New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B) has introduced an apprenticeship programme for those from marginalised sections of society to help them prepare for doctoral studies.
The aim is to provide opportunities to prepare for a doctoral programme anywhere in the world.
Named after Prof NS Ramaswamy, a strong votary of social inclusion, the Pre-doctoral Fellowship aims to bring in social inclusion on campus. “It is a highly selective programme instituted with the aim to increase social diversity of management academia in India. It will enable members of socially deprived sections to prepare here and apply anywhere in the world for doctoral studies — it could be a pipeline to other options,” said the spokesperson of IIM-B Kavita Kumar.
Correcting the deficit
This flexible one-year apprenticeship program, designed to help the selected pre-doctoral fellows successfully apply to doctoral program in management and allied disciplines, comes after a long struggle. Last year, a report filed by an IIM scholar and faculty member showed that out of over five hundred faculty members in IIMs, only two were from scheduled caste, none from scheduled tribe and only 13 from other backward castes (OBC).
The information was collected via an RTI filed by Deepak Malghan, Assistant Professor Centre for Public Policy, IIM-Bangalore and Siddhartha Joshi, doctoral fellow.
In the paper titled ‘Missing Scholars: Social Exclusion at the Indian Institutes of Management’, the duo used administrative data obtained through an RTI reply and concluded that the institutes were responsible for a phenomenon they describe as “missing scholars”.
After the announcement of the program, Malghan said, “It is a very important step towards achieving social diversity, this is an acknowledgement of a problem so that now we can go ahead correcting it.”
The program specifically targets applicants from historically under-represented sections of the society. He added, “All the elite spaces are segregated – 97% of the IIM staff comes from only the 7% of the population with the culture and social capital. This takes away the legitimacy of the institution and works towards restoring the constitutive goals of a republic.”
The 2018-19 Pre-doctoral Fellowships are available in the disciplinary areas within management scholarship and research. It is a one academic year program starting from June 2018 through March 2019. But under exceptional circumstances, it will extended to another year. The extension will be taken after keeping in mind the progress of the candidate. Each fellow will receive a monthly stipend of Rs 25,000 besides full tuition waiver for any coursework during their tenure.
Selection Process
Eligibility criterion is to have a master’s degree or a five year integrated master’s degree (obtained after completing higher secondary schooling in 10+2 pattern) in any discipline, with minimum 50 percent marks in bachelor’s as well as the master’s. Those having professional qualifications such as CA, ICWA, CS, with at least 50 percent marks can also apply. The course is open for students with a 4 year or 8-semester bachelor’s degree (10+2+4 pattern) with at least 50 percent marks.
Shortlisting will be based on the applicant’s resume. This will be followed by an interview for final selection. Interviews are expected to be held in the third week of April 2018 (tentatively).
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