Operational Details of Teaching Assistantship

The stipend given to Ph.D. students is called Teaching Assistantship. Students receiving Teaching Assistantships are called Teaching Assistants (TAs). This TA ship is mandatory for all funded students

The typical number is one TA for every 15 students in Theory courses and one TA for every 10 students in Lab courses. But a department can allot the work appropriately considering the unique features of each course and lab.

Each TA will be assigned to work with a faculty member in their respective department. The concerned faculty member is responsible for monitoring TA's work. This typically involves the TA maintaining a work schedule signed and approved by the concerned faculty to ensure this average is maintained; the respective department and the responsible faculty can decide on the format. If a TA feels overworked, she/ he can approach the department regarding this.

The following are some sets of duties a TA can be asked to perform

• Conducting Tutorials

• Maintaining software and hardware and information related to academic activities in the department.

• Grading answer sheets, and assignments and assisting in conducting vivas, and seminars.

• Help students with difficulties: TAs should be available during regular office hours to clear doubts about the course. The limit should be Two hours per week.

• Arranging instruments/software/hardware related to courses or labs.

• Attending Classes: If the TA is asked to attend classes by the instructor, then attending one hour of class accounts for one hour of TA.

The following are the working hours expected of a TA

• On average, the TA must work for eight hours per week (six days).

• A student's own research work (for thesis) or research with a faculty in his lab does not count in TAship hours.

• If a TA works less than average in some months then the work has to be compensated later. The overall average should be monitored over a semester rather than over a month.

• The provision to stop scholarships should be taken in case the work done during the entire semester is below the average. Renewal of assistantship every semester is subject to good performance during the preceding semester.

• If the TA works during vacations, then the average should be monitored over a month. TA's work during the vacations can't be counted towards the total work done in the next semester.

• AIMS can be used for approving/ disapproving the stipend of the TAs

Operational Details of Teaching Assistantship

The following are the rules and regulations guiding the students receiving MoE-funded scholarships (rephrasing the relevant parts from the MHRD circular F.N0.17-2/2014-TS.I, dated 18th February 2015)

Eligibility:

• For Ph.D. Programs (Junior Research Fellow (JRF)/Senior Research Fellow (SRF): Post Graduate Degree in Basic Science OR Graduate / Post Graduate Degree in Professional Course selected through a process described through any one of the following: (a) Scholars who are selected through National Eligibility Tests - UGC NET including lectureship (Assistant Professorship) and GATE (b) The selection process through National level examination conducted by MoE and its Agencies and Institutions such as UGC/IIT/IISc/IISER/IIIT etc.

• Sponsored Category of students including those in receipt of any other similar assistantship/scholarship/ fellowship would not be eligible for assistantship/ scholarship/ fellowship. Further, the assistantship/ scholarship/ fellowship would be provided to the scholars on the basis of GATE scores above the prescribed cut-off level. BTech Graduates from the CFTIs (Central Funded Technical Institutes) getting a CGPA score of 8 or above (on a scale of 10) would also be entitled to the assistantship without having to appear in GATE.

• The stipend of a research fellow/ associate is exempted from the payment of income tax under Section 10(16) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

• Dearness Allowance (DA) and City Compensatory Allowance(CCA): JRFs and SRFs will not be entitled to these allowances.

• House Rent Allowance (HRA): All research scholars will be provided hostel accommodation and no HRA will be paid even if one opts to stay outside.

• Leave and other entitlement benefits: The JRFs and SRFs are eligible only for casual leave (for MoE students it is 8 days in an academic year, while for other funding agencies, it is as per the guidelines of the funding agency). Participation in any of these categories in any scientific event/ workshop in India or abroad will be treated as 'on duty leave'. The travel entitlement for JRF /SRF for participation in scientific events/ workshops in India will continue to be the same as earlier, i.e. 2nd AC by rail. Maternity Leave as per Government of India instructions issued from time to time would be available to female candidates in all categories.

• Publication/ Patent: The results of JRF /SRF research work may be published in standard referred journals at the discretion of the Fellow or his Guide. It should be ensured by the Fellow that the assistance provided by the funding agency of the Government of India is acknowledged in all such publications.

Guide Allocation Procedure

Each student will have a Project/ Research Supervisor, referred to as a Guide from the faculty of the parent Department to which he/she is admitted. In addition, a co-guide from the same or another Department may be co-opted by the guide (in some special cases like external Ph.D. students, the co-guide can also be from outside IIITR).

The procedure for the selection of guides for the thesis varies departmentally. In general, guide allocation happens immediately after the student joins Ph.D. To the extent possible, the preferences of the student in the area of research interest are taken into account and the student is given the freedom to choose his/her guide based on the area of research interest. Once the student joins, they are advised to consult their faculty advisors regarding the same.

