Applications are invited for admission to Phd. Program at IMTECH

Established in 1984, the Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTech) is one among the chain of 37 national laboratories, 6 units and 39 outreach centres of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research. Set-up to be a fore-runner in the niche domain of microbial biotechnology, the Institute in its initial years functioned from a start-up laboratory that provided a truly world-class R&D ambience in an area of over 10,000 sq. ft. to its researchers. In September, 1989, upon completion of the permanent campus, the Institute shifted to occupy an area of about 47 acres, of which the labs covered 22 acres and the residential campus 25 acres. The Institute covering a built up area of about 3.60 lakh sq. ft., is spread over four main buildings, namely, Main R&D block, Fermentation block, Animal House, Workshop, Stores and Services area, several service building including a guest house and Cafeteria. Recently another block of almost 50000 sq. ft. area (the G.N. Ramachandran Protein Centre) has been added, to cater to R&D in all aspects of Protein science and engineering. The Institute provides laboratories which are functionally modular and offer large, air-conditioned, clean research areas to all the scientists.

Director, Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), invites exceptionally motivated candidates for pursuing doctoral research at IMTECH under the aegis of the Ph.D. degree program being jointly run by IMTECH and the Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research (AcSIR), New Delhi. The candidates who have passed M.Sc. examination with minimum 55% marks in aggregate (50% marks in case of SC/ST/Differently-abled candidates) and cleared any of the following examinations with valid fellowship are eligible to apply.

(a) CSIR-UGC NET (NET-LS not eligible)
(b) DBT-JRF examination (‘A’ Category only)
(c) DST INSPIRE Fellowship
(d) ICMR-JRF examination (those selected for working only in ICMR Projects are not eligible).

Eligibility:
Candidates with Master's Degree with minimum 55% marks in aggregate (50% marks in case of SC/ST/Differently-abled candidates) or equivalent in any branch of science (Physics, Chemistry, Life Sciences, Microbiology, Botany, Zoology, Physiology, Biochemistry, Biophysics, Biotechnology, Pharmacy) or in chemical/biochemical engineering who have valid research fellowship after passing CSIR/UGC NET or DBT JRF examination (‘A’ Category) or DST INSPIRE Fellowship or ICMR JRF examination are eligible to apply. Please note that valid proofs of having passed the masters’ level (or those awaiting for their final results) and fellowship examinations (with valid fellowship) are mandatory for being eligible to be interviewed. Those coming for interview must be prepared to be present in Chandigarh for three days, which is the approximate time required to finalize the admission. No TA/DA or any other expenses will be paid for appearing in the interview. Candidates must also state their present occupation, if any, before the interview; any concealment may result in cancellation of admission at any stage.

Age limit & relaxation: minimum 19 years & maximum 28 years (upper age relaxation is applicable to SC/ST/OBC/PH/VH/Female candidates as per Govt. of India rules). The decision of the Director, IMTECH, regarding selection/admission of the candidates shall be final.

Kindly note that those candidates who are waiting for M.Sc. results may also appear for interview but their joining is subject to clearing all the eligibility criteria.

Selection:
The short listed candidates will be called for interview at IMTECH, Chandigarh. There will be two rounds of interviews. The first round will be aimed at assessing the candidate’s ability for comprehension, critical analysis, logical reasoning and aptitude for scientific research. Shortlisted candidates in the first round of interview will appear for the second round of interview. In the second interview, the candidates should be ready to make a short 10 minute presentation based on their research interest. The research presentation should contain the following information (i) Title (ii) Introduction of the problem (iii) Lack of existing knowledge (iv) Proposed strategies to solve the problem. The result of the selected candidates will be declared on the AcSIR website. The fees for Ph.D. program is as per AcSIR fee structure. Currently, per semester fee is Rs. 6,000/- and thesis submission fees is Rs. 5,000/-

Residential Accommodation:
Separate hostel accommodation for boys and girls in the campus may be provided to the admitted candidates on request and as per availability. Any questions pertaining to admission may be enquired at phd@imtech.res.in

How to apply:
The application should be submitted through online at acsir.res.in.