: When you join, you are put up at the guest house. Then you need to apply at the Estate Office after you join (can't do this before joining). New faculty are eligible for at least C-type 2BHK flats (not sure about the exact area), but they are not many vacant ones. So, at the moment faculty are put up at staff hostel (recently renovated with 1 bedroom, 1 living room, remodelled kitchen, toilet etc.- quite decent), staff hostel annexe or Vihar house as transit accommodation. When a C-type flat becomes vacant, a notice is emailed to all faculty. After a week or so, a list of applicants is drawn up and the flat is allotted according to seniority. Earlier one had to wait 2-3 years to move out of transit acco, but that might change when the new flats come up.
Finally, as a resident of IITB campus I can somewhat agree with "Assistantprofessorus Readytoquittus" about the conditions of transit flats :) But you won't find anything livable with your starting HRA outside IITB campus. I know because we tried ;)
-Nemo
The quarters at IISc (inside campus and Vijnanapura) do have problems, mainly due to poor maintenance. However, those are minor problems when one compares similar housing outside the campus; a 3BHK around IISc is around 25-30k. Additionally, the security is very good, and power and water failures are generally brief (if any). Anybody who is coming from large cities in US or from Europe will not feel so much of a difference regarding the size of the quarters.
I was surprised about the comment on the flooding of the apartments at Vijnanapura. As Prof. Madras pointed out in his guide, it may happen every few years, but this is not a rule. Anyone who has been reading the news knows that we are having record rain fall in Bangalore this month. We did have some flooding at Vijnanapura last week, but the flooding water was far from entering the ground floor apartments.
I have been living in Vigyanapura for seven years now and twice the ground floor has been flooded and the top floor leaks during heavy rains. I should say that this happens primarily in one block and normally people do not take up housing in this block. The rest of the blocks are fine.
The comment "The higher the h-index, the greater the apathy" makes no sense to me. None of the people in the top administration, except the director, has a high h-index (>30). Does that mean all people in the top administration are receptive?? Will Prof. Giridhar, who has a h-index, become apathetic if he enters top administration?
"The story of couples not offered in IISc is incorrect. There are atleast 3-4 faculty couples in IISc, one such couple is due to retire indicating that such policies did not even exist 30 years back."
Thank you for clarifying this. I suspected this was the case.
I am doing Ph.D. in one of the university in U.S., and now planning to move to India. I have contacted couple of IITs HODs and directors in terms of my willining to join. However, no one ever replied me back. I am not sure, what's happening. What can be the best way to break this silence..?? I read somewhere,faculty crunch in IITs, but is that really exist? or artificially created?
Dear Sir,
As per the guideline given by IIT-Mandi (given in their brochure) encouraging to write to the director about interest in a possible position, I have written twice to the him in last three weeks and did not receive any answer. Do I assume that they are not interested in my profile? Or is it worthwhile to call him on phone?
Dear Prof. GM,
I am working as a post-doc in one of the reputed institutes for Ocean and atmospheric studies since last 3.5 years. Currently I have 12 published papers (including one in Science and with h-index of 8). However, since my aim was always to be civil in services; it did affect my academics and I always managed to score higher second class to first class during my education. Now I am planning to move to India definitely in research; do you believe that with such a strong publication and successful research record but with average academics I can apply in IISc/IIT? I would highly appreciate your valuable word of response in this regard.
@anon above:
I recent got offers from a number of Indian research institutes. In my application/cv, I did not mention my marks/grades and nor was asked about it anytime.
If some of you are interested in a position in IITG, please do visit our website. We have the most beautiful campus among all IITs. 3400 students, 270 faculty, and rapidly growing. Housing is available within a month of joining (1100 sqft; very new). We pay air fare and transportation charges on joining (abroad : upto a limit of $2100). We interview all in absentia candidates by Skype. Upcoming interviews are in : Electrical and Electronics, HSS (all areas; looking for hard core economists and linguists in particular). We offer starting pay based on years of experience, but if you are offered a position on contract (as per rules), then you go to 30,000+ 8000 and a regular position 3 years after submission of your PhD thesis, IRRESPECTIVE of when you join IITG, provided you are gainfully employed in between. So, if you submitted in June 2009, and we make you an offer in June 2011, you will be eligible for 30,000+8000 in June 2012 even if you delay your joining (with our approval of course)to say December 2011. In order to maintain the sanctity of this blog, I will not answer specific queries on IITG blog. Send email to director@iitg.ernet.in. Apologies to Madras for "misusing" his blog. :-)
Dear Professor Gautam Barua:
It is absolutely great that you, as a director of IIT-G, want to help prospective candidates ! It is really wonderful if some of the HoDs reply to emails as quick as you do.
Thanks again
Giridhar
Dear anon@April 26, 2011 6:59 PM:
You should definitely apply. You should also try to contact/meet a few faculty in your area.
Giridhar
Anon@April 26, 2011 5:33 PM:
Forward to your previous email to him and ask for a response. It is most likely he has forwarded the email to the HoD of the concerned department and he is waiting to hear from him.
Giridhar
@anon April 26, 2011 8:45 PM.
Thanks for your reply about my query (Anon. April 26, 2011 6:59 PM) specially to Prof. GM for encouragement. But while filling up the application form prescribed by some institutes (e.g. IISERs, and few IITs) we have to write down our credentials. But in any case, I would appreciate some help from you in this regard (mostly how did you approach). Because I have heard that most of the institutes do reject the application if they see less than first class, and unfortunately do not go up to research and publication record.
Dear Dr. Madras:
Thanks for your reply (Anon@April 26, 2011 5:33 PM). It certainly gives strength to contact them again.
anon@April 26, 2011 9:38 PM
Regarding your question on marks/grades, I did apply to IISER Pune and their form did not ask for it. I still see they have the same form on their website. As I mentioned earlier, I was never asked for it in any IIX that I applied.
How to start: I think you should follow suggestions on Prof. Madras's website for prospective candidates. In short this is what I did:
(1) I made a list of places (around half a dozen) I wanted to apply based on my priority. Make a realistic assessment of where you can get, so do include some places where you may not want to go but you think you are likely to get.
(2) In each of those places, identify a faculty whose research interest may match closely to yours. Email them about your inclination to apply for there and ask about details of how to apply (if they already have a website that explains it, ask any extra tips/info), what they expect and whether do I stand a chance (an informal assessment). For such queries, I got response from every place within a few days. I preferably wrote to younger faculty since they are more likely to respond to emails, and you can be relatively more frank in asking questions. But in some cases I directly wrote to directors and I was quickly responded there too.
(3) Within a month of establishing contacts, I emailed formal application materials (cover letter, CV, research statements, etc). I told them I will be in India in X month and would be happy to visit and give talks. They got back quickly with acknowledgements, and interview dates got arranged.
I gave talks, met people during my visit. I found that talks and interactions, and how you impress them with your skills and thinking-on-the-fly, are very important and play an important role in decision process. After all this, typically, they also gave an indication of whether they like me or not.
