IIT Kharagpur to offer certificate program for industry researchers
Kharagpur: In the age of Google, Apple, Samsung etc. with world renowned R&D teams, corporations have become the powerhouse of innovation and research. But what is career scope of individuals in the industry research teams in the domain of research? What if they would like to be recognized for their research expertise and output?
IIT Kharagpur, which has been a pioneering institution in several new disciplinary areas, has addressed this through a unique certification program, a first of its kind. The Institute is initiating this program to recognize state-of-the-art collaborative research with industries and academia. The Certificate of Excellence in Research (CER) is open to bright professionals with doctoral degrees in India and abroad, working in industry or research institutions, with a desire to pursue impactful research in collaboration with IIT Kharagpur and be recognized globally.
“This is the first of its kind in India possibly Asia for any academic institution to facilitate trained researchers in the industry and academia with the opportunity to contribute to structured research program and join back academics. We hope to facilitate the untapped knowledge base and skill sets of these researchers which they have acquired through years’ of real life problems thus oriented towards bringing out practical solutions” said Prof. P P Chakrabarti, Director of IIT Kharagpur.
The engagement will be based on a research proposal prepared jointly by the researcher and a host faculty at IIT Kharagpur and subsequently approved by technical review at the Institute. The certification can be availed even while the researcher continues with his professional commitments and can pursue the research at IIT Kharagpur on a distant mode. Access to Institute facilities like experimentation and computation labs and library will be made available.
Prof. Chakrabarti hopes that this would be a unique platform which on one hand will allow the researchers to fulfill the desire to remain connected with advanced research and be recognized while continuing her/his professional commitments, and on the other hand bring in industry knowledge and practical solutions in academic research.
The enrolment for the program will start from July 2018. The certification will be conferred at the convocation of IIT Kharagpur based on publications in internationally reputed journals and national or international patents. The research work needs to be in collaboration with the host faculty at IIT Kharagpur.
“We hope through this program we will be to engage national and international scholars and have them associated with academic research while they continue their professional career in their respective industries” said Prof. Sunando Dasgupta, Faculty in-Charge, Certificate of Excellence in Research program.
This 2-6 years’ non-residential program will be open for research in all domains with faculty experts in the Institute. Examples of some of the research areas would be Digital Convergence, Advanced Manufacturing, Medical Technology and Affordable Healthcare, Transportation Technologies, Innovative Infrastructure, Geoscience for Future of Earth, Information and Communication Technology.