ROURKELA: With a couple of successful recruitment drives held on mission mode over the last two years, the National Institute of Technology-Rourkela (NIT-R) has significantly reduced the number of vacancies in faculty positions to merely 14 per cent.
As per the direction of the central government to hold mission-mode recruitment drives, the institute completed the hiring process for 2022 in four months and issued 211 appointment orders. Similarly, the recruitment drive for 2023 was carried out over six months. The drive concluded in third week of June this year with issuance of 156 appointment orders. In both recruitment drives, appointment orders were issued to outside candidates and existing faculty members.
Registrar of NIT-R Prof Rohan Dhiman said the management is happy with the outcome of the recruitment drives which provided opportunities to the existing faculty members for upgradation and allowed external candidates to join the institute. The sanctioned faculty strength is around 485. Presently, 68 posts are vacant which is barely 14 per cent of the strength.
Prof Dhiman further said unlike the non-teaching staff, the institute has no promotion system for faculty members. Advertisements against vacant positions are published and the existing faculty members have to go through the selection process to get the promotion.
In 2022 recruitment drive, 148 existing faculty members competing for higher grades got fresh appointment orders, while 63 external candidates were recruited in different categories of assistant professors and associate professors. In the 2023 drive, after change in the statute of the NIT Act, the selection committee allowed the upgradation to 23 eligible existing faculty members to the next level. At least 90 other existing faculties competing for different higher positions also got fresh appointments orders. Besides, 43 outside candidates successfully competed for different categories of assistant professors and associate professors and got appointment orders.
Institute sources said the two-phase recruitment process involves departmental presentations in which candidates are required to make presentations on teaching methodology, their research works and future plans before the experts of the selection and faculty committees. It follows with the interview of short-listed candidates by the selection committee in presence of the NIT-R director. The minimum qualification is PhD at the entry level of assistant professor with pay level 10.