GTU endorses field work in PhD studies

In a bid to improve quality of research output from its students, Gujarat Technological University (GTU) has decided to include field work as part of curriculum towards a doctoral degree.

Students of computer science and information technology have been instructed to touch base with affected section of people while gathering primary data.

The development comes after this newspaper highlighted the suggestion by V Ramagopal Rao, professor with Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay's (IITB) to make field work mandatory for doctoral students for a certain period of time during their course. Rao made this proposal in his capacity as chairman of Department of Information Council (DIC).

Keeping relevance of the suggestions in mind, GTU authorities has issued instruction that "GTU's doctoral students are advised to use his advice and do fieldwork in industries and in remote areas to understand relevance of their own research work". 

Rao, in an earlier interaction with DNA, had stated that doctoral students fail to understand problems faced by different sections of society because their research work restricted to classroom and laboratories. This, he had said, leads to research which are socially irrelevant.

According to him, if researchers interact with a particular section of society and understand their problems and help them, they will be able to come up with products that can solve these issues.