[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@DirtyDan; I am not into Robotics (or rather Mechantronics in the new parlance). I am essentially into Instrumentation (LabVIEW is the platform) and amongst other things have developed Hot Axle Detectors for the Railways, totally revamped the control system for a 1992 vintage Track Fatigue Testing Machine, and over a decade ago developed a replacement automatic test rig for the Head-up display of Jaguar Fighters for a Defence Industry. Also, succesfully developed Thermal Analysers in the mid-90's.

Ah! Okay. Even Western Physics gurus have some interesting Asian philosophical connections. Both Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr have been quoted as saying they were greatly influenced by Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist thought. Niels Bohr was knighted in 1947 and had the ying yang symbol incorporated in his family crest.

[sgiitk]

@DirtyDan; Remember what were the first thought of Oppenheimer at Almogadro. 'I become brighter than a thousand suns' from the Bhagvadgita, though he had to be reminded of the second line, 'I am become death, destroyer of the worlds'. ! He was a Sanskrit aficionado.

[KL54]

After days of (futile) searching on the web on the quality of doing a PhD from deemed universities in India, I decided to turn to bhpians for solace and advice.

My problem is this: I have been accepted to a research program leading to a Phd from VIT (Vellore Institute of Technology). The dept is CSE.

I would like to know the merits and demerits of doing a PhD from this institution. I thought a ready reckoner of pros and cons of doing a Phd from general (state) and deemed universities can also be constructed. Which are the best departments, which have the most experienced guides (well cited, respected,etc) in respective fields and so on.

Thanks.

[sgiitk]

@KL54; Congratulations. What I will say is that VIT is probably the fastest rising private university in India. So there future looks bright. A lot depends on who is your advisor.

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by KL54

After days of (futile) searching on the web on the quality of doing a PhD from deemed universities in India, I decided to turn to bhpians for solace and advice.

My problem is this: I have been accepted to a research program leading to a Phd from VIT (Vellore Institute of Technology). The dept is CSE.

I would like to know the merits and demerits of doing a PhD from this institution. I thought a ready reckoner of pros and cons of doing a Phd from general (state) and deemed universities can also be constructed. Which are the best departments, which have the most experienced guides (well cited, respected,etc) in respective fields and so on.

Thanks.

Congrats. My younger sister is an alumni from VIT and from the same dept. as yours. Well, depends on your advisor, but, as far as I know, it even depends on your motivation levels. As SGIITK sir says, they are one of the best private universities with good contacts world wide for research activities. Hearty wishes for your successful completion.

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@KL54; Congratulations. What I will say is that VIT is probably the fastest rising private university in India. So there future looks bright. A lot depends on who is your advisor.

SGIITK sir, could you list out the basic requirements for applying for a doctoral / post doc position at IIT. Well not for me but would be a ready recknor for members aiming in that direction. Also would serve as a comparative case with private institutes, as IIT's are the benchmark in our country.

Also, a to do and not to do while pursuing a doctoral research will be a real eye opener.

Thanks sir.

[KL54]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@KL54; Congratulations.

Thank you sir. Let us see what future has in store for me.

Originally Posted by sgiitk

A lot depends on who is your advisor.

How do I get to evaluate how good my guide is? Can I select my own guide? Do I atleast have a say in that process? Could you please list out a few points as to how I can tell how good my guide is?

[KL54]

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

Congrats. My younger sister is an alumni from VIT and from the same dept. as yours. Well, depends on your advisor, but, as far as I know, it even depends on your motivation levels. As SGIITK sir says, they are one of the best private universities with good contacts world wide for research activities. Hearty wishes for your successful completion.

Thanks AlphaKilo. Was your sister also a doctoral student at VIT?

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

SGIITK sir, could you list out the basic requirements for applying for a doctoral / post doc position at IIT. Well not for me but would be a ready recknor for members aiming in that direction. Also would serve as a comparative case with private institutes, as IIT's are the benchmark in our country.

