Sunday, July 26, 2009

Links ...


Just a couple of links:

  1. IISc admits more doctoral students:

    ...[IISc] has made a record offer of 450 doctorate seats to students this year, the highest ever in its 100-year history.

    The offer is the first step the IISc has taken to expand its student strength and outlook and to respond to suggestion that it could open up a bit more to students.

    The acceptance of this year's offer is expected to be well beyond last year's -- about 320 students registered for PhD last year. This year, already 375 of the 450 have sent in their acceptance letters.

  2. IIT-Hyd to offer MBBS course:

    ... The newly established IIT-Hyderabad is all set to become the first one of its kind to offer MBBS course in the country. ... Speaking to Express, Director IIT-Hyderabad UB Desai revealed that the process has begun right after the IIT Directors meeting with the HRD Minister at New Delhi. “The idea is to have multiple disciplines in the IITs. In the second year itself we have introduced disciplines like humanities, social sciences along with the existing engineering and technology courses,’’ he said. ... “After [taking care of] some formalities, we would be soon announcing the details of the MBBS course,’’ Desai said.

BTW, I checked the website of IIT-H; it is completely different from the wonderfully candid and exuberant version that existed sometime ago -- if you recall, it featured its future plans going all the way up to 2108, and it announced boldly that its junior and senior faculty would receive start-up grants of Rs. 10 million and 20 million, respectively. What it now has is pages and pages of bureaucratese dry content. The stuff about starting an MBBS program is yet to make it to the website.

3 Comments:

  1. Tarun said...

    TOI: "Now, even BSc students are being considered for an integrated PhD programme"

    What *more* qualification one could require for entering an *integrated* PhD program (MS + PhD)? To my knowledge, integrated PhD program is meant primarily for BSc students indeed.

    What I find ridiculous is that atleast till few years ago (and may even now), someone with a 4 year Bachelor's degree in Engineering would be considered for a 'regular PhD' program in Sciences while someone with a 3 Year BSc degree in *Science* would be considered only for an integrated PhD program. I hope *this* is what has been changed to something more logical under the new guidelines.

  2. Anant said...

    The idea is that a B. Tech. student who is admitted to a science Ph. D. programme is already self-taught and is only selected if he or she shows M. Sc. level science both in performance in qualifying examinations and interviews. The I. Ph. D. programme gives good course work to post B. Sc. students and I think this is an asset. If any case, such students can finish their Ph. D.'s rapidly if they have the aptitude. There is no reason for them to feel sad that they are asked to do courses --- it is only for their education.

  3. Anonymous said...

    >By being able to generate more than >300 PhDs every year, we'll retain >the top slot and be able to take on >the IITs,'' he added

    I hope the IISERS quickly rise up and join the competition. This way there will be one more institution to take on the IITs and IISc.