(4) This is where you need patience: Once you are back, they may forget your files! Drop a courtesy email saying you liked the visit. Ask for updates on review of your application. They usually tell you so and so meeting will happen next month. Remind them again to check if that happened! Keep doing this until you get the offer letter (or rejection).
(5) Don't be distracted by rejections -- I had one 'bizarre' rejection, another citing some reason and one place never responded back to me. These don't mean you are not good, nor that the selection process is biased! Sometimes they just have different priorities (eg. teaching needs) while some other time they just didn't see your potential (may be you were tired on that day and didn't speak well enough to impress them).
Fortunately, those places were not my priority and in fact, I got better offers in the end! So do apply to many places (six or so could be a good number, if you chose them well). I was probably a bit lucky that i had my first offer in hand in less than 6 months since I sent formal application. But many institutes say that they do need up to an year -- so do apply early.
Also, look for articles on http://www.indiabioscience.org/ on applying for faculty positions, grants, etc in India.
@ Anon (April 26, 2011 5:33 PM)
Irrespective of whether I get in IIT Mandi or not, I must say that Prof. Gonsalves has been very prompt in replying to emails (some of my friends also say so). On the other hand, many HODs just sit on the application forever. Even if you inform them that you are visiting India and want to give seminar, they don't respond. I have very bad experience with some of them. However, I have no idea about their work pressure. So I should not complain. At the same time, I feel that Prof. Barua and Prof. Gonsalves are perhaps busier than them. Hence I don't see a reason why they should not find time to reply (yes or no either way).
Thank you, a newfaculty. Wonderful, and I may request your permission to use some of your sentences in the website?
Regarding directors and HODs, I always find that directors are very quick in responding. Especially directors of new IITs and IIT-G are very prompt. Maybe they became directors because they are so efficient. Therefore, I suggest what anewfaculty suggested,
Email directors, HODs and young faculty. The first and the last category will respond quickly always.
Sometimes, the applications are sent with a weird subject header or with numerous attachments and the proactive spam filter will put it in the spam folder. Try sending the email with a different subject header.
Thanks
Giridhar
@Prof Madras, Absolutely, no problems. I am happy to contribute to a website that I myself have benefitted a lot from.
I would like to add some more points based on my experiences. Will do when I get sometime over the weekend. Thanks again for maintaining detailed information on your website and blog.
It's a fact that the Directors of IITG and IIT Mandi are VERY VERY quick in replying their emails. Not only a quick reply, but also a good response.
I liked Dr. Madras statement about it "Maybe they became directors because they are so efficient".
Anewfaculty write up is very informative, thanks for putting this up.
Dear anewfaculty and anon,
If you have a second class in your masters', IITs cannot consider you for a faculty position. The MHRD circular on qualifications for faculty explicitly states PhD with first class in preceding degree. It would take a really exceptional research record for any IIT to make an exception to this.
oh great. now iits will even reject candidates based on grades obtained in their masters degree!!!, even if they are exceptional researchers, and accept mediocre researchers who managed to score some grades in their masters.
and we all know how random the grading in iits/iisc is. it is very very much dependent on the profs.
+ we all know that iisc especially has a much tougher grading system than most of the universities abroad. + the grading systems themselves vary from university to unversity
This is a question for Prof Sriram from IITMadras (iitmsriram):
In last Feb I applied for an Asst Prof position to the dean of the department of my interest, in IIT Madras. The dean acknowledged my application and wrote that I will be 'informed in due time'.
In March, IITM advertised for faculty positions across all departments including the department I applied in Feb. The ad wanted the applications and reference letters to be sent to the dean (admn) by april 18. Since I dint see this ad earlier, I missed the date.
My question: what happens to my application to the dean of department. Do you think my application will be given due attention? I have of course asked the same question to the Dean of the department and I hope to get a reply from him. I would appreciate your take on this and would be glad if you can advice me on this.
Thanks in advance
SM
Dear Prof. Madras:
Given that there is an Air India strike going on, can IIX faculty travel on private airlines on official business, if they need to travel urgently?
Many Thanks!
Bharat
I am planning to return back to India as a faculty. My wife and I are Indian citizens and my kid (few months old) is a foreign citizen with PIO status. Recently I heard that undergraduate education for PIO kids is exceptionally expensive (will increase down the road) in India and difficult to be covered with a faculty salary. I know there are many faculties at IIXs have foreign born children. Kindly let me know if this really be an issue. Any suggestion/ advice would be highly appreciated.
"oh great. now iits will even reject candidates based on grades obtained in their masters degree!!! ... and we all know how random the grading in iits/iisc is"
Well, IITs and IISc dont give out class with their degrees, so there is no issue. If you got your masters from some other university and did not even get a first class, I think there is some serious academic deficiency and it would be quite alright for IIX to reject your application. But, like I said, if you really have a stellar research record, an exception can be considered by the IIT.
Dear SM,
The Head of the department should have screened your application and taken suitable follow up action - like inviting you to visit the department etc. It is also possible that the department combined your application with the ones now received in response to the specific advertisement. Just send an email to me with the details of your application (your name, department you applied to etc) and I will ask the department concerned to include your older application in the current advertisement bunch.
Thank you Prof Sriram.
Respected Prof. Sriram
"I think there is some serious academic deficiency"... do you think/believe a post-doc with 12+ published papers, including one in science, with 3 highly cited first and second author papers, and h-index of 9 can have serious academic deficiency? Like in my case I was interested in civil services, which did not work out. So to prepare for civil services I had to concentrate on other subjects/areas as well, which hampered my academics. I believe/feel that does not emphasize the fact of serious academic deficiency.
IISc does give the following class for M.E/M.Tech
1st class with distinction
1st class
second class
pass class
This is based on the CGPA and project grade. Every year, the bottom 10% or so get second class.
People with h-index of 9 can also have academic deficiencies, sir. We do not know how much is your contribution and how much is your postdoc advisor (prof's) input?
"We do not know how much is your contribution and how much is your postdoc advisor (prof's) input?"
During one of visits as an applicant,I was told by a decision maker something along these lines " papers could be due to bosses, patents can be easily filed". If you are still curious as to what is important "age" and "recommendations, preferably from known PI"
This is based on MY experience:
a. apply young
b. to be taken seriously please apply young
c. if you have a Ph.D from a good institution in India, and/or your boss is in the circle of trust of decision makers, your chances increase (to be fair like anywhere in the world). I say Ph.D from India because the chances of your advisor being in that circle of trust increases. The Harvards or Stanfords will not hurt you, but the lower the name recognition from India, the harder it is. The best combination seemed to be to have a Ph.D from IISc or equivalents and a postdoc from outside.
d. if you did your Ph.D outside India try to have a exceptional publication record. The logic here being, "these are journals we publish regularly from india, if you did not publish in the sciences or natures .........."
Finally if you do apply to an IIT, your IIT JEE rank does help. A lot. And if you are embarrassed to tell them, do not worry. They will ask you !
