IISER-Pune was planning to recruit international PhD students using two streams — by an open advertisement method for a course that was to commence in August this year IISER-Pune was planning to recruit international PhD students using two streams — by an open advertisement method for a course that was to commence in August this year The first-of-its-kind International PhD (i-PhD) programme at the city-based Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (IISER) will not take off this academic year, due to the “few” applications of “poor quality” received from international students. Among the seven IISERs in India, IISER-Pune would have been the first to launch a maiden PhD programmme for international students. IISER-Pune was planning to recruit international PhD students using two streams — by an open advertisement method for a course that was to commence in August this year, and through the ‘Study in India’ programme, supported by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). The advertisements for the first-ever call for applications, through open recruitment, appeared in December 2017. “But no student who applied for the programme was selected,” Girish Ratnaparkhi, dean of doctoral studies at IISER, told The Indian Express. He said, “We received very few applications for the i-PhD programme and upon review, we found that the proposals did not meet our standards. Most of the applicants were students from Savitribai Phule Pune University, who were pursuing their final year of masters.” The two-year i-PhD programme was planned to be offered in subjects ranging from Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Earth, Climate Sciences and Humanities and Social Sciences. The programme was aimed at raising the profile of one of the foremost IISERs in the country, as well as strengthening the existing doctoral progarmme at the institute through exchanges and interactions with foreign students. Explaining the steps the institute could take to receive applications of better quality, IISER-Pune Director Professor Jayant Udgaonkar said “We need to create better awareness about IISERs in the country. This includes strengthening our outreach about courses and research at IISERs, which still remains lesser known in comparison to the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and the Indian Institute of Sciences.” “Academically bright students usually prefer pursuing higher studies from universities in the west. One of the ways to attract good students is to advertise about the institute and what better way to do that, than our research works emanating from the labs here. Having said that, the reach of our works has been increasing over the years. We also need to tap academically driven and talented students, hailing even from small towns of India,” he added. Lack of funding options could be another reason for the low number of applications, said Udgaonkar. “The Indian government does not fund the studies of foreign students… financial support matters the most. It would be an added advantage if international students can enroll with some kind of scholarship or fellowship for doctoral studies,” he added. For all the latest Pune News, download Indian Express App

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