Also, a to do and not to do while pursuing a doctoral research will be a real eye opener.

SG sir, I second this request. Could you pls do something about it?

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by KL54

Thank you sir. Let us see what future has in store for me.

How do I get to evaluate how good my guide is? Can I select my own guide? Do I atleast have a say in that process? Could you please list out a few points as to how I can tell how good my guide is?

I am not a PhD myself, hence can only give your generic advice. Check out the profile of your advisor ( I am sure but I guess, you are free to choose your advisor, depends on your topic of research and the guy who is the head of that reasearch and so on.). See his publications, his own research interests and research works from the past. If you have some specific names, may be I could ask my sister for her view point. She did her masters there so her view may or may not be of great help for you.

[KL54]

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

I am not a PhD myself, hence can only give your generic advice. Check out the profile of your advisor ( I am sure but I guess, you are free to choose your advisor, depends on your topic of research and the guy who is the head of that reasearch and so on.). See his publications, his own research interests and research works from the past. If you have some specific names, may be I could ask my sister for her view point. She did her masters there so her view may or may not be of great help for you.

Since I am still a newbie in team-bhp scheme of things, I dont think I can PM you with the guide's name. How do I then send you the name?

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by KL54

How do I get to evaluate how good my guide is? Can I select my own guide? Do I atleast have a say in that process? Could you please list out a few points as to how I can tell how good my guide is?

Varies from Institution to Institution. while most places allow you a lot of freedom, some do not. Search his profile starting from the Institution website. Some parameters worth looking at - publication record, projects done, career record.

[manolin]

Originally Posted by Samurai

I have no reservations about calling a medical doctor as doctor. That is their professional title. If a bunch of PhDs are travelling in a flight, and if the air hostess announces "A passenger is sick, is there a doctor on board?", how many of the PhDs are going to step forward? Therefore, don't grudge the title of a medical doctor.

I have seen this happen on flights and it is funny when they go up to a phd guy ask if he is a doctor. But it doesn't take away the fact that he is a phd, a doctor of philosophy, that most grandest of educational traditions. That Medical Doctors (who are sub-species of philosophy) have come to be identified by the term, doesn't make the larger group/identifying tag less lofty.

There has been in due course a general lack of dignity of professions, and of pure education, especially as more and more professions which service needs (of any kind) have gained ground, be it by way of invention or application of ideas. Education and research purely for itself, is equally relevant, and is to be equally respected. Because sometimes, and more often than one thinks, the big questions have been answered from theory.

So khuswant singh can go say what he wants. Similar analogies can be found from any title that money can buy. But if a person has written a thesis, and defended it, and earned the moniker of a doctor, yes, then he has earned it. Whether he wants to called as Dr. or not, is his prerogative, just as whether you call him or not as Dr. is your prerogative. If he hadn't done his PHD and wrote Dr.XYZ, then that is a problem, but trivialize legitimately earned title is ridiculous.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by manolin

There has been in due course a general lack of dignity of professions, and of pure education, especially as more and more professions which service needs (of any kind) have gained ground, be it by way of invention or application of ideas. Education and research purely for itself, is equally relevant, and is to be equally respected. Because sometimes, and more often than one thinks, the big questions have been answered from theory.

Oh, I agree with that. My all time idol has been a physicist named Richard Feynman, with Neil Degrasse Tyson (Astro Physicist) being the recent addition. If I had met Dr.Feynman when he lived, or if I meet Dr.Tyson in future, I would not have any hesitation in calling them doctors.

Originally Posted by manolin

But if a person has written a thesis, and defended it, and earned the moniker of a doctor, yes, then he has earned it. Whether he wants to called as Dr. or not, is his prerogative, just as whether you call him or not as Dr. is your prerogative. If he hadn't done his PHD and wrote Dr.XYZ, then that is a problem, but trivialize legitimately earned title is ridiculous.