Anon (April 30, 2011 10:49 PM)
You have a pretty bad experience. This can be very detenting for others. I am not sure, how old are you. But I am just reaching 35 next year in Aug. Currently, I am doing Ph.D., and hope to finish by end of this year. What do you think, when should I start applying? Is that late to enter IIXs...I would appreciate your comments and suggestions...Thanks for sharing your experience...Good luck.
Of course you should apply! As for the preferably less than 35 nonsense - if they like you they will hire you, if they do not that will be the first or final excuse !
Also if you have been out of India for a while some of the other things you will notice at some places are personal questions - if married about wife and kids, if not about parents. It might have an effort to gauge my interest in coming back or it might have been that they were being nosy !
As for communications, there were some places that would just not reply. I gave up. Some were extremely enthusiastic and I applied. That is probably not the best strategy but in the absence of a "source" I did not know what to do. Where I got an offer, it was within two months. How I got the offers I do not know !
What I can tell you is that without this blog, I would have been lost. Thank you Prof. Madras for all the information and others who shared their experiences.
I never understood the real motive behind the preferred 35 years age limit for Asst. Proffs. People may have gone to industry after their Ph.D's and then decided to come back to academia for good. Or did their Ph.D's after working in the industry for many years. However it may be, they have their own perspective of things, which will be valuable for their research in academia.
I am 31 now, I already have 3 years of postdoc and then joined industry R&D, despite being offered academic positions elsewhere. I did this for two reasons. One, I wanted to see how "research" works on the other side. Two, when I was a post-doc I realized that there was a huge communication gap between the academics and their industrial partners regarding their stakes in the project. Fortunately, I get to supervise Ph.D students while being in the industry also. I think this experience will help me to pursue more industrial projects in addition to basic research.
I am hoping that the selection committees deal with such matters on individual basis and not make age a criteria during selection. May be Prof. Madras can comment on this subject if he has not already. Thanks for that Prof. Madras.
- Hopeful
Dear All, specially Prof. Sriram,
Considering the posts about having higher second class during masters; if the research profile is exceptional, publications are good, high h-index, etc. Do IITs at least consider calling candidate for interview and giving a chance to present his research and future plan? If not then they would never reach to the stage of asking for professional references, which are believably are as important as other aspect of candidacy. In that case what one can do to get at least a chance to present your work and future plan????
Dear anon @1:24pm May24,
Contact the HoD of the department; tell them that you would like to visit, give them a tentative date about a month down the line. This not only shows you are serious, but you are serious and NOW. If research profile is exceptional, the exception to 'first class in preceding degree' can and will be made. Much of the following applies to IITs, IISc works slightly differently. The importance of reco letters is overstated. I don't know who is the 'decision maker' who gave such a projection to another anon. In fact, there are only about 1.5 decision makers you can run into on campus - the Director and to a lesser extent (the 0.5), the HoD. These two will be members of the selection committee (for assistant professors), but there will be two subject experts from outside who will play a significant role. I have written about this before, but I will repeat it - the selection committee is the only decision making body. HoD's can influence it only somewhat and Director's a bit more so. The department will send in a recommendation and the HoD is there to project it further, but this is not binding. In most cases, the decision is fairly obvious and the department recommendation, the Director's opinion and the selection committee opinion will converge. In maybe 10-15% of cases, the department may get overruled (either way - a yes to a no and less often, a no to a yes). Any 'decision maker' who projects things otherwise is pulling a fast one, to say the least. It is very difficult to predict which way a department reco will go - there will be a group of people and each will have their own view points - someone might be impressed with the reco's, someone else with the great publications, but in the end, it is a collective decision, just like in the selection committee. The preferred age is just to encourage people to start out at the IITs instead of starting somewhere else and then shifting to IIT. Administratively, the IITs work quite differently from NITs and other universities and it is not easy for someone who grows up in one system to go on and flourish in the other. The NITs are changing, but there is still some ways to go. The age limit also will be relaxed if other indicators are positive.
Having served on the selection comm of IITs and IISc, I can assure that the comments of some anons are wrong. The age of 35, first class etc applies to normal cases and exceptions are made, if deserving. We recently recruited someone who was 38 in IISER.
The selection committee is the final authority and the HoD does not play a major role. The director plays some role but I have served on selection committee where both the selection comm members differed with the director and HoD and the candidate was taken.
As iitmsriram says, 80% of the cases are straightforward. In 20% of the cases, the selection committee decision overrules a candidate preferred by the department.
Overall, I feel that more youngsters should write on this blog and contribute. In IITB, we had a young faculty member proudly say "I read his blog and have benefited from it but I will never write there.."
Anon (May 1, 2011 8:10 PM)
Very encouraging reply.I am approaching 35 next year, and hope to get done Ph.D by end of this year. Your post certainly boost my confidence up. I definitely need more inputs from young faculty members, and other experience professors. I appreciate Prof. Madras and other members write up.
I have another question. How feasible is it to have telephoning interview? does it happen or not?
A question, which every young prospective faculty is talking ( including myself): " Which IIT should I join" Old or New..." Can someone compare these two models...I discussed same with my friends and got lots of positive and negative comments. I would like to discuss the same quesiton here on this forum, hope to get a fair idea. Please consider all the issues when you compare (politics, dominanace, residence, responsibilities, research, lab set up, over-all statifaction etc etc..)
Anon (May 1, 2011 8:10 PM)
Very encouraging reply.I am approaching 35 next year, and hope to get done Ph.D by end of this year. Your post certainly boost my confidence up. I definitely need more inputs from young faculty members, and other experience professors. I appreciate Prof. Madras and other members write up.
I have another question. How feasible is it to have telephoning interview? does it happen or not?
A question, which every young prospective faculty is talking ( including myself): " Which IIT should I join" Old or New..." Can someone compare these two models...I discussed same with my friends and got lots of positive and negative comments. I would like to discuss the same quesiton here on this forum, hope to get a fair idea. Please consider all the issues when you compare (politics, dominanace, residence, responsibilities, research, lab set up, over-all statifaction etc etc..)
I would appreciate if someone could guide me through. I have 3 years of teaching experience in a top private institution of india, and 2 years of industrial expericence ( so a total of 5 years of experience) This is pre-Ph.D. experience. Now I am doing Ph.D. My question is, what pay should I expect when I enter IIX..I do not have any idea. Please guide me through.
I recently got an offer from an IIT. I am hearing some nasty things regarding politics in the institute and the department. Although, I cannot base my decision of joining based on some negative comments, it does affect me a lot. I do not want to quit a well settled job abroad and being a victim of dirty politics and regret later. In other words, what are the general suggestions or guidance for a junior faculty on how to handle this matter..? Your suggestions in this matter will help a lot..
best
KP
posts getting mysteriously deleted. fantastic.
i guess this post will be deleted too :D
I am looking for some companies in Bangalore/Chennai/Bombay who can help build a linux cluster. How can I get a quotation from them?
