Not many openings in research, development
The interactive meet between the industry and pure science students at IISc turned out to be a damp squib for students as only a few companies promised employment opportunities, though quite a number of companies visited the campus on Saturday.
The meet, ‘Samanway 2014,’ was designed to provide students a platform to interact with prospective employers from various companies and help them find employment outside academic opportunities.
There were eight stalls of various companies at the meet. Also, a number of panel discussions were held involving students and representatives from these companies.
Sangeeta Chakraborty, who has just completed her PhD from the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology and is all set to do a post doctorate, said: “The kind of jobs that they have is mostly related to marketing and sales, while I have a pure research background. I will send them my CV nevertheless and explore the opportunity,” she said, after interacting with representatives from Sigma- Aldrich, a life sciences and technology company.
She added that it is difficult for research students to compete with engineering or business management students. “Even after years of research we may end up getting just a starting salary of an engineering or management student,” she said.
Prashanth Bhagana, Application Scientist- Sales and Marketing, Sigma-Aldrich, told Deccan Herald that they have as many as 100 openings in sales and marketing profiles but not many in Research and Development (R&D).
Ranjay Laha, Manager, Development and Engineering, Strategic Products, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) said, “As far as I know, the R&D wing at my department has employed as many as three PhD students from Physics background. We also encourage collaborations between scientists from BEL with institutions like IISc.”
Despite the less number of employment opportunities, B Chetana, a PhD student from the Biochemistry department, said that she was optimistic about such initiatives.
“Although avenues for employment are limited for research students, we must appreciate this effort to bridge the gap with the industry. It is definitely a good step in the right direction,” she said.
The event on Saturday concluded the first part of the industry-academia meet. The other two parts involving engineering and manufacturing students are scheduled to be held on a later date.
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