The categories of Co-guide for a Ph.D. student are as follows:

• A faculty member reaching superannuation and has less than three years of service at the Institute

• On-contract faculty at the institute.

• Industry professionals with a Ph.D. degree on the recommendation of the HoD, Dean (Academics), and Director approves the appointment of a co-guide.

After the research supervisor allocation to a student, the student under the supervision of a guide has to complete the programme.

Change of Research Supervisor

If a student is willing to change his/her research supervisor, then the student has to inform first to the HoD. The HoD will take the consent of the current research supervisor(s), new research supervisor, and Dean of Academics. The change of research supervisor will be before 1 year and 6 months from the date of admission, after this period students can not change the supervisor. In the unforeseen conditions (supervisor resigning & death of supervisor), a new research supervisor will be assigned.

Template for Ph.D. Degree

The following is the template for a regular Ph.D. program at IIITR:

• Completion of the following set of credits with a minimum CGPA of 7.0 within the first year of admission. The Doctoral Committee (DC) may recommend up to two additional courses and/or may allow an extra semester to complete the coursework:

  • Direct Ph.D. with 4 years Bachelor's degree candidates need to complete 24 credits, including 3 credits for research projects and 2 self-study courses recommended by the guide and DC

  • Regular Ph.D. with a Master's degree candidates have to complete 12 credits, , including 2 self-study courses recommended by the guide and DC

  • Regular Ph.D. with a Master's degree from IITs/IISc have to complete 12 6 credits

• For all categories of students - 2-4 PG level courses of at least 3 credits each.

• To test the overall competence and academic preparation of a student in the Ph.D. Programme, a Comprehensive Examination will be held within 12 months for students with Masters degrees from the date of admission.

• Comprehensive Examination will be held only after successful completion of course work (7 CGPA).

• The mode of Comprehensive Examination (oral or written or both) as well as the modus operandi (common to all students in a Department) is decided by the concerned department and will be intimated to the students.

• The date of the Comprehensive Examination is informed to the student at least one month ahead. The department conducts Comprehensive Examinations for all Ph.D. students.

• A student failing the Comprehensive Examination on the first attempt may be given a second attempt, not before one month, and within three months from the date of the first attempt. If the student fails on the second attempt, he/she will not be allowed to continue with the Ph.D. Programme.

• Within 6 months of the successful completion of the Comprehensive Examination, a student presents a Ph.D. Research Proposal Seminar (RPS) within 18 months of admission of the PhD. The presentation is open to all. In this, he/she presents problem identification, literature survey, and preliminary research plan.

• A student submits a write-up to the DC members at least one week before the date of the RPS.

• A report on the successful completion of the RPS, is submitted by the DC to the Chairman, DC who communicates the same to the Director.

• Original work should be carried out at least partly under the supervision of a research guide from among the faculty members of IIITR and defended in the form of a thesis. A co-guide, if needed, may be co-opted from IIITR, industry, or another institute of repute with the recommendation from the Dean of Academics/Director.

• Publication of at least two research papers in Scopus/SCI-indexed journals (or one in Scopus-indexed journals and another in a Scopus-indexed conference/proceedings).

• A guide will be allotted as soon as the student joins the Ph.D. program based on the choices given by the student. The guide will constitute a Doctoral Committee (DC), the DC member must have two external, one internal, HoD, and a guide. The external must be from an institute of national importance or industry with a Ph.D. degree. A faculty member of IIITR outside the parent department will act as Chairman of the committee.

• The DC would conduct a progress seminar at least once a year for the first 3-years (from the date of Ph.D. admission) to evaluate the progress of the work. After 3-years, these progress seminars should be held every six months.

• If the research progress is unsatisfactory, the supervisor will call for the Doctoral Committee (DC) to evaluate the progress. If DC finds the progress unsatisfactory, an appropriate time interval (minimum of 3 months) will be set to improve the performance. If DC finds that the progress still remains unsatisfactory, Ph.D. registration will stand terminated.

• An MoE-funded Ph.D. student is eligible to convert to SRF (senior research fellow) after two years as a JRF (Junior Research Fellow). This JRF to SRF conversion assessment should be done by a committee having an external examiner also. This external examiner can be a part of the regular Doctoral Committee and can be a faculty from the other department also. In addition, if a faculty member wishes, he/she may also involve an examiner from outside IIITR. For students supported by other funding agencies, their respective norms prescribed for JRF to SRF conversion will be followed.

For the external/sponsored Ph.D., the following rules, in addition to the above-mentioned, are applicable:

• The Program is aimed at candidates from national research laboratories/ reputed industrial organizations where research work can be carried out.

• The guide will be allotted at the beginning. Nevertheless, it is recommended that the procedure outlined above for regular Ph.D. students should be followed.