Any help will be appreciated.
Kishore
I have recently applied at couple of IITs. I would appreciate if someone can answer my two question: 1. Is it appropriate and well taken if I request my referees to send the reference letters even though I have not been asked to do so? and 2. Is it fine to write to HoDs after sending the application informing him that I have recently applied, how does it goes with HoDs? I hope and think it does not go like any sort of canvassing.
@anon May 3, 2011 6:29 PM
Yes it is okay to ask your referees to send letters before the HOD asking you directly, and I did that in my case. But in one institute I had applied, they lost the recommendation letters twice and I had to request my referees to send again (and again!)! That part was very annoying.
It is also okay to get in touch with HODs regarding your application and ask for acknowledgement and updates. In fact, if you dont do that, they may think you are not sufficiently interested and may never get back to you!
If you are serious about coming to India, I suggest applying in more than two places; like 6-7 places.
Thanks for your reply to my two question. Generally what is a good "time interval" to request an update about application from HoDs after the application date?? 15 days, 1 month, or more??? My impression is this is not trivial to guess :-(
Anon above: I had applied to IISc two years ago. I received an overnight email response from a professor in my area and a next day response from the dept. chairman. IISc is known to be extremely efficient with candidates they want to pursue, and they have many devoted faculty members such as Prof. Madras.
Some IITs may be considerably slow, but 1 month is a good time to ping them, after you have at least made sure that they received your initial application packet.
If it makes you feel any better that this is not a "Desi" phenomenon, I had applied to Johns Hopkins in the year I defended and heard back from them after 3 years!!! They wanted to know if I was still interested in academia.
I told them yes. But also that I was headed back home to India!
new_iisc_prof
well said new_iisc_prof!!! this is no desi or non desi phenomena... It is about the individuals who are in-charge of the applications at the end of the day...
"IISc is known to be extremely efficient with candidates they want to pursue, and they have many devoted faculty members such as Prof. Madras."
On what basis do you make this statement?
I would appreciate if someone could guide me through. I have 3 years of teaching experience in a top private institution of india, and 2 years of industrial expericence ( so a total of 5 years of experience) This is pre-Ph.D. experience. Now I am doing Ph.D. My question is, what pay should I expect when I enter IIX..I do not have any idea. Please guide me through.
"15 days, 1 month, or more???"
It is a bit subjective and but one month is certainly okay. If they give a specific deadline you can also email earlier (like if they mentioned of a faculty meeting on 15th May, write a few days after that).
Also, do read my earlier post on my experience with faculty application in India (posted as 'anewfaculty').
@anon above:
I applied to two departments at IISc, and both were very swift -- sometimes within minutes -- in responding to my application and related queries. I think it really depends on your contact person in the department.
'anon above' in my previous post refers to anon@May 3, 2011 10:04 PM.
which is a better physics course? integrated msc at iit-k or four year b.s. at iisc for physics?
Bharat,
In view of the flight disruptions caused due to the strike by one of the Pilot’s Association of Air India w.e.f. 27-04-2011, the Govt. of India, Ministry of Civil Aviation (Dept. of Civil Aviation), New Delhi, vide its Press Release F.No.AV.18050/56/2009-AI dated 28-04-2011 have permitted Central Govt. officials entitled to travel by air on official duty to travel by airlines other than Air India on domestic sectors till resumption of normal flights by Air India or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
I would appreciate if anyone can give an update about the screening committee meeting for the application at school of earth, ocean and climate sciences at IIT-BBS. It was mentioned that 29th April is a last date for the applications to be considered in first lot. Or is it too early to know the update?? Thanks in advance for input.
I am planning to return back to India as a faculty. My wife and I are Indian citizens and my kid (few months old) is a foreign citizen with PIO status. Recently I heard that undergraduate education for PIO kids is exceptionally expensive (will increase down the road) in India and difficult to be covered with a faculty salary. I know there are many faculties at IIXs have foreign born children. Kindly let me know if this really be an issue. Any suggestion/ advice would be highly appreciated.
Dear sir, I appreciate your passion and dedication. I see most of your students getting Ph.D in 3 years while students in other departments(biology) take minimum of five to six years(majority of them). Is it because engineering sciences that take less time to complete the ph.d project(am not aware how long it takes for students from your dept but with different PIs). Then i got curious while looking at the profiles of people from biology dept. most of them were alumni of IISc(did their ph.D in IISC). looks like lot of inbreeding at the expense of hybrid vigor. Can IISc afford with same ideas and philosophy for decades?. Thanks.
danaiah
As a former student of IISc, I can tell you that the average number of years for graduation in chemical engineering after M.Tech is 5.3 years. Students of Professor Giridhar finish early but not all students finish early. I do not know why. I do not think the quality of the professor's ph.d is so important. Most of the faculty in chemical engineering have ph.d abroad but their students take more than 5 years.
@Anon, May3, 10;45 PM
IITs are playing with the MHRD notification in August 2009.Nowhere it is mentioned to ignore pre-PhD experience. so many engineering graduates do industry/research/teaching job before joining for phD. After BTech/ME they can these jobs easily. If you observe for science/humanities area, they need to have PhD to get such jobs.
so by ignoring pre-PhD experience, these IITs are preventing engineering grads like you to join IITs and will invite trouble by misinterpreting MHRD notification
RajivThakur alleges "IITs are playing with the MHRD notification"; IITM is just going through a recruitment exercise now and the ad (last date is over) is still on the IITM website. Can you point out anything in that ad that is not in conformance with MHRD notifications?
Dear iitmsriram,
I went through the advert. of IITM: for assistant professor :
"At least 3 years industrial / research / teaching experience excluding however, the
Experience gained while pursuing Ph.D."
so many important points are mentioned in the advert, but no clarification regarding pre-PhD experience!! Do not you feel, this information is required?? for engineering faculty pre-PhD experience is an integral part.. for science/humanities, they cannot thinks of gainful employment without PhD..
so I think it should be explicitly mentioned that relevant pre-PhD experience will be counted for required 03 years experience with a PhD degree for AP. Thanks..
Rajeev,
In my opinion, you are fighting a losing battle. A few years ago, while I was negotiating my position with an IIX, I had the same problem. I had more than 11 years of experience in the industry after my masters, but only 3 after my PhD. In spite of much negotiation, I was given ZERO credit for my 8 years of industrial experience - not hired at the next level, not given any salary benefit. zip, zilch, nada.
In my field, the going rate in the industry with three years experience, and a PhD (with none of the pre/post PhD considerations) is 20 lakhs per annum, in Bangalore, and with eleven years and a PhD, that goes up to 35 LPA. I had an offer of that amount at the time in an MNC. So, there is a 15 LPA difference that the IIX just threw out the window - that is 2X of the annual salary of an assistant professor in an IIX!!!
There is only one way to get hired in a senior position in academia in India, count your POST PhD experience.
