IIT Kanpur Announces Fellowship For PhD Students, Check Eligibility Criteria

The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) has launched the Fellowship for Academic and Research Excellence (FARE), a new initiative to support PhD students with their academic and research capabilities. This fellowship aims to encourage the timely completion of doctoral studies while promoting high-quality research output, the IIT said.

The application process is now open to full-time PhD students currently enrolled at IIT Kanpur who submitted their thesis within five years of enrollment in the PhD programme. Students who submit their thesis within five years and six months are also eligible, although the fellowship duration will be adjusted accordingly, the institute said.

The eligibility criteria for the fellowship include at least one accepted or published research paper as the first author in a reputed journal or conference proceedings, directly stemming from their PhD research, the institute said in a press release. The fellowship applies to students from the academic year 2018 batch onward.

The fellowship will offer financial support for up to 12 months, with a stipend equivalent to that of the institute’s Post-Doctoral Fellows, along with additional research-related grants. The current Thesis Supervisor will continue to serve as the Mentor, although collaborations with other faculty members during the fellowship period are strongly encouraged.

“The FARE Fellowship is a significant step by IIT Kanpur to support its students in achieving their academic and research goals, offering both recognition and tangible support to those who excel academically and contribute meaningfully to their fields of study. IIT Kanpur invites eligible PhD students to apply and advance their research careers through this opportunity,” the institute said.

Meanwhile, student placements at IIT Kanpur saw an overall 12 per cent dip in the 2023-24 academic session with a major drop in international offers, as compared to those of last year. Even though the number of Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs) received by students went up this year, the overall placements, including in some masters courses, remained low. According to the statistics in a report shared by the IIT on May 31, the overall placement rate this year was 76 per cent, the same stood at 87.9 per cent in the 2022-23 academic session.