An innovative plan at IIT-B for attracting new faculty

Jeetha D'Silva reports in the Hindustan Times:

Facing a talent crunch that is familiar to many companies, the elite Indian Institute of Technology (Bombay) is offering all new faculty members a signing bonus of Rs 3 lakh.

Significantly, the bonuses are being raised by donations from the IIT alumni, generally a high-achieving bunch, who in recent years, have become more active, organised and sophisticated in giving back to their alma mater.

“This is a first for any of the IITs,” says Deepak B Phatak, professor at IIT’s Kanwal Rekhi School of Information Technology.

As a retention measure, IIT Bombay has significantly increased seed research grants to Rs 10 lakh to new faculty members this year. Until last year, such grants were only about Rs 3 lakh.