I still chose academia over industry, because I wanted to give academia a serious shot. Plus, the IIX I work at, has an excellent work culture and supportive faculty. I am really enjoying my job. If money was the only consideration, I could be working on an oil platform in the middle east for much more...
But, it does hurt to see that there is NO VALUE in the eyes of the IIX system for 8 years of industrial experience after a master's degree, in which I published and patented a lot. It makes me very sad to think that if I just sat on my butt for eight years AFTER my PhD, doing nothing, officially , that would be counted as "experience" by the IIXs.
What can I say, such is our system. You will eventually learn to live with it.
Ram
Rajeev, and Anon@May 14, 2011 9:24 PM
Thanks for the discussion. I posted that question about pre-Ph.D. experience. I guess, it is not a straight forward task. All depend upon selection board "WISH BOARD"...
I feel sad that people like you (11 years of experience) are not given weightage, very disappointing, and discouraging.
@Prof.Madras : I wonder, if you can give answer to Rajeev's question. Since he has answered your question...What do you think, about the political language of the advertisement...Thanks Rajeev for brining this up nicely...I appreciate it very much.
Dear Ram,
You have not given some details of what happened to you, but here is my guess. You were given assistant professor while you were expecting associate professor? Did you apply against an advertisement for assistant professor or associate professor? The processes involved are slightly different and as things stand now, it takes some effort to mix up recruitments at different level at the IITs. If the process was set up to hire only assistant profs, then you were unfortunate to have put up your name against that. Also, the interpretation of experience is something done by the department and not the Institution as a whole, so your 'raw deal' can at most be attributed to the department which hired you. If your gripe is that you did not get PB4, having 3 years credits at assistant professor level, there also, there is specific wording that you get PB4 after 3 years as assistant professor at IIX (or equivalent), so, unless a case is made by your department that your industrial experience is to be classified so, the selection committee can do little. I believe it is very meaningful to leave it to the department to decide what is relevant experience.
And, anon, why do you ask our host about the 'political language' in IITM advertisement? We have actually reproduced the wording from the ministry circular. We have elaborated on that in a few places where it might present a clearer picture. Point taken that we could have elaborated on counting of pre- and post- PhD experience more explicitly, maybe we will do it next time.
Thanks, Prof. Madras for the explanation.
@Ram, @iitmsriram
What I understand from Ram reply on 14th May: He has been given 30K + 8K as an assistant professor, direct. as his 08 years of pre-PhD exper has been given zero weightage, he is treated at par with a PhD with 03 years exper, and probably 08 years younger fellow !!! my question is that how an IIT can manipulate the MHRD notification...
at least, prof. madras has written in this blog that they are going to mention explicitly about pre-PhD expe next time: I highly appreciate this.. Other IIxs should follow this or else
THEY ARE DOING GREAT UNJUSTICE TO ENGINEERING FACULTY AND FINALLY LOT OF RTIs WILL FOLLOW...
Thnaks,
Why are you thanking me and asking me about the advertisement? All clarifications have been provided by IITMSRIRAM.
The advertisement is exactly the same words MHRD uses and there is nothing wrong in it. It clearly means both pre-and post-Ph.D experience counts.
People with 6-7 years of industrial experience followed by Ph.D has been recently recruited as associate professor.
It matters a lot as to what the experience is. Suppose, after the bachelors in chemical engineering, someone worked in an unrelated field for 5 years and then moved on to do Ph.D and then applied for a faculty position, it is very unlikely they will be offered an associate professor.
The department and selection committee finally decide whether the experience is really useful in academics.
This forum is for providing information and your tone seems to more accusing and please do not use CAPS.
Thanks
Giridhar
Please do not make this forum full of debate. Please do not clash. Please provide suggestions and guidenance to prospective faculty. Please do not take things personally. Please be cool and calm. Best regards.
Prof. Madras and Prof. iitsriram....I apologize, I am new to this blog, and could not figure out the difference between iitsriram and prof.Madras...Sorry, It was by mistake..thanks. This blog is very informative for new faculty, keeping me busy all the time ..reading all the old blogs..
Prof Giri,
By mistake, I have written Prof. Madras in place of iitsriram. Further, your suggestions for CAPS are well taken.
But, I still maintain that most of the IITs particularly new IITs mention about zero credit to pre-PhD experience. This is the reason, I am not willing to join IIXs, even though I have 10 years of Industry exper, PhD from top university but have only one year of post-phD exper. they offer me assistant professor on contract. A chemistry fellow with Phd and only 03 years of post-doc exper has been offered AP with 30K+8K.
now, you tell me is not it humiliating and frustration for an engineering grad !!!
Prof. Madras @ May 15, 2011 10:52 AM
Dear Prof. Madras,
I was teaching in one of the leading central universities before Ph.D. Still one new IIX have not counted my Pre-Ph.D.experience when I applied there. Its highly arbitrary. Some counts whereas others do not. Perhaps,its high time that IIT council or MHRD resolve it for ever.
The best way to find out if IIXs count pre-PhD experience is to file an RTI application. If in the RTI reply, they say that it should be counted and you were not given credit during hiring, you can take your IIX to court. I am sure you will win easily.
The other option is to file a public interest litigation (PIL) suit. That will probably result in a directive from the supreme court.
Ultimately, the selection committee decides whether to hire someone or not. Not the IIT council or MHRD. IF you want politicians from MHRD to control the hiring, not even GOD can save the IITs.
The selection committee looks at the pre-Ph.D experience and sees whether the experience is good enough. For an associate professor in IITs, publishing papers and doing research is essential. Pre-Ph.D experience of teaching in a local college may not land you a position as associate professor in IITs.
I am going to attend an interview next week at one of the IITs in absentia. I would be grateful to you all out there (especially Prof. Sriram) if you can give me some tips, like which type of questions they ask, what do they exactly expect from seminar, and one can avoid the common mistakes. Many thanks in advance. I am really nervous from now :-(
Anon@May 18, 2011 3:25 PM
I also would like to know these things. Thanks a lot for bringing these questions. I am confident, someone will surely help us in this process. Thanks to Prof. Sriram and Prof. Madras for their help. Also, I appreciate help of younger faculty members, and other Professors who activetly visit this blog, and give their tips. Warm regards,
Yes, me too appearing for interview very soon, so some tips regarding these questions by May 18, 2011 3:25 PM would be very helpful. What is the duration of the talk? how presentation is being made online? and specially what type of questions are asked by committee during the interview? Please provide some insight on these important issues.
Thanks in advance.
