Check out IGNOU programmes

Pervin Malhotra   

Q. As I was a commerce student in school, I went on to pursue a BCom degree. Although I graduated last year, I have realised that my real interest lies in psychology. I am now keen to pursue a course in this field but have lost a year on one hand and possess no background in psychology on the other. I am currently working as a trainee accountant with a CA which does not really interest me.

— Hema Mendiratta

A .Incidentally, IGNOU has extended the admission deadline for 150+ programmes including those in psychology till February 15 (without any late fee). Students can apply for IGNOU’s master, bachelor, diploma and certificate programmes in various disciplines rehanging from sciences, social sciences, humanities, computer science, health science, agriculture, management, education, social work, tourism, law, performing and visual arts, inter and trans-disciplinary studies, translation, engineering and technology, extension and development studies, foreign languages, journalism and new media studies and vocational education and training.

Specialist PG Diplomas: PGDHRM, PGDFM, PGDMM & PGDFMP can also be applied for through offline mode without entrance test. So hurry and grab this opportunity to save time. Once you’ve completed your course, you will be eligible to pursue any further qualifications – both full-time as well as online in the specialisation of your choice.

All for research

Q. I am currently doing BTech chemical engineering from a reputed engineering college. In the course of these four years, I’ve been helping out a number of classmates with their studies. In the process, I have developed a love for teaching and research instead of taking up a job in the industry. However, since I come from a single-parent home, I’m a little concerned about the financial aspects of doing MTech and then going for PhD subsequently. Any suggestions would be helpful.

— CP Bisht

A. I have some great news for you and other bright and motivated students who will be selected under the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF) for pursuing research in frontier areas of science and technology in IITs and IISc who simultaneously teach in neighbourhood ITIs once or twice a week as a part of the Fellowship.

In an attempt to energise the entire technical education ecosystem, the government will start accepting applications from students to submit their proposals for the PMRF scheme starting this academic year.

Approximately 1000 B.Tech students from premier institutions such as IITs, IISc among others will be offered a fellowship of Rs 75000 per month for a period of five years to complete their PhD.

Besides encouraging and inspiring the students, this will also serve to uplift the quality of teaching while harnessing the utilization of the best brains.

The PMRF scheme, for which a sum of Rs 1,800 crore has been allocated, will be cleared by the Cabinet soon.

Currently, PhD scholars in IITs and IISc get Rs 25000 pm (which goes up to Rs 28,000 after two years and a qualifying exam).

The move is aimed at promoting quality research in IITs and ensure students opt for higher education. For the simple reason that the quality of research in IITs depends on the quality of students in the PhD programme. This scheme encourages bright students like you who are completing their BTech programme to directly register for the PhD programme.

At present, 25,000 scholars are enrolled in different PhD programmes in the various IITs. Watch out for the Notification detailing the outline of this scheme.

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