If it is my prerogative, why is it ridiculous?

I am sorry, I happen to hold the title of doctor (non-medical ones) to a much higher standards. May be because I have seen too many examples of also-ran PhD holders who did it for the sake of a degree for career advancement. If the fellow has done post doctoral research in his field and has a long string of research accomplishments, then I might address him as a doctor out of sheer respect.

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by amitk26

My observation was simply based on the interviews conducted.

A few samples common questions out of my memory.

Thanks a lot for your time sir.

Based on empirical results after interviewing few dozen of Phd candidates.
My observation is people who go for PhD after some work experience voluntarily generally are better others simply did Phd because they could not secure job after graduation and after a gap of couple of years higer studies was a necessity.

(4) A common question asked was where can you apply your research giving certain broad situations , Again no answers.

How did the/such candidate(s) got a PhD position in the first place? Isnt there a pre-PhD interview/3 months of initial work period and then do a presentation which will define the future of their research work?

Atleast in Germany thats the case! Unless and otherwise one can satisfactorily prove his/her eagerness/intent to "research", its near to impossible to get a PhD position in Germany.

[acurafan]

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

Atleast in Germany thats the case! Unless and otherwise one can satisfactorily prove his/her eagerness/intent to "research", its near to impossible to get a PhD position in Germany.

Not always. NUS and NTU are less strict in their admission requirements compared to US/Canadian Universities. Even some of the European universities are similar to NUS and NTU in their admission requirements.
Another problem I see is the lack of course work. PhD level courses are very different from Masters course which are different from Undergraduate courses though they may have similar name in US. Long time back I had to take 12 courses on Core subjects and then appear before 5 profs for 1-1 viva to qualify for the Ph.D program. 2 years from then you had to defend your proposal to become a Ph.D candidate and 1-2 years later defend your thesis to get the doctorate. Also typical requirement for defending one's thesis was to publish 3-4 journal papers in Tier-1 journals and more than 10(assuming 5 years for Ph.D) conference papers in the premier conferences. I hardly see similar volume of work from Singapore, Indian or some European universities.
So far two guys we have offered had their Ph.Ds from Oxford and Univ of Houston. We passed on few from NUS,NTU,KTH and bunch of French universities. On the other hand I am surprised by the quality of the Ph.Ds coming from Chinese universities lately. Guys from Tsinghua, Beijing, Shanghai, HKUST were always good but I am scared by the so called Tier-II schools such as ZJU etc. Our dept funds 8 projects in Chinese universities and the results that we get from them is absolutely amazing.

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

One of my friend is doing her PhD in NUS/NTU (not sure of the name!) but under a lab of NUS. she had to do all that you had mentioned (exams, presentation, viva) and now is she is busy in her final work (last 2 years) with publishing papers/journals and final defence. I guess it depends more on the department too and not just NTU/NUS on the whole.

That is true. There are some emphasis departments such as Biotechnology, Molecular Biology etc where there is significant push from Singapore govt to succeed. One of my friend who is a Prof in NUS had some really good researchers. My experience is with Electrical engineering dept so far. These guys don't go through the proper grind it seems :-)

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by acurafan

Not always. NUS and NTU are less strict in their admission requirements compared to US/Canadian Universities. Even some of the European universities are similar to NUS and NTU in their admission requirements.
Another problem I see is the lack of course work.I hardly see similar volume of work from Singapore, Indian or some European universities.

One of my friend is doing her PhD in NUS/NTU (not sure of the name!) but under a lab of NUS. she had to do all that you had mentioned (exams, presentation, viva) and now is she is busy in her final work (last 2 years) with publishing papers/journals and final defence. I guess it depends more on the department too and not just NTU/NUS on the whole.

P.S: I am not a PhD, so I don't know much into the quality/work loads but I have heard from one of teachers(a physics PhD from the 60's) that there was structure similar to what acurafan has mentioned above.