OK, tips for phone or in-person interviews; our host has actually served as expert in such IIX selection panels, so he can offer some more insights (I have served too, but not as subject expert). What is the department / panel looking for? That spark that indicates this candidate is serious and committed to academics and is not just looking for a job. The professional presentation should ideally give an overview of the research problem(s) one has worked on in some thematic way and highlight perhaps one or two specific pieces of work (papers) in 5 - 10 slides. The duration will vary by department and will often depend on the number of candidates called for interview. The technical content should be pitched at a lower level than one would do in typical focussed professional research conferences but perhaps at a slightly higher level than at typical 'visiting scientist' seminars. There should be a broader picture idea worked in that would show that the candidate has this broad understanding and has not just been faithfully executing tasks assigned by the guide. For entry level positions, the panel is likely to ask some questions that candidates may find insulting, typically some class room discussion level stuff. I suspect IISc selection panels may not do this. The intent is to gauge how well the candidate can put across such concepts in a class room setting - the candidate should be able to demonstrate deep understanding while at the same time appreciating the difficulties that the novice student at the receiving end will have if the discussion goes straight to the deep level (i.e.) show an ability to discuss the problems at several layered levels of conceptual difficulty. Above all, the excitement that one has about working in the chosen field should come through (back to my 'spark' concept). But hey, don't take my advice too seriously, my batting average is not exemplary (4 appearances, two 'successful' offers, one offer at a lower level and one bump).
I recently had a Skype interview at one of the older IIX and also received an offer ~1 month later.
The Skype call lasted ~ 1 hour. The questions were regarding my research and teaching interests and finally on my current commitments. They chose not to open my visuals saying that they preferred verbal discussion. So one should be prepared to discuss your research work both with/without visuals. I had a good conversation with the Director but the panel of 4 external experts disappointed me somewhat. They were behaving more like professors in a viva-voce examination than people interviewing a faculty candidate. Reminded me of my days at an IIX over a decade ago.
Prof. Sriram, Prof. Madra, and colleagues, can anyone kindly provide an insight in what weightage is given generally to the recommendation letters? or it is highly individualistic??? Input is much appreciated in advance.
Correction above,
Prof. Madras.!
Thanks Prof. Sriram and Anon@May 21, 2011 5:38 PM, for sharing your faculty interview experiences. It certainly helps a lot to prospective faculty. I appreciate it very much.
Quite True!
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Jairam-Ramesh-slams-faculty-of-IITs-IIMs/794559/
@above: Is there anything innovative or world class that has come out of India? Why always blame IIXs? At leas some of them are working selflessly.
As for Jairam, in a true govt style, he wants to start yet another highly specialized research center. You can ask him to kiss dreams of getting world class research done there.
Well, let us not get in to this, but I believe Jairam Ramesh is a prime example of "intellectual bankruptcy".
He forgot that most of the faculties at IIX are themselves IIX graduates; and opt for teaching due to their interest.
Let's not make this forum full of discussion...Please do not post such link on this forum.
Is it okay to use same proposal (ideas as well as wordings) for different fellowships/grants like Ramanujan and Ramalingaswami fellowships? More generally, for grant proposals that are being applied around the same time, can we use same text or would that be counted as Plaigiarism like in writing papers?
More generally, what are the ethical guidelines for writing funding/fellowship proposals? Is there something specific to India?
Prof. Madras,
How much time do the council section normally take to issue the confirmation letter after receiving the probation report from the concerned faculty.
Thanks
Dear Prof. Madras,
I must say that the blog you initiated is extremely helpful. At least it helped me a lot to get a clear picture about many many things. Thank you very much.
I have a question to Prof. Sriram because it is realated to IIT. I have more than 4 years of post-PhD experience at a reputed institute in USA. I got an offer to join as AP at an engg dept of a new IIT. The basic pay offered is 31140+ AGP of 8000. Does it mean that the scale will be elaveted to PB4 after completion of 2 years of service at IIT instread of 3 years as mentioned in advertisement? Thanks a lot in advance.
Respected Prof. Sriram
I am in an interesting situation your help is highly appreciated.
Concerning your post @May 1, 2011 6:16 PM. I have been recently
interviewed at one of the new IITs and my presentation and interview
were very positive, and I do have very strong publication record.
I also believe that they liked my research plan and recos were also
seemed to be positive. However, I have managed to secure higher second
class during my preceding degree to Ph.D., which has not been reflected in any
of the correspondences (as marks were never asked anywhere).
Now what will be the scenario if I am being offered the position???
Anon@May 27, 2011 5:39 PM
you will be in PB-4 only after 3 years of service as AP with grade pay of 8000.
Dear anon@May 28 12:56,
At the time of interview, they are supposed to verify your certificates; if they did not, they have slipped up slightly. They are supposed to verify at the time of joining when a service book and file will be opened for you. If it transpires that you "intentionally hid" your second class marks, the offer is liable to be withdrawn (in fact, your employment can be terminated at a later date if such intentional hiding is detected at a later date). If, the IIT was aware of your marks and selected you anyway, then there is no issue. You have an academic CV where you do not mention your marks anywhere? Corporates CV's are expected to be single pagers, but academics ones, especially ones asked for by IIT's, will be expected to be several pages long and it is not clear why you would not put your marks there. I would suggest that you get in touch with your to-be HoD and maybe even the Director and let them know of this situation - so that there is no question of intentional hiding, now or later.
And anon@May 27 5:39 pm,
PB4 movement will depend on what is recorded in the selection committee papers. Your new Director or Dean (admin) or equivalent should be able to tell you now when you will be moved to PB4. Based on information you have given, my guess is it will be in 2 years, not 3 years. But, like I said above, it depends on what is recorded in the selection committee proceedings.
Many thanks for your kind and quick response regarding my interesting situation. In no way I tried to hide it intentionally, it is just that I had written to HoD as per your advise and then got the interview call and was interviewed in absentia; all this quick process did not give any time for communication about academics. I will surely and definitely write to Director and HoD informing my academics (even though they have not asked me). My only worry is that should I inform them right away or after waiting for few days (just in case if I am selected)? And if I am selected informing them after that, can it hamper or alter the decision? Please respond as your help will be useful in this, and many thanks in advance for guidance.
There is a long history of items we adore which the west give up due to their potentially lethal fall outs. This was mainly the story of banned drugs and pesticides so far. But now the issue becomes even more massive and serious as it concerns energy : nuclear energy. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13592208
The news article above says that Germany has taken an "irreversible" decision to stop using nuclear power by 2022. Clearly this is one of the fallouts of the Fukushima disaster. Coincindentially this comes at a time when India is on the verge of massively flexing its nuclear wings: Jaitapur, Haripur to name a few, beside many others. How far is Jaitapur from Latur ? Not only in terms of physical distance but with the possibility of a disaster ? I apologies to Prof. Madras for putting it in pinned post for prospective faculty but really want to know what India`s best and thoughtful minds think about this which I believe really resides within the walls of an academic campus and not in Akbar road or janpath.
Chaudhuri
P.S. Whatever your opinion is, please give a thought if you want to denounce this concern by "we should not copy the west". Surely not but in my understanding their concern is most relevant to us given India`s geological orientation.
