The Mangaluru-based National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) has introduced post-doctoral research programme from the current academic year. K Umamaheshwar Rao, Director of NITK, told BusinessLine on Campus that NITK is trying to select the best candidates across the country from various disciplines, and nurture them with much more better research facility that has been provided at NITK.
As of now, NITK has one Central Research Facility (CRF) with an investment of ₹80 crore obtained from Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) and then three other centres. He termed them as the hubs of quality research sections. Added to this, the Board of Governors of NITK has given approval for starting a few centers of excellence, particularly which are focused on skill development as well as in the in the fields of cyber physical systems, he said.
If the institute gets post-doctoral fellows in each of this centres, it will be giving them an opportunity for high-end research. This will help NITK’s publications and patents also, he said. Stating that NITK was in the 23rd position among engineering institutes under National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranking when he took charge in 2017, Rao said now it is in the 10th position in NIRF 2021. He said the institute has to improve and increase its research potential for a sustainable growth on a long run.
10 positions
Rao said that NITK is planning to have 10 positions open for the post-doctoral fellows, initially, following the same norms and conditions set by the Central government for Prime Minister Fellowship Postdoctoral Research programme. If successful, the institute may gradually increase the number of candidates to another 10, and then maybe freeze it at 25. With this long-term strategic plan, NITK wants to have a good number of post-doctoral fellows, he said.
If the institute creates a pool of post-doctoral positions, and then it will always have enough opportunity to pick and choose best candidate to really take the faculty positions, he said. The prospective candidates are expected to possess a PhD degree along with strong research background in various research fields.
Deep insight
Stating that many institutes in India and abroad are increasingly requiring post-doctoral experience as a prerequisite for professional placement and permanent faculty positions, he said the quality of academic expertise, state of the art laboratories, library resources available at NITK can provide a rich environment for post-doctoral training.
Post-doctoral appointees will make important contributions to the research and culture of scholarship that prevails in the institute. They will bring in qualities such as domain expertise, deep insight, innovation and creativity that will enrich the research and educational environment for all members of the institute community, including graduate and undergraduate students, he added.