Indian univs go headhunting abroad
Adarsh Jain
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Coimbatore:
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In Last 5 Years, IIT-M Has Recruited 168 Profs, IIT-B 96 From Foreign Institutes
Dr Arvind Perathur was a successful physician at Albany Medical Centre, New York State University , until a couple of months ago. Last month, he returned to India to join Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi.Like Arvind, many Indian academicians and professionals working abroad are returning to India to join as faculties in premier educational institutions. Given the increasing competency levels and stringent eligibility criteria, it has been tough for Indian institutions to find enough teaching talent within the country . So, they have now started hunting abroad.
“From a materialistic point of view, I had everything.However, deep within, there was a vacuum, which I realised could only be filled by something higher than all the material comforts. After hearing about Amrita's research work, I decided to move, and in the short span that I have spent here I have found my experience rewarding,“ Arvind said.
Public-funded institutions like IITs have been recruiting Indians settled abroad in big numbers. At IIT-Madras, a total of 168 professors were recruited from abroad in the past five years, while 96 joined IIT-Bombay during the period. Apart from newspaper and magazine advertisements, alumni networks come in handy while identifying potential recruits.
“We have a good alumni network in foreign universities and it helps us to connect with prospective candidates,“ dean of administration, IIT-Madras, P Sriram said.
“We advertise for faculty positions. We also meet Indi an students and post-doctoral fellows in the US and Canada and inform them about positions,“ said dean, faculty affairs at IIT-Bombay, J K Verma.
Deemed private varsities like Amrita University believe in meeting potential candidates during their chancellor's trips abroad. “A team of senior academicians accompany our chancellor for programmes abroad to scout for candidates,“ said the vicechancellor of Amrita University , Venkat Rangan.
When it comes to salary , most public institutions pay according to the UGC scale.Some deemed private universities follow a pay parity rule.At SRM University , Chennai, they follow the purchasing power parity model. “For example, if we are recruiting a faculty from the US, we will compare the salary heshe was receiving there and the standard of living in the US.We will rationalise it with Indian rupees and then to the standard of living in Chennai and fix their renumeration,“ said the vice-chancellor of the university , Prabir K Bagchi.
SASTRA University , Thanjavur, has created a special designation called assistant professor (research).The pay scale is higher than of an entry-level assistant professor but with reduced teaching responsibility , so as to facilitate research, said dean of planning and development, S Vaidhyasubramaniam.
“From a materialistic point of view, I had everything.However, deep within, there was a vacuum, which I realised could only be filled by something higher than all the material comforts. After hearing about Amrita's research work, I decided to move, and in the short span that I have spent here I have found my experience rewarding,“ Arvind said.
Public-funded institutions like IITs have been recruiting Indians settled abroad in big numbers. At IIT-Madras, a total of 168 professors were recruited from abroad in the past five years, while 96 joined IIT-Bombay during the period. Apart from newspaper and magazine advertisements, alumni networks come in handy while identifying potential recruits.
“We have a good alumni network in foreign universities and it helps us to connect with prospective candidates,“ dean of administration, IIT-Madras, P Sriram said.
“We advertise for faculty positions. We also meet Indi an students and post-doctoral fellows in the US and Canada and inform them about positions,“ said dean, faculty affairs at IIT-Bombay, J K Verma.
Deemed private varsities like Amrita University believe in meeting potential candidates during their chancellor's trips abroad. “A team of senior academicians accompany our chancellor for programmes abroad to scout for candidates,“ said the vicechancellor of Amrita University , Venkat Rangan.
When it comes to salary , most public institutions pay according to the UGC scale.Some deemed private universities follow a pay parity rule.At SRM University , Chennai, they follow the purchasing power parity model. “For example, if we are recruiting a faculty from the US, we will compare the salary heshe was receiving there and the standard of living in the US.We will rationalise it with Indian rupees and then to the standard of living in Chennai and fix their renumeration,“ said the vice-chancellor of the university , Prabir K Bagchi.
SASTRA University , Thanjavur, has created a special designation called assistant professor (research).The pay scale is higher than of an entry-level assistant professor but with reduced teaching responsibility , so as to facilitate research, said dean of planning and development, S Vaidhyasubramaniam.
Source: Times of India, 28-09-2016