Respected Prof. Sriram
Many thanks for your kind and quick response regarding my interesting situation and apologies for the iteration. In no way I tried to hide it intentionally, it is just that I had written to HoD as per your advise and then got the interview call and was interviewed in absentia; all this quick process did not give any time for communication about academics. I will surely and definitely write to Director and HoD informing my academics (even though they have not asked me). My only worry is that should I inform them right away or after waiting for few days (just in case if I am selected)? And if I am selected informing them after that, can it hamper or alter the decision? Please respond as your help will be useful in this, and many thanks in advance for guidance. I have never sent a formal application and Yes! since I sent all the information separately (publication list, papers presented, etc.) my CV was of only two pages. Kindly guide.
Dear anon@May30 1:59 pm,
I think you need to pick up the phone now and call the HoD. Every moment's delay will add to the appearance of intentional hiding. Hard to say what will happen afterwards, depends much on the HoD and Director and your record as assessed by them.
"I think you need to pick up the phone now and call the HoD. Every moment's delay will add to the appearance of intentional hiding."
i pity the status of science research in india. i have simply nothing more to say ps:maybe this post will be deleted :)
Anyone knows about recruitment in IIT Hyderabad? I applied in one Science department but had no reply despite three reminders asking if they received my application.
IIT Hyd expecting people form Mars or friends of people at key positions! Some form IIsc with very good publication record is not able to get a position bu someone who has not even submitted thesis is able to get !!
Dear Prof. Sriram (IITM),
(others are also requested to comment in case he/she has some information about this)
I am addressing this question to you(prof. Sriram) because I have read several of your comments related to faculty selection at IITs and also because you are from IITM where I have applied for the post of astt professor in one of the engineering departments. Actually, I received an email from IITM few days back that I have to give a presentation and have to be interviewed next week (from 7th June). However, I am abroad now, so I requested them to consider my application in absentia. I would highly appreciate if you can give me an idea whether I would be asked to give seminar and later appear before interview panel via skype/phone on the date and time already assigned to me? Or they will assign another date and time for the candidates who chose to be considered in absentia?
(By the way, they have assigned me morning time for seminar and after noon time for interview on the same day). I would highly appreciate if you can comment on my query.
Any input specially Prof. Sriram, that why my interview lasted for <10 minutes????? Does it mean that they have negatively made up their minds??? Although my presentation was good. :-(
I have done AMIE and then MTech & PhD. As AMIE is not a regular class room course compared, am I eligible for faculty position in IIXs ?
Thanks,
Satish K
Hi,
Does anyone receive interview call for Asst. Prof. In physics from IIT Madras against a recent advertisements?? Anyone know probable date of interview???
Prof. Madras,
I always browse with images disabled i.e.images are not loaded to save band width and get speed. With this option, your blog is not really readable- especially the things on right pane namely, recent comments, about blog etc
Can you change the color theme of this blog. Thanks!
IITM Physics Dept interviews are already over against the recent advt, 2011. It was scheduled for 2nd June (presentation) ad 3rd June (personal interview). They have called 31 candidates in total.
Any idea about IIT Madras material and metallurgical department interview date? I am yet to recieve any email regarding the same. Please share some data( like how many invited for the interview etc) in case this department also finished its interview.
Interviews are over for all departments at IITM (against the recent advertisement). The selection list may come out in a week - maybe ...
IIT Madras material and metallurgical department interview has been completed and the selection is completed
Dear Prof. Madras and Prof. Sriram,
I recently appeared before the selection committee in one of engineering deptt at IITM via phone, and department didn't ask me to give seminar. I am wondering, how can they judge a candidate based only on an interview, that too lasts for 20-25 minutes or so. Are they deciding based on CV's only?
You may have given the seminar to the department.
Normally, selection comm members are not required to attend seminars.
Just wanted to bring to everyone's notice that the revised dates for PAN-IIT 2011 (http://www.iit2011.org/) have been announced: sep 30 -oct 2. Does anyone know if there is going to be a faculty recruitment event in parallel with the PAN-IIT?
Dear Prof Sriram,
Are the final selection list of faculty recruitment in IIT M out? Are they going to be in the website? Also, will the shortlisting criteria be made public? Would be nice if you could share the links here once they are public.
Thanks
Dear s,
We are waiting for the Board to approve the selection committee recommendations. Once this happens, the selected candidates will get letters / email. There is no proposal to put up the selected candidates list on the web. The shortlisting criteria used by each department will be coming up on the IITM web site shortly.
Respected Prof. Sriram??
Thank you for the information; is there any indication when the board meeting is going to happen to approve the list? and will the criteria list put up on IITM web site or individual department. Thank you in advance for your co-operation I am eagerly waiting for the results but very very nervous too :-(
Can't you call a faculty in the department (or the chairman)? Surely, they will tell you over phone?
Respected Prof. Madras, I sincerely apologies if I went to far by asking above question; but I did not mean to cause any outlier on this forum.
Respected Professor, If a candidate, selected for faculty/scientist position in IITs /IISc /CSIR labs, fails in medical checkup (e.g. he/she is suffering from heart or kidney related diseases) then will the candidate be denied his appointment in these organizations? I guess rules should be bent for deserving candidates. Waiting for your comments on the same..
I have a similar question as above anonymous. I will be joining an IIT soon, but I have been diagonalized with certain (noncancerous) tumor which, fortunately, can be operated and usually people live a normal life thereafter. I dont have time to get this operation done in the US since doctors say it should grow a bit more before operation and I am almost done with my postdoc here.
But should I mention this to the medical officer who does my examination? What are criteria under which an individual is declared medically unfit? What if I don't tell the doctor? Obviously, I dont want to land in India, and my job taken away for this reason !!!
I know of someone who had a medical condition at the time of appointment and was therefore appointed "on contract" in one of the IIXs for several years. This person was given a regular position after (s)he was declared fit by the institute doctor. I don't know what the rules are though.
Dear Professor Madras,
Is it possible to file RTI on seeking detailed information on selection criteria at IISc. My CV is quite strong in terms of publication and education, but when I went for seminar to IISC one of the new faculty member said that old professors at this engineering department do not want to hire faculty member having research background in emerging area so my chances of being hired is really small . In fact old faculty members doing research in traditional area were not even ready to change the name of the department (which finally got changed). Please suggest.
I don't know if you will get the desired results, but please, do keep filing RTIs. According to my calculations, if 1 billion people file RTIs every year, the government will earn 5 Billion rupees.
After the new avatars of Raja and Kalmadi take their cuts, whatever is left, will improve government employee wages. So, that is actually good news for us existing faculty. Brought about by prospective faculty. Go for it!
Dear Anon (June 20, 2011 8:34 PM),
Looking at the post by Anon faculty(June 21, 2011 12:31 AM) your impression about IISc looks quite reasonable:) and my suggestion is that do not waste your time on RTI. IISC is not going to change. No wonder even Ratan Tata is also hopeless about this institution. Wait for Professor Madars comments as he may have different opinion.
Respected Prof Sriram:
This has been very nervous waiting for us having given the recently finished interviews at IITM. Could you please tell when the result will be out.
