Andhra Pradesh Higher Education Summer Fellowship Notification April 2016

Introduction : The Government of Andhra Pradesh has embarked on an ambitious vision to rank amongst the top three states in terms of per capita income by 2022 and be a developed state by 2029. As a part of this vision, the Government has identified higher education to be a major growth engine. The Government aims to transform the state of Andhra Pradesh into a Knowledge Hub. The endeavor is to create a human talent pool that has a firm grounding in modern society, economy and technologies to fuel the State’s ambitious double-digit growth targets.

Towards this end, there is an urgent need to improve the quality of higher education in the State, besides making it more relevant to the State’s growth needs. The Government is in the process of making provision for new private universities under the AP Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Act, 2015, while strengthening the existing State universities. The Higher Education Department has taken up various initiatives in the fields of faculty development, R&D and innovation, employability and entrepreneurship, elearning, smart campuses, international rankings, CSR funding for higher education etc.

To provide impetus to these initiatives, the Government intends to engage highly competent candidates as Summer Fellows for six-eight weeks. Higher Education Department may also consider outstanding performers for longerterm engagements with the Government of Andhra Pradesh or its associated institutions. A similar fellowship commissioned last year by the Government of Andhra Pradesh attracted highly competent candidates from globally reputed institutions like Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Chicago, London School of Economics, National University of Singapore, IIMs, IITs etc. Thus, the fellowship will not only offer an opportunity to shape the trajectory of a newly-formed State, but also an opportunity to work with similar-minded public policy and development professionals.

2. List of Projects

2.1. Improving Research Output and Quality (3 fellows)

• Benchmark research output and quality (citations) at major state universities against national and international standards
• Institute R&D cells at major state universities to enable them to continually improve research output and quality by adopting practices such as tiering of journals, greater participation in top tier journals, increased patenting and commercialization of products, higher national and international co-authorships, and partnerships with research indexing tools such as Scopus, SciVal, Research Gate, Web of Science, Google Scholar etc.
• Build local teams and metrics at each cell to measure, track and improve research output and quality at respective universities

2.2. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Desk (3 fellows)

• Strengthen the CSR Desk at the Higher Education Department to attract CSR funding towards higher education projects in the state
• Formulate outreach and communication strategies for corporates and implement the same to understand their needs and funding patterns
• Develop university-specific projects related to infrastructure upgradation, product development, capacity building of faculty/administrators and other fields as highlighted by corporates after due consultations
• Initiate at least one university-specific project to be financed via the CSR Desk

2.3. Placements and Career Development (2 Fellows)

• Build an online platform to capture placements data of students at major state universities and colleges
• Prepare relevant questionnaires to be uploaded on the portal to map career aspirations of students in their final or penultimate years
• Strengthen placements and career cells at major state universities to enable them to utilize the platform every year during placements
• Integrate data on student dropouts to map their career aspirations and training needs
• Integrate data on alumni to map their career growth and potential contribution to their alma mater

2.4. Improving Entrepreneurship and Innovation (2 fellows)

• Sensitize universities to their evolving role in supporting entrepreneurship and innovation
• Benchmark existing incubation centers against national and international standards
• Institute entrepreneurship cells at major state universities to enable them to continually improve entrepreneurial activities such as registration and incubation of startups, seed-funding, start-up events, pitching workshops etc.
• Build local teams and metrics at each cell to measure, track and improve entrepreneurial activity at respective universities

2.5. International Collaborations Desk (2 fellows)

• Strengthen the International Collaborations Desk at the Higher Education Department to attract greater number of international collaborations
• Consolidate the existing pipeline of international collaboration projects and reach out to international partners in US, UK, Australia, Singapore etc. to attract international students and faculty, increase number of international exchange/twinning programmes, boost international research co-authorships, organize international conferences etc.
• Formulate outreach and communication strategies for potential international partners and implement the same to rope in more international partners

2.6. Institutionalizing National and International Rankings (1 fellow)

• Institute rankings cells at major state universities to enable them to undertake applications to national rankings such as the ‘National Institutional Ranking Framework’ (NIRF) and international rankings such as Times Higher Education and QS rankings every year in a systematic manner
• Build local teams and systems at each cell to fulfill annual requirements for rankings such as data collection at departmental, collegiate and university level, participation in ranking surveys and coordination with major ranking players such as Times Higher Education and QS

