Pursuing Ph.D at Pondicherry University is all set to become global from the coming academic year. The central University has opened its gates to persons from any part of the globe to register for Ph.D, and will also allow candidates to choose supervisors from anywhere in the world.
The university, in its latest attempt to bring in global know-how in research programmes, has revised the regulations for Ph.D “without compromising on quality and standard.”
“Any person working in any country can come to the university for a Ph.D programme. For example, if a person working in an industry abroad has rich experience and data and wants to use it for Ph.D, he/she could register at the university. This is being done while maintaining high standards and following stringent procedures,” university vice-chancellor J.A.K. Tareen said.
Academic freedom
This, according to him, is a way to provide freedom to learning. “Earlier, registration of candidates for supervisors was confined to the faculty of the university. Resources were limited within the university campus. Now, we have revised the rules for Ph.D programmes to provide ample opportunity for scholars. The resource person need not be from the university but anywhere from around the globe,” he explained.
The VC is of the strong view that resources for research should not be confined to the faculty members of the university and there is a need to tap global resources. Interaction with international faculty could trigger new ideas among students, he recently said.
Under this new provision, if a faculty from other States or countries agrees to be a supervisor for a research scholar, he/she will be registered on adhering to stipulated rules. This will come in handy for research scholars aiming to take up research works, which do not have specialisation in India.
As per the new rules, besides the eligible faculty of the Pondicherry University, the candidates could choose scientists/faculty of a rank at least equivalent to that of lecturer with prescribed qualification for teaching facility and employed in approved research centres/institutions in India or abroad to be supervisors for Ph.D.
“So, we will have global resources available for doing research. We believe that through this, the resources need not be confined to the local area, university or State,” he noted.
