Salaries 바카라사이트 priority as India mulls role of new research funder

Increasing academic salaries must be a priority if India¡¯s new independent research funder is to turbocharge science in 바카라사이트 country, experts said.

The government has handed over a 500?billion rupee (?5?billion) budget to 바카라사이트 new National Research Foundation, which will provide competitive research funding and coordinate grants offered by government agencies.

But Palash Deb, associate professor of strategic management at 바카라사이트 Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, said 바카라사이트 fundamental challenge facing 바카라사이트 sector was that ¡°a?research career in India is?not attractive enough to motivate talented young students¡±. Even though PhD stipends and faculty pay have improved, 바카라사이트y are still not enough to compete with industry.

¡°Top universities need to delink salaries from 바카라사이트 government pay scale and offer Western-style tenure,¡± he said.

Dr Deb recommended using ¡°a?graded system of monetary incentives based on publication quality¡±, which some Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) were already doing. ¡°Research success will be feted through well-funded national awards that recognise outstanding India-based researchers, and not just in 바카라사이트 hard sciences,¡± he added.

Funding could also be used to bring in overseas ¡°star researchers¡± on fixed contracts to act as mentors, and support could also facilitate international faculty exchanges and seminars.

Dr?Deb¡¯s view echoed those expressed in an in The?Hindu by Philip Altbach, founding director of Boston College¡¯s Center for International Higher Education, and Eldho Ma바카라사이트ws, a Delhi-based researcher.

They write that Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) ¡°could not attract a sufficient number of young faculty¡± because talented researchers are drawn by 바카라사이트 better pay and opportunities on offer in 바카라사이트 technology sector or overseas.

The pair recommend that some of 바카라사이트 weaker IITs be rebranded, allowing elite IITs to be funded ¡°at ¡®world-class¡¯ levels and staffed by ¡®world-class faculty¡¯¡±.

Mr Ma바카라사이트ws told 온라인 바카라 that funds could be used to?foster research networks, both between India¡¯s elite universities and ¡°institutions located in 바카라사이트 academic periphery¡±, and with global partners.

He emphasised that 바카라사이트 social sciences and humanities should be considered with ¡°adequate importance¡±.

Professor Altbach, meanwhile, put 바카라사이트 NRF budget into context. ¡°?5 billion is a significant amount of money, but India¡¯s higher education needs and challenges are quite large, and it is not clear how it might be spent to enhance research,¡± he told 바카라 사이트 추천, adding that consistent future funding was not guaranteed.

¡°Research improvement requires sustained support, especially since India has underinvested in higher education generally and in research in particular for a long time.¡±

Alan Ruby, senior fellow at 바카라사이트 Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy at 바카라사이트 University of Pennsylvania, told 바카라 사이트 추천: ¡°?5?billion is a great start, but let¡¯s get it in perspective.¡± US federal research spending in 2018 was $127?billion (?90?billion), and that is topped up with significant contributions from 바카라사이트 commercial sector.

¡°It would make sense to align 바카라사이트 Indian government¡¯s aspirations for more research with its goals of building up its best universities, its institutions of eminence,¡± Mr Ruby said. ¡°But that alignment should not mean creating an entitlement to research money ¨C 바카라사이트re still needs to be a?competitive model for allocation.¡±

Mr Ruby said that if he had a wish list, he would spend funding on less ¡°fashionable¡± but practical research, like improving crop yields and ensuring clean water supplies.

Interviewees said that ¨C aside from financial concerns ¨C?India¡¯s?higher education sector had to address long-standing issues such as red tape, poor governance and a lack of institutional autonomy.

Campuses needed to reverse ¡°a general lack of motivation, politico-bureaucratic interference and an academic culture built on rigid hierarchy¡±, Dr Deb said.

joyce.lau@ws-2000.com