IIT-KGP programme to enable professionals engage in research

The IIT Kharagpur today announced a programme to enable professionals engage in research work in their chosen fields, claiming it is the first in such programme in the country and possibly in Asia.

The programme will be open to professionals with doctoral degrees in the country and abroad, IIT KGP faculty in change, Certificate of Excellence in Research, Sunando Dasgupta told a press meet here.

Each research project will be based on a proposal jointly prepared by the researcher concerned and a host faculty at the IIT-KGP and subsequently approved by the technical review committee of the institute.

"The non-residential certification can be availed even while the researcher continues with his professional commitments and can pursue research at the IIT-KGP on a distant mode," he said.

Facilities such as experimentation and computation labs and library would be made available to the researcher during his visit to the institute, Dasgupta said.

Dasgupta said from humanities to science, the programme will be open for research in all spheres and there will be no age limit.

One would have to spend Rs 6,000 for every semester of the research project and one can be involved in a project for a period of two to six years, he said.

"This is the first of its kind project in India and possibly in Asia for any academic institution. It is aimed at enabling trained researchers in the industry to contribute to structured research programme," IIT-KGP Director Partha Pratim Chakrabarti said at the press meet.

"There is a huge gap in the country, our best talent is not always being used in the best way. We want to change that paradigm," the director said.

The research areas could be digital convergence, advanced manufacturing, medical technology and affordable healthcare, geoscience for future of earth etc.