Thank you,
sk
@iitsriram and profgiri
If you know anything about my previous question (on medical examination), could you please write about it? I tried Googling without much help.
Dear abc,
The results of the medical exam can be used to deny appointment only if the medical condition is such that it prevents the candidate from carrying out the normal assigned duties. The Board (and Council for IISc) takes the call on this and it has the powers to overrule the recommendations of the medical panel. Generally, anything that is treatable (controllable) will not be grounds for disqualification. At the time of the medical exam, you will have to fill out a fairly detailed medical history form where any pre-existing conditions have to be reported. IIXs are not looking to avoid 'medical risks' who will burn a hole in the medical reimbursement plans. In fact, this whole medical exam thing is probably something that needs to be given a close look and updated.
Dear sk,
As I indicated previously, we are waiting for Board approval for releasing the IITM selection list (actually, it is the Board which is the appointing authority). The HoD's, as members of the selection committee, certainly know who are all recommended for selection.
Thank you Prof Sriram for your kind response. Some of our friends unsuccessfully tried to find out if they have been recommended from the faculty members and HoD. Every one told the result would come out after 2-3 weeks.. till then they can't disclose it even informally.
sk
(From Anonymous @ June 16, 2011 8:50 PM):
Thank you very much Prof. Sriram for the detailed information regarding the medical fitness test.
sk,
if the HoD does not want to tell about the result, it is most likely the person calling did not get it. Otherwise, they will normally say,
"Sorry,I can not tell you the good news now."
doing phd in iisc in cpdm????
@iitsriram
Many thanks for your detailed response. I agree with your last comment that this whole medical thing needs to be overhauled. At the very minimum, proper information must be sent, along with the offer letter before one appears for the "test" with no knowledge of what to expect. Is this something you consider recommending to IIT-M?. Most people will not bother to read that and it won't affect them. But for those who might get affected, such an information will be valuable.
Hello,
Has any one heard any result of the faculty interview from IIT Madras.
Has the selection list come out?
thanks,
KSV
Respected Prof. Madras,
We would all appreciate if you could kindly throw some insight on the status of the recent IIT-M interview results. Thank you so much in advance.
Dear Prof. Sriram:
Kindly let us know whether there is any update regarding selection list at IIT-M.
Thank you,
sk
Regarding INSPIRE Faculty Scheme:
FYI:
Recently I came across this scheme (http://www.inspire-dst.gov.in /faculty_scheme.html) of the DST to award 1000 grants for 5 year faculty position and upto 7 lakh per annum research money. Last date is July 31.
Questions:
Dear Prof Madras (and other learned profs visiting the blog):
I have a few questions on this scheme. I do not know whom to ask. Therefore, this blog is an obvious choice. I am sure you might be in one of these committees as well!
The application has two modes - direct and institute mode. In case of institute mode, the applicant contacts an institute and if the director of the concerned department agrees to host the candidate, the application is sent to the apex committee of DST. On the other hand, in the direct mode the applicant does not mention his place of work. He only sends the project.
The questions I have are
(a) Can one contact more than one institutes and can more than one institutes recommend the same candidate to the apex committee of DST?
(b) In case of direct mode, will the apex committee take the opinion of the candidate for the place of work? Or, will it be like a CSIR fellowship where you get the award and then visit many places and see if anyone wants to take you. Or, the committee has already a list of interested departments to one of which the applicant will be sent?
(c) It is not clear, if the apex committee will interview the candidates or will it only go through the project proposal without seeing the candidate?
(d) Since it wants to award up to 1000 grants, do you think the project submitted by the candidate will be rigorously examined before awarding the grant? Or it will be only an overview?
Thanks
SM
Is there a problem with long comments? An hour ago, I posted a long comment and I dont see that now.
Answers
(a) yes, but he/she has to indicate the final choice before award
(b) after the discipline and academic committee recommend, the candidate will be asked to find a host institution.
(c) for candidates coming through institution mode, the interview is unlikely but depends on the institution.
(d) it will be selective. Not as selective as ramanujam or swarnajayanthi but still selective.
The key is all deserving candidates will be offered a contract for five years but no more.
considering that you are on the Inspire selection committee, can you tell which stream (direct or institutional) is preferred. How many fellowships are likely to be given?
Dear All (specially Prof. Sriram),
Does anyone have any input/information/update about when IIT-M interview result list is going to come out? Please share it.
Any updates on IITGn selection process this year? Anyone already got interview call?
There is unconfirmed news regarding the recent recruitment drive for Assistant Professors at IIT Madras.
'IITM Board did not approve the selection list'.
The buzz is that iitm may not send offer letters to anyone this year.
Prof Sriram, could you please comment on this.
About IITGn:
I applied there some 5 months ago. Every time I ask them the status of application, I immediately get a response. That is the end of good news! Because the message is always the same, i.e., we are processing applications and if you will be shortlisted you will be informed 15 days before interview.
In the Science department I am applying, there are only 2 faculties (both Asst Profs). Earlier, there were 3 Asst Profs but recently it shows only 2. Maybe the third person left. Its surprising how they are managing the teaching with 2 faculties.
@June 29, 2011 6:40 PM
Please do not spread such news, as it may be question of lifetime opportunities for some of the aspirants. I have heard that since the Chairman of BoG has completed its term on 9th of June they have new chairman, and BoG is yet to meet hence it is taking time. So please restrain yourself from doing something like this as it may make nervous many potential candidates awaiting results. However, a line from Prof. Sriram in this regard would be highly appreciate to avoid any "wrong speculations".
Thank you
Thanks, anon June 29@7:31PM. You have the details of IITM selections almost exactly right; the previous chairman's term ended on June 8th, new chairman, Prof. M.M. Sharma of UDCT Mumbai has taken over on 9th; board is scheduled to meet only in July 3rd week, so offers may be delayed until then. Of course, board can approve without meeting ...
Respected Prof. Sriram,
I had this information, which I put in above, but was not willing to put in there. However, I do not want to see this blog flooding with some rumors so could not control putting the details. But your final word in this direction is really helpful and I would like to thank you for this.
So please do not spread rumors, kindly check your source (you can always check it with your HoD if at least meeting has taken place, I am sure any HoD at least will tell you if meeting is over or yet to take place). Good luck.
Just a general question: in the news we here quite a few MoUs being signed or agreements for cooperation in higher education being reached between India and other countries or between Indian and foreign universities. What is the implication of these agreements on the ground? And what does it mean for Indian faculty and PhD students?
In IISc, this means that faculty can visit these places without the leave being counted. Therefore, faculty spend months at these places while students struggle. If we complain, then we will be told that we are trained to become independent.
Anon @June 30, 2011 9:43 AM, would you know who sponsors these visits of faculty?
In IITX...does faculty pay the electricity bills for his/her apartment? Just wanted to have this information.
To anon 6:50pm:
Yes, the faculty members pay electricity
+ water bills. These get deducted from the salary.
To Anon@June 30, 2011 7:15 PM
Thanks a lot for the information.
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