2.7. E-Learning Platform (1 fellow)

• Build an e-learning platform for college and university students with curated content from open knowledge sources such as Khan academy and TED
• Market the platform via campus visits and social media to register interested students under the platform
• Build mechanisms to track and improve registrations and engagement on the platform

3. FELLOWSHIP TIMELINE

3.1. Week 1: Orientation and finalization of projects in consultation with the fellows and key stakeholders in Higher Education Department and Universities

3.2. Week 2-4: Project and field work

3.3. Week 5: Mid-term review and feedback with key stakeholders in Higher Education Department and Universities

3.4. Week 6-7: Project and field work

3.5. Week 8: Presentation on outcomes and discussion on sustainability of projects with key stakeholders in Higher Education Department and Universities

4. QUALIFICATIONS

4.1. Graduate/Postgraduate/PhD students or working professionals under the age of 35

4.2. Students should ideally be enrolled in premier national and international institutions with outstanding academic merit

4.3. Students who are graduating and are looking for employment are also encouraged to apply

4.4. Working professionals under the age of 35 from premier national and international institutions who wish to take a sabbatical from their current employment need to get an in-principle approval and a formal letter from their employer before commencing the fellowship

4.5. Candidates should exude passion and flair for public policy, especially in the field of higher education

4.6. Candidates should show an ability to be proactive and work in unstructured environments

5. REMUNERATION

5.1. Each fellow will be paid a total honorarium of Rs. 70,000 for performance rated “Satisfactory”, Rs. 85,000 for performance rated “Good” and Rs. 1,00,000 for performance rated “Outstanding” for the entire fellowship period, as determined by the process formulated for the performance appraisal.

5.2. If the performance is rated “Unsatisfactory”, the Higher Education Department reserves the right to pay an amount deemed suitable on a case-by-case basis.

6. APPLICATION TIMELINE

6.1. Application Begins: 6 April 2016

6.2. Deadline for Receipt of Application: 24 Apr 2016 (2359 hrs IST)

6.3. Interviews for Shortlisted Candidates: On a rolling basis

6.4. Announcement of Selected Candidates: 02 May 2016

6.5. Confirmation from Candidates: 04 May 2016 6.6. Fellowship Begins: 16 May 2016

7. APPLICATION PROCESS

7.1. Please submit the application to aphefellowship2016@gmail.com in one consolidated PDF file named ‘LastName_FirstName.pdf’ containing the following:

Page 1: Scanned copy of the Student/Employee ID Card (1 Page)

Page 2-3: Resume (Maximum 2 Pages)

Page 4-5: Choice of Project (Maximum 2 pages) From the given list of projects, candidates should indicate their top two preferences, and state reasons for the first preference. The reasons should draw on the candidate’s educational and professional experience. Further, the candidates need to indicate how they would approach their most preferred project so as to ensure the best possible outcome.

Page 6-7: Essay on Higher Education in Andhra Pradesh (Maximum 2 Pages) The candidates need to bring out their vision of development of Higher Education in the state as part of Vision 2029 of Andhra Pradesh. Use of rigorous analysis and data in this essay would carry weight.

7.2 Please feel free to send your queries to aphefellowship2016@gmail.com

8. SELECTION PROCESS

8.1. Applicants will be shortlisted based on the merit of their application and preferences.

8.2. Shortlisted applicants will be invited for a short telephonic/video based interview.

8.3. The interview slots will be scheduled in consultation with the shortlisted applicants.

8.4. The final list of selected candidates along with a short wait list will be drawn based on written applications and interviews.

8.5. The allocation of projects will be considered based on preferences of candidates and their abilities to handle different projects as highlighted by them during the selection process.

8.6. The selected candidates should confirm their participation in the fellowship before the deadline mentioned in the Timelines section, failing which the fellowship positions will be opened up for the candidates in the wait list.

8.7. The Higher Education Department reserves the right to not fill one or more of the above fellowship positions if it does not find suitable candidates during the selection process.

8.8. The Higher Education Department reserves the right to call for additional documentation like Graduation Certificates, Transcripts etc. as deemed necessary before confirming the offer of fellowship.

9. MONITORING COMMITTEE

9.1. A monitoring committee comprising VCs and experts may be formed to provide orientation and midcourse correction to the fellows. The committee may also be asked to fine tune and customize the projects based on fellows’ strengths and provide regular feedback.

10. FORCE MAJEURE

10.1. The Higher Education Department reserves the right to cancel or modify the fellowship programme, either in full or in part, at any point of time, without assigning any reason.

Download official Notification here – Click Here

For more details please