UGC to introduce PhD Excellence Citations to recognise exceptional research
PhD Excellence Citations seek to recognise exceptional doctoral research across disciplines to create a quality research ecosystem and identify high-quality work of young scholars
Higher education regulator University Grants Commission (UGC) is set to introduce PhD Excellence Citations from next year to recognise exceptional doctoral research across disciplines to create a quality research ecosystem and identify high-quality work of young scholars in line with the 2020 National Education Policy, which said the creation and exploration of knowledge were vital to India’s future.
People aware of the matter said 10 citations, two each for sciences, engineering and technology, social sciences, Indian languages, and commerce and management, will be awarded annually.
UGC-recognised and National Assessment and Accreditation Council-accredited state, central, private, and deemed universities can nominate candidates for the citations after they successfully defend their theses.
Scholars must provide the URLs of their thesis uploaded to the Information and Library Network website and present significant research publications or patents to be eligible. The theses of applicants must comply with the UGC’s regulations for PhD degrees. Scholars must have obtained their PhD between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year to be eligible for the citations.
Each university may nominate up to five theses per year with one nomination from each of the five disciplines. The UGC will invite universities to submit nominations starting January 1. March 31 will be the nomination submission deadline. The selection committee for the citations will recommend winners to the UGC by August 1. The citations would eventually be awarded on Teachers’ Day (September 5).
Each university can form its committee to shortlist candidates based on originality, contribution to knowledge, research methodology, clarity, impact, references, presentation, and defence performance.
The UGC will establish one panel each for five streams following the university-level screening. Each panel will select two candidates. The panels will have the discretion to determine the suitability of a thesis for a particular stream.
Universities will have to submit their nominations through a web portal. The panel for each stream will evaluate the nominations and recommend two theses for the citations.
The UGC move to award the citations follows a study on PhDs, which found the number of doctoral admissions rose from 77,798 in 2010-11 to 161,412 in 2017-18. The study found 30% of the PhD degrees were awarded in sciences, 26% in engineering and technology, and 12% in social sciences.
