11 The Institute’s Hopes and Expectations
IITB faculty expectations, teaching load, research responsibilities, institutional service
For most faculty members joining this Institute, this will be the first ‘job’, at least in an academic set-up. Since, in such a set up, it is largely up to the individual to plan out her activities and career, it is but natural that one is a little apprehensive as to how to manage one’s time in the initial years. While there are always some senior faculty in the academic unit who will guide you in this respect, the following sections give some idea of what is expected of you and introduce you to the various Institute-supported activities that you will probably get involved in as a faculty member.
11.1 What the Institute expects of you
When you join the Institute as a faculty, in order to assist you to settle in and get your research underway quickly and efficiently, the Institute and the academic unit extend certain facilities. These are:
A seed grant of ₹ 50,00,000 including the support for one PhD student in the project mode. Higher seed grant amounts may be considered for equipment intensive research (you need to consult Dean (R&D) office for information regarding this, soon after you join).
Space: A minimum of a faculty cabin (10’ × 15’) and a working space of 300 sq. ft. to be identified by the academic unit before he/she joins and made available on joining.
Reduced teaching load (say a course associateship) in the first semester (unless the faculty member wants to be involved in intensive teaching right from the start). Similarly, administrative load to be kept to a minimum in the initial semester.
In return, the Institute has certain expectations from the new faculty members. These are:
At least one grant proposal submitted within the first 6-8 months after joining and independent research funding secured within about a year.
Independent handling (as sole instructor) of at least one teaching-intensive course within the first two years.
Demonstrated research productivity in terms of lab development and publications as relevant to the faculty member’s nature of work, as well as evidence of research guidance (in the form of PhD scholars and completed Masters’ projects) within a reasonable time period.
11.2 Typical activity profile of a Faculty member and Annual self-assessment
The three main areas in which faculty members contribute to the Institute are Teaching, Research and Service1. It is expected that, averaged over the year, a young faculty member spends of the order of 30% of one’s time during the working week on teaching, and up to 20% on service-related activities, leaving the rest of the time (50% of the working week) for research. It may therefore be expected that, at various points where one’s contributions are to be assessed, these weightages shall apply.
The various designations of faculty in the Institute, along with their responsibilities, is listed in the chapter on Faculty Designations.
Service includes administration as well as contributions to the society at large and to the profession. The latter contributions are usually through participation in extension activities (continuing education, consultancy, etc., on which more in further sections), membership of professional bodies, governmental committees, journal reviewerships and editorships and so on.↩︎