IIT-Madras turns spotlight on research

International collaborative projects essential to improve both quality and perception, stresses Director

April 19, 2018 07:34 am | Updated December 01, 2021 12:15 pm IST - Chennai

CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, 22/01/2018: Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT-M. 
Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam

CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, 22/01/2018: Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT-M. Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam

In the quest for quality, there is a focussed approach to research and international collaboration in the next strategic plan of the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras.

Five years ago the IIT-M put in place a strategic plan to make a systematic analysis of its performance in comparison to foreign institutions. It studied the performance of its faculty members and implemented the Kakodkar Committee’s recommendation to produce more Ph.Ds.

“This move by the IITs translated to each faculty [member] having four or five engineering Ph.D students at any given time. Unlike in my time [as a faculty member] when I had one or two students at a time working in isolation, now students working in groups learn from each other,” said IIT-M Director Bhaskar Ramamurthi.

The Institute assesses the amount and quality of research articles published by its faculty members. The impact of this exercise could be seen over a period of years. The analysis helps quantify not only the contribution to general knowledge in a particular area but also how often the research papers are read by faculty members in other reputable institutions. “Internally we look at the journals in which faculty from the top 50 institutions publish. By and large they go to a certain set of journals. We have a histogram done and see if my faculty and students publish our papers in them and if we are improving in numbers,” he says.

Professors must participate in at least the major conferences in their subject. The argument that air travel is expensive doesn’t hold good anymore. “If they are not showing up at conferences it is very negative. Equations change. From the Institute’s point of view it is foolish not to send a faculty member for a conference. Even for research scholars it is better to send the students to a conference. You can cut back on the scholarship instead,” he says.

Recall factor

Researchers must communicate. It is recall of a face and a name that matters even for researchers. So they must meet up and dine with them too. There is no place anymore for a “cubby hole” researcher. “If for major conferences you go as a team, suddenly the perception of the institute changes. You have to get over [the perception] that a foreign trip is a big issue. It is not. It is not an expense point,” he says.

“It is important to invite them or make sure they drop by, have people come, and only then research at a global level will take off. Then collaborations will happen. The best people are getting it done. That is also there in our strategic plan,” Prof. Bhaskar says.

Chair professor

A professor with 10 years’ service is eligible to apply for chair professorship. A financial incentive is provided from the institute’s corpus, raised from its alumni and donors.

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