In a first, Anna University will be offering postdoctoral fellowships. Application forms are available on the university website at https://www.annauniv.edu/pdf /pdf19.pdf .
The university has not specified a deadline and the fellowship is open as the university wants to put to use its research resources. “In the last four-five years we have purchased equipment worth ₹60 crore and we want to put it to use,” said J. Kumar, the Registrar.
Unique contribution
The funds were received from the University Grants Commission, Department of Science and Technology and the University with Potential for Excellence, among others.
The university prefers postdoctoral fellows who would be “more mature to handle the equipment and also deliver something unique”.
Fellowship applications will be scrutinised by a committee.
The university is looking for research fellows who are interested in working with departments other than the ones related to their specialisation.
“Somebody with enthusiasm and purpose, the research fellow should be aware of the kind of research activity going on at the university. It is a difficult exercise for the scrutinising committee,” said the Registrar.
The university has created a corpus of ₹18 crore and the interest earned from it would be able to fund 15 to 18 post-docs, Mr. Kumar added.
Opportunity to teach
“We will try to give them accommodation either in the university guest house or in the university premises. The fellowship is for a period of two years. Based on their performance, it could be extended for an additional year,” Mr. Kumar said.
The university has decided that if during their tenure a vacancy in teaching position arises, the researcher would be offered the opportunity to teach.
The fellowship is open to Indian residents as of now.
