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AssessingaFacultyCandidate|HigherEducationinIndia

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IsIIITDelhitherightchoiceforyou

June14,
2015

AssessingaFacultyCandidate
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InthelastsixyearsIhavechairedover25selectioncommitteemeetingsforselecting
facultyforourInstitute,IIITDelhi.Ihavealsoparticipatedasexpertinmany
selectioncommitteesindifferentIITs.Itisclearthatthereareafewkeyfactorsthat
researchfocusedinstitutionslikeIITs,IISc,someIIITslikeIIITDelhiemphasize
duringtheirdeliberations.Iamsharingsomethesehereinanattempttosharewith
potentialfacultycandidatesaboutwhatisimportantfortheircareer.Clearlythis
noteisnotacomprehensivelistoffactorsthatareconsiderednorisitsomekindof
formulafordoingwellinselections.Theaimisprimarilytohelpcandidatesrealize
whatisimportantforacademiccareer,andhopefullytheywilltakesuitableactions
duringtheirPhDtostrengthenthese,iftheywanttopursueacademiccareers.
First,letusunderstandsomebroadideasgoverningselection(andpromotion)of
facultymembersinresearchfocusedinstitutes.First,asthemainrolesofafaculty
memberaretodohighqualityresearchandhighqualityteaching,thefocusof
assessmentisontheseparameters.(Service,thethirdimportantroleofafaculty
member,isoftennotassessedduringselections.)Forassessingthese,thequalityof
thepastrecord,andthefuturepotentialofthecandidatearebothconsidered.The
importanceofthesetwodifferatdifferentlevelsforAssistantProfessorthe
qualityofpastrecordisimportant,butanassessmentoffuturepotentialplaysa
veryimportantrole.Forselection/promotiontoAssociateProfessor,record
becomesmoreimportant,andbythetimepromotionforFullProfessorcomes,
recordisthemainfactor.
Thisnoteisprimarilyaboutselectionattheentrylevel(AssistantProfessor).Main
inputsduringtheselectionprocessare:(i)researchrecordasdemonstratedby
publications,(ii)pedigree,educationrecord,andprojects(iii)referenceletters
(whichgivesviewsabouttherecordandpotentialofthecandidatefromsenior
academicsandresearchers),(iv)clarity,depth,understanding,andvisiondisplayed
duringthetechnicalseminarandinteractionwithfacultyandselectioncommittee
(andinresearchstatementsrequiredbysomeInstituteslikeIIITDelhi.)
Theresearchrecordismostlyassessedbythequalityofvenueswherethepapers
havebeenpublished,asitisexpectedthattheimpact,asmeasuredbycitationetc,
maynotyetbeknown.Here,acandidatewithafewpublicationsintopquality
journalsandconferences(andothersindecentplaces)islikelytobestrongly
preferredoveronewhohasalargernumberofpublicationsbutallinaverage
venues.Infactmanyaveragevenuepublicationswithnotopvenuepublicationcan
beasourceofseriousconcern.Iamawareofcaseswherecandidatewithveryfew
publicationshavebeenselectedunanimously,whilethosewithlargenumberof
publicationshasbeenrejectedunanimously.Researchstatement,whereasked,isan
additionalinputacrispstatementwhichindicatessomegoodunderstandingofthe
context,andthetypesofproblemsthepersonwantstoworkoninthecomingfew
yearsislikelytobeviewedpositively.
Pedigreeandeducationrecordisassessedbythequalityofcoursework,including
theprojectsonemayhavedone.Projectsareimportanttodemonstratethatthe
personisabletoapplytheorytoengineerandbuildsystemsacapabilitythatis
veryusefulwhenoneisteachingcourses.Teachingstatementisanotherinputitis
importanttoclearlyspecifythetypeofcoursesonewouldliketoteachbothat
corelevelaswellasadvancedlevel,alongwiththeapproach.Ateachingstatement
sayingthatthepersoncanteachawholerangeofdiversetopicsisnotagood
statement.

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AssessingaFacultyCandidate|HigherEducationinIndia
Referencelettersprovidesupportfortheaboveaswellasthelastfactor.HereIcan
provideusefulinputmoreasaletterwriter.Agraduatingstudentislikelytoget
strongletterfromprofessorsifhe/shehas,ofcourse,donegoodresearchwork.But
theletterislikelytobestrongerifthescholarhasdisplayedrigor,responsibility,
innovation,andinitiativeduringtheyearshe/shehasworkedwiththeprofessor.

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Thelastfactorisextremelyimportantandheavilyrelieduponandisveryimportant
forPhDstudentsandthoseaspiringforacademiccareerstounderstand.While
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publicationsareclearlyimportantandnecessarytoshowyourresearchcapability,a
Education
in
goodunderstandingoftheareaandproblems,whatisimportantandwhatisnot,
India
howtheareaisevolvingandwhereisitgoing,etcisveryimportant.Thiscapability
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comesfromdeepscholarship,criticalevaluationoftheworksinthefield,andclarity
toofthoughtandcommunication.Itisgivenimportanceasonlywithitcanapersondo
your Inbox.
impactfulworkorinsightfulteaching.Inotherwordsthiscapabilityreflectsthe
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potentialfordoinggoodresearchandteaching.Hence,besidesbuildingagood
publicationrecord,aPhDstudentaspiringforanacademiccareer,shouldalsofocus
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ondeepscholarshipandunderstanding,clarityofthoughtandcommunication,
vision,etc.Itshouldbeaddedthattheareaofexpertiseisalsoanimportantfactorin
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assessment,butitsimportancedependsontheneedsoftheinstitution.
Finally,letmementionasmallpointthatcanhelpcandidatesintheirowndecision
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makingaswellasduringselections.WhenacandidatevisitsanInstitute,itwillhelp
tohavedonesomehomeworkabouttheInstitutionpriortovisitingthis
understandingcanevenbereflectedinsmallwaysbysuitablyenhancingthe
researchplanandtheteachingplan.Thisnotonlywillcreateabetterimpression
duringinteractionsinthevisitandselectioncommittee,itcanalsohelpthe
candidatebetterunderstandtheInstituteandhis/herfitmentinit.
Thoughthenotefocusedonselectionsforacademicpositions,allthesefactorswill
clearlyplayanimportantroleduringrecruitmentbyresearchlabs(othersought
aftercareerbyPhDs)also,thoughtheyaremorelikelytogiveahigherweighttothe
natureoftheresearchareaanditsapplicability.
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1Comment(+addyours?)
Dr.AsheeshShah
Jun14,2015@04:17:27

Goodthatsomeonehastakethepainstowritefhisall.importantmail..ihopeas
manygraduatesandresearchcandidatesgettoreadthis
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