• No stipend will be paid to the student; however, he/she may be employed in a project, full or part-time.

• Candidates from reputed research organizations may have a co-guide from their research organization.

• External Ph.D. students do not have a residency requirement to take their courses; with the permission of their advisor, they also have the option of taking video and self-study-based coursework.

• External Ph.D. students should complete the Comprehensive Examination within 18 12 months from the time of joining. In case of unsatisfactory performance, a second attempt is allowed within three months, failing which Ph.D. registration will lapse. Also, the student needs to present a Research Proposal Seminar (RPS) Within 6 months of the successful completion of the Comprehensive Examination.

Thesis Submission and Evaluation Guidelines

• Prerequisite for submission of Ph.D. thesis: The student must have at least two research papers (published or accepted) in Scopus-indexed journals (or one in Scopus indexed journal and another in a Scopus-indexed conference/proceedings) to be eligible for the submission of a doctoral thesis.

• Open colloquium: On completion of the doctoral research, the student has to give an open colloquium. As the name implies it is open to the entire institute. The doctoral committee (as many members as possible of DC) and the guide will have to be present in the colloquium. The requirement for an open colloquium is a thesis draft and the guide’s approval and the first page of the publications. The draft will be sent to the doctoral committee at least two weeks before the colloquium. The student will have to incorporate the suggestions that come from the open colloquium. The revised thesis meant for sending to the examiners should be submitted within one month of the successful completion of the open colloquium.

• Extended synopsis: The student will have to submit an extended synopsis (8-10 pages) that will be sent to external examiners.

• Opting for examiners/ reviewers from Abroad/Central University/NITs/IITs/IISc: The guide may opt for examiners/ reviewers from abroad, however, this is not mandatory.

• Choosing the External examiners/ reviewers: The guide will have to submit a list of 8 external experts to the Dean Academic’s Office forwarded through the HOD.

• Defense pattern and examination committee: The defense will be open to all followed by a closed-door Q&A.

The extended synopsis will be sent to three external reviewers. After reading through the extended synopsis if they agree to review the thesis, then the thesis will be sent to all (3 reviewers). If any of them refuses to review the thesis, the dean academic will contact other examiners from the list submitted by the thesis supervisor. The thesis will be sent to the reviewer as and when one agrees to review the thesis. The reviewers will be given 2 months time to submit a report. Once two positive reports are received, one of the reviewers (nominated by the Dean, Acad) will be invited in person to attend the thesis defense. Subsequently, the defense date can be scheduled by the guide in consultation with the reviewer. The report submitted by the other reviewer will be given to the external examiner and the external examiner may even ask questions based on the reviewer’s report. In this case, the final examination committee will consist of the supervisor(s), one external examiner, one internal examiner, and Chairman who is from outside the department.

• Choosing the exam pattern: The choice of selecting the exam pattern remains with the student. The student ‘may’ consult with the thesis supervisor for making a choice.

• Preparing the thesis: The thesis must be prepared in a format prescribed by the institute and a soft copy of the thesis must be submitted to the library for archiving. Plagiarism check/ similarity index mandatory to be submitted along with Thesis submission.

• Chairman: Any Faculty of IIITR outside the parent department of the candidate may be appointed as Chairman.

Termination & Exit Options

The enrolment of a student to the institute will lapse after the maximum permissible duration. Hence, a student who is not able to complete the graduation requirements within the maximum permissible time will deem to be automatically terminated from the program. The Senate may approve an extension of duration on a case-by-case basis. However, the termination of the student remains in effect until such an extension is approved by the Senate. If the extension is approved, the student is expected to complete the registration and fee-related formalities till the completion of the program. Continuation of hostel accommodation in the case of such extension is not assured and is subject to availability.

In addition, the following conditions will also warrant the termination of a student from Ph.D. program:

• If the student obtains a CGPA below 7 for both unreserved and reserved categories, at the end of the first two semesters.

• If the CGPA falls between 6.5 and 7.0 at the end of the first year of coursework, the student will be allowed to take courses in the third semester to meet a CGPA of 7.0. In this case, the research proposal defense should be extended by one more semester; if already completed, the research proposal defense will be considered only provisional subject to the subsequent increase in the CGPA. If a CGPA of 7.0 cannot be met at the end of the third semester for both unreserved and reserved categories, registration will stand terminated.

• If the student accumulates two or more FR/FS grades during the course work.

• If the student does not clear the Comprehensive Examination in two attempts (the second attempt should be within three months of the first attempt).

• If the research progress is unsatisfactory, the supervisor will call for the Doctoral Committee (DC) to evaluate the progress. If DC finds the progress unsatisfactory, an appropriate time interval (minimum of three months) will be set to improve the performance. If DC finds that the progress still remains unsatisfactory, registration will stand terminated.