IIT-G to woo scholars from abroad

The IIT-G is planning to get some of the faculty members on board to enhance research and teaching activities and the search for right kind of faculty members will not be limited to the Indian boundaries alone.

And, if all goes as planned, the time will soon come when research associates from some of the best US universities will join the Indian Institute of Technology in Gandhinagar (IIT-G) as faculty members. Prof SK Jain, director of IIT-G who is in the US at present, is headhunting Indian researchers working in the US. Talking about the faculty positions and requirements, Prof Jain said, "We want to establish IIT-G as one of the best teaching-research institute in the country. Currently our student-faculty ratio is adequate, but we are always looking for best faculty members from anywhere."

"The purpose of my visit to the US is to meet some Indian people, who are involved in research activities in the best universities in US as a part of their PhD study and convince them to come to IIT-G to teach. There I will be giving presentations to the Indian students' community who are doing their PhD studies and research work in premium universities like Stanford, Caltech etc. Apart from these institutes I shall be meeting IIT alumni in San Francisco and give presentations. My efforts will be to attract as many PhDs interested in teaching and research so that along with their growth they can also contribute to this institute," he further said.

While explaining about getting expatriates as faculty members for IIT-G, Prof Jain said, "It is not very difficult getting PhD students who belong to India, as many of them want to come to their motherland after their research gets over."