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Monday, June 22, 2009

CSIR lab offers training in engineering research

The postgraduate course is aimed at bridging a serious deficit of skilled personnel.

Finished engineering and wondering what to do next? The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research has introduced a two-year post-graduate research training programme (PGRTP) in Engineering in various areas of engineering.

The Council, a public-funded R&D organisation, is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

To tackle the shortage of skilled human resource in the area of science and engineering, this programme has been introduced, said Nagesh R. Iyer, director, Structural Engineering Research Centre, Chennai, talking to presspersons here on Friday. The Centre is one of the national laboratories setup by CSIR and it specialises in analysis, design and testing of structures and structural components.

Under this programme, students from all over India would be selected after a multi-stage filtering process, he said. The course was designed by the developers of technologies themselves with a heavy orientation on practical aspects, he said, adding that the intent was to balance the needs of research and that of the industry.

The various areas of engineering under this programme are advanced semiconductor electronics; high power microwave devices and systems engineering; advanced instrumentation engineering; mechatronics; materials resource engineering; advanced petroleum science and technology; engineering of structures; and environmental systems modelling and optimisation.

These areas of specialisation would be offered in six centres all over the country; the centre in Pilani will offer two programmes. Structural Engineering Research Centre and National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore would conduct the engineering of structures programme, said Dr. Iyer.

The subjects covered would include instrumentation and sensors for measurement of structures/ structural components, advanced mechanics of materials, computational methods, advanced engineering mathematics, and dynamics of structures.

The selected candidates would be paid a stipend of Rs. 25,000 per month. On completion of the programme with distinction, the candidate would be considered for SERC or NAL as a scientist in Pay Band 3 of the Government of India. The pay would be around Rs. 45,000 per month, said K.R. Sridharan, head, Information/Technology, Transfer/IPR, SERC.

Around 110 to 120 candidates would be selected from all over India, from which around 15 candidates would be chosen for the engineering of structures programme, said Dr. Iyer.
Candidates would be chosen irrespective of the discipline they come from; rather, their own interest would determine the choice of programme, he said.

All engineering graduates with a high first class, with minimum 70 per cent marks or 7.0 GPA are eligible. A valid GATE score would be an added advantage. Tuition fee is Rs. 48,000 per year and reservation and relaxation would be as per the Government’s rules. The programme has a voluntary exit policy, said Dr. Iyer. If the candidate chooses to leave after a year, a certificate of completion of a year’s programme would be provided, he said. The idea was to make the person “employable,” he said. The application form is available at www.csir.res.in and it can be filled and submitted online. Last date for applying is June 30, 2009. The programme would begin in August – September 2009.

Projects in SERC

Students pursuing a post-graduation in structural engineering anywhere in India could do their project work at SERC, said Dr. Iyer. There were 40 post graduate students doing projects in the Centre, he said.

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