RAJIV GANDHI CENTRE FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY
An Autonomous National Institute, Government of India
Department of Biotechnology, Ministry for Science & Technology
IMPORTANT DATES
Last date for receipt of application : 05.06.2009
Intimation of interview call (by e-mail) :10.06.2009
Date of Selection Interview : 01.07.2009 & 02.07.2009 (to be confirmed)
Why a Ph.D. from RGCB?
RGCB prepares individuals who have a deep and genuine interest
in discovery science to shape the translation of biotechnology through
academic research towards applications for a knowledge economy,
business development and science of tomorrow. Previous RGCB PhD's have
all done impressive work and received excellent placements ( see list of PhDs passed out from RGCB
). Guided by an expert faculty and a host of innovative academic
programs, the RGCB PhD program is made even richer by its place in
Thiruvananthapuram, capital of "Gods own country".
Admission procedure
Applications are invited twice a year (normally in November and June)
and advertised in all national newspapers and on the RGCB website.
Vacancies that are available in different laboratories and
interdisciplinary programs will be put up on the website. Minimum Eligibility for Candidates
-
Postgraduation in Life Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Bioinformatics,
Biotechnology, Agriculture, Veterinary Sciences and medicine graduates.
- Applicants must have a consistently first class academic
track record (no less than 60% aggregates) and a valid research
fellowship from UGC, CSIR, ICMR and DBT (Category A only). Candidates
with other fellowships are advised to contact the Dean to confirm
eligibility.
- Candidates awaiting final exam results can also apply.
However only those candidates with a valid pass certificate will be
allowed to appear for the selection interview.
- Candidates without valid fellowships need not apply
- However candidates with MBBS, MD, MTech, MVSc. MPharm and MSc
(Agriculture) can apply even though they do not have a research
fellowship. if selected, they will be supported by institute
fellowships. They will be encouraged to obtain a suitable fellowship
after joining.
Selection Procedure
- Short-listed students will be invited to RGCB for a
selection interview. No TA or DA will be paid for attending the
interview. Candidates will be ranked at the selection interview on a
total mark of 100. Candidates will be evaluated in their subject of
specialization, knowledge of research methodology, instrumentation and
laboratory calculations, overall knowledge in applications of
biotechnology, general research aptitude and ability to comprehend
& solve research questions as well as presentation &
communication skills
- Each selection committee member makes his or her own
evaluation. The average of all such evaluation sheets will be
consolidated and a rank list prepared by the office of the Director.
Only students scoring over 70% will be offered admission to RGCB's PhD
program irrespective of the number of vacancies and number of
applicants.
Orientation Courses and Training Schedules
- All students selected for the RGCB PhD program will have to
undergo a mandatory orientation and training program for 3 months from
February to April 2009. This will include courses and training in Good
Laboratory Practices (GLP), Radiation and Biological safety, current
developments in Molecular Medicine and Disease Biology as well as Plant
Biotechnology. The training schedule will also include sessions in
theory and handling of laboratory instrumentation.
- Candidates will be assessed at the end of the orientation courses and certificates issued to successful candidates.
Rotation in laboratories
- Laboratory rotations are required for exposure to
opportunities at RGCB and to give the student an idea of ongoing
programs in the laboratories before making a commitment for PhD
dissertation work. This also facilitates personal interaction between
the candidates and prospective mentors.
- Students are to spend one week in all labs that have
vacancies. This allows for evaluation by both the student and the
mentor. Candidates and advisers give in their respective choices to the
Office of the Director, where the choices will be processed and the
final allotment made.
- Orientation courses and lab rotations run in parallel.
Course work will be from 10 am to 12.30 pm and rotations in the
afternoons.
Activation of Research Fellowship and PhD registration with University of Kerala
- Students who successfully pass the course work and obtain
the certificates will only be eligible for activation of research
fellowships and PhD registration currently with the University of
Kerala.
- Once the students are allotted to the respective laboratory,
procedures for constitution of the Mentoring Committee and its first
meeting will be initiated.
- The student will have to present a PhD dissertation proposal
to the and get approval to submit application to the University of
Kerala before the prescribed deadline.
- Students are expected to submit the thesis before completion
of the fellowship tenure of 4 years. Extension beyond this time will be
given after recommendation from the MC.
- Students not completing their PhD within four years (or an
additional 6 month extension if approved by MC) will also lose the
right to continue staying in institute accommodation.
Constitution and Functioning of Mentoring Committees (MC)
- Each PhD student has to establish a Mentoring Committee
(MC) to provide timely and continued advice. The MC helps to set
logical goals for the completion of the dissertation and monitors
progress toward completion of degree requirements.
- RGCB has set forth specific and stringent guidelines to ensure that every student obtains maximal benefit from this system.
- The student's MC is formed in consultation with the student
and the student's dissertation advisor. The committee will have three
members in addition to the dissertation advisor, who will be the
coordinator. One of the members can be from other institutes. The
Director will approve the constitution of MC. Each student bears
primary responsibility for setting up the MC and ensuring that it meets
in a timely fashion.
- The MC will meet once in 6 months every year till submission of dissertation.
- At the first meeting of the MC, the student will be asked in
detail of his and her interests and goals. A discussion will be
initiated as to possible topics that could be given as the PhD
dissertation problem. The student then has to come back at a second MC
meeting as soon as possible with a proposal prepared in the DBT project
format, with a power point presentation. If the committee approves the
proposal, the student may proceed to submit the application to the
University of Kerala. If the proposal is not acceptable to the
committee, the student will be only able to submit it at the next PhD
session of the University
- The coordinator of the MC will file reports of the committee
meeting in the prescribed format. The report signed by all committee
members immediately upon conclusion of the meeting will be submitted to
the Director. A copy of the report will be also given to the student.
All reports will be kept in a student file maintained by the RGCB
Projects Management Division, which will be made available to the MC at
its last meeting before submission of the dissertation.
- Students will be allowed to submit yearly reports to their
fellowship funding agencies, assessment for up gradation to SRF, etc
only if approved by the MC.
- The student will be allowed to submit the dissertation to the
University of Kerala only if approved by the MC at its last meeting.
Hence at this meeting, the student will make a final pre-submission
presentation. Students must have at least one published peer reviewed
paper by this time.
- The dissertation must show original treatment of a fitting
subject, contain a scholarly review of the pertinent literature, give
evidence of independent research, and be clearly, logically, and
carefully written.
- The PhD dissertation is expected to contain a substantial
amount of independent research work of publishable quality. In addition
to chapters of research, each dissertation must contain introduction
and conclusion chapters that present the themes of the dissertation and
summarize the accomplishments. In some cases the student may have done
all of the work in the dissertation while often portions of the
dissertation result from collaborative research. In all dissertations
containing collaborative results, the dissertation should indicate
concisely the individual contributors to the work.
PhD Application Form
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