AICTE to help candidates pursue PhD in research labs

After proposing to help meritorious students pursue PhD in universities abroad or in India,the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is in the process of drawing up another proposal whereby selected candidates from across the country will be placed in research laboratories for pursuing their PhD programme. The idea is to give a fillip to research being undertaken in the country as well as assist talented students keen on a research career.

“We propose to select around 100 candidates from across the country. They will be placed at laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR),the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and labs of research-based industries,among others,” said AICTE acting chairman SS Mantha. “The aim is to promote research among the youth. We also want to improve the quality and output of research by bringing in young talent. We will select those who are in the age group of 25-35 years. The details are being worked out,” he added.

The AICTE is currently working with the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) to finalise the scheme. While the mode of selection and admission procedures are yet to be finalised,the final year marks of candidates’ BTech and MTech degrees are likely to be taken into consideration. Scores obtained in the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) may also be considered. Weightage will be given to work experience in an educational institute or any other industry.

The scheme will be funded by the AICTE. However,unlike the previous proposal where the AICTE plans to partly fund students pursuing their PhDs in universities and they will be subsequently expected to serve the country,no clause will be attached for candidates to be selected under this project. “Projects under DRDO,CSIR etc are prestigious and interesting. So we are hoping the students would automatically want to continue their career in these labs and give back to the country,” said another official.