Postgraduate students in Telangana universities will be able to work along with researchers in the national research institutions to gain hands-on-knowledge and also get exposure to research.
The Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) wants to engage the national institutions in Hyderabad and is exploring some association with them to trigger research interest among youngsters. Hyderabad is surrounded by more than 150 national science and related research institutions and the potential association with them is being explored.
A senior official of the TSCHE said that the idea was floated with the Department of Science and Technology (DST) Secretary, S. Chandrasekhar when a team of the TSCHE met him in New Delhi recently. The same was brought to his attention when the DST Secretary was here to deliver the Convocation address of the JNTU Hyderabad a few days ago.
Dr. Chandrasekhar, who earlier worked as the Director of the city-based Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), apparently agreed to the view that university students need to be exposed to research of high level and assured the officials that he would take it forward.
In fact, Dr. Chandrashekhar during his stint with the IICT had encouraged such interaction and facilitated a one-month internship for 20 students of Telangana University, Nizamabad. It was a success as these students from a rural university spent a month at the ICCT visiting the labs, interacting with the researchers that triggered research interest among most of them.
Similar effort was made for the social sciences students too with the then Registrar of the Telangana University and present TSCHE chairman, Prof. R. Limbadri engaging with the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS) and students from the university were allowed to spend time in the CESS trying to understand the nuances of high quality research.
With Osmania University right beside national scientific research institutions like IICT, CCMB and NGRI it would be a great opportunity for students to get exposure in research, an official said.
Meanwhile, the TSCHE is preparing a document to list out the research institutes in and around the city and the possibility of sending different streams of students to them. “We are in the process and it will take a while before it takes the final shape. If our objective is achieved, state universities will immensely benefit and research will get a big boost,” an official said.
