Sakshi Education
As a large number of engineering graduates being produced every year, it is imperative for them to aspire for higher degrees. I know some people who resigned to their jobs after working for two or three years for pursing their postgraduate studies. This is basically to get better visibility in the industry and better opportunities.
One can access four kinds of opportunities after completing their M.Tech.:
PhD in Engineering is always recognized and respected .However, its value can be realised only if the candidate works in an R&D organisation or a higher education institution such as university. In such situations, the candidate will have an opportunity to become an expert in the field of research, for which he/she should strive hard keeping themselves abreast with the latest developments in the field.
Pursuing PhD in India:
IITs, NITs, central as well as state universities including deemed universities and almost all higher education institutions in India are offering PhD programmes.
Normally there will be a written test followed by an interview to select the PhD students .If the student chooses to do PhD as a regular candidate (not part time), then he /she will be eligible for stipend also.
Specialization in PhD
The admission for PhD is given normally in the specialization of M.Tech. For Example, if a student has done his M.Tech. in Computer Science, then he can take PhD admission in the specialisations pertained to Computer Science. However, the topic of the actual area of research will be decided by the guide or the department research committee after checking the aptitude of the student.
In recent times, inter-disciplinary approach is gaining momentum. It means that the candidate chooses the PhD problem related to more than one specialization, in which case, more than one expert is required to guide him, one from each specialization.
Fellowships:
The premier institutes like IITs, NITs and IISc Bangalore have separate funding for PhD students .The fellowships range between Rs.18, 000- Rs. 24,000 per month. Normally, it will be for 3 years and will be extended further based on the requirement.
Scholarships:
Department of Science and Technology, Department of Information Technology, AICTE, UGC, and CSIR offer Scholarships for students pursuing PhD. There are separate schemes for women scientists too. The details of scholarships can be obtained from respective websites.
Besides the government bodies, there are many companies such as Microsoft, Shell, which are providing opportunities for those who want to pursue industry related problems as their PhD problem. Further, there are many private organizations also contributing to the enhancement of R&D activity in the country.
A student who want to pursue PhD in India need to be careful in the following aspects:
Pursuing PhD in abroad:
There are many opportunities for studying PhD in aboard. Indian students are mainly looking for opportunities in USA as the country houses good number premier universities such as Stanford, Berkeley, Pittsburg and Wisconsin and a degree from these institutions hold very high repute. The students have to take GRE and TOEFL examinations in order qualify themselves for the admission into research degrees. Depending on the scores of these examinations, universities select the students.
Countries like Germany and Australia are also offering good PhD programmes. There are some European countries with minimal tuition fee but the cost of living in these countries may be little high.
Be careful on spurious universities:
There are some spurious universities also in abroad where students must be careful. They are advised to check the websites of those universities about the year of establishment, their infrastructure, and the rating of that university. Like our AICTE, there is an accreditation process in USA, called ABET. People should check the ABET accreditation rating of the university and then take a decision.
By,
P.S Avadhani,
Placement Officer,
AU College of Engineering,
Visakhapatnam.
One can access four kinds of opportunities after completing their M.Tech.:
- Pursuing research degrees such as PhD
- Getting a job in an industry
- Taking up a job in teaching profession
- Becoming an Entrepreneur
- Pursuing research degrees such as PhD
Normally those who opt for PhD will ultimately have to get into a teaching profession or R&D organisation. So those who want to pursue their PhD after M.Tech. need to think if they are really interested with teaching or research.
Government of India is promoting higher education in a big way by granting new central universities, R&D organisations, IITs and IIITs. Certainly it is lucrative and challenging job, if someone wants to get into teaching profession.
- Getting a job in an Industry
Normally, even after M.Tech., most of the people join same job offered as a graduate but with two or more increments. However, the advantage is that they will be able to perform the tasks assigned to them in a better fashion due their enhanced knowledge in the respective area.
- Taking up a Job in Teaching Profession
Many of the students after their M.Tech. are opting for teaching jobs. At the advent of the surge in the educational institutions, deemed universities and colleges, many teaching positions are now available for teaching enthusiasts.
However, students must understand that sound grip on subject and good presentation skills are required to become a good teacher .They need to inculcate the habit of vast reading of books and journals to keep themselves abreast of the latest developments in the field .Further, they should have good communication and presentation skills.
- Becoming an Entrepreneur
Very few M.Tech. graduates dream to start their own company, though there is reasonable support available for them in the form of seed funding and investments from the venture capitalists.
PhD in Engineering is always recognized and respected .However, its value can be realised only if the candidate works in an R&D organisation or a higher education institution such as university. In such situations, the candidate will have an opportunity to become an expert in the field of research, for which he/she should strive hard keeping themselves abreast with the latest developments in the field.
Pursuing PhD in India:
IITs, NITs, central as well as state universities including deemed universities and almost all higher education institutions in India are offering PhD programmes.
Normally there will be a written test followed by an interview to select the PhD students .If the student chooses to do PhD as a regular candidate (not part time), then he /she will be eligible for stipend also.
Specialization in PhD
The admission for PhD is given normally in the specialization of M.Tech. For Example, if a student has done his M.Tech. in Computer Science, then he can take PhD admission in the specialisations pertained to Computer Science. However, the topic of the actual area of research will be decided by the guide or the department research committee after checking the aptitude of the student.
In recent times, inter-disciplinary approach is gaining momentum. It means that the candidate chooses the PhD problem related to more than one specialization, in which case, more than one expert is required to guide him, one from each specialization.
Fellowships:
The premier institutes like IITs, NITs and IISc Bangalore have separate funding for PhD students .The fellowships range between Rs.18, 000- Rs. 24,000 per month. Normally, it will be for 3 years and will be extended further based on the requirement.
Scholarships:
Department of Science and Technology, Department of Information Technology, AICTE, UGC, and CSIR offer Scholarships for students pursuing PhD. There are separate schemes for women scientists too. The details of scholarships can be obtained from respective websites.
Besides the government bodies, there are many companies such as Microsoft, Shell, which are providing opportunities for those who want to pursue industry related problems as their PhD problem. Further, there are many private organizations also contributing to the enhancement of R&D activity in the country.
A student who want to pursue PhD in India need to be careful in the following aspects:
- The student must choose an institution, which can provide good infrastructural facilities like library, equipment and labs etc.
- There must be experts in the chosen field to guide the research work. In many cases, there will be a conflict with the guide, if the area is not properly identified, leading to discontinuation of the Ph.D.
- It is very important to note that a PhD programme is open-ended program and it will not be completed unless the candidate does some good research work. It may take any number of years if the student is not serious from the beginning.
Pursuing PhD in abroad:
There are many opportunities for studying PhD in aboard. Indian students are mainly looking for opportunities in USA as the country houses good number premier universities such as Stanford, Berkeley, Pittsburg and Wisconsin and a degree from these institutions hold very high repute. The students have to take GRE and TOEFL examinations in order qualify themselves for the admission into research degrees. Depending on the scores of these examinations, universities select the students.
Countries like Germany and Australia are also offering good PhD programmes. There are some European countries with minimal tuition fee but the cost of living in these countries may be little high.
Be careful on spurious universities:
There are some spurious universities also in abroad where students must be careful. They are advised to check the websites of those universities about the year of establishment, their infrastructure, and the rating of that university. Like our AICTE, there is an accreditation process in USA, called ABET. People should check the ABET accreditation rating of the university and then take a decision.
By,
P.S Avadhani,
Placement Officer,
AU College of Engineering,
Visakhapatnam.
Published date : 12 Aug 2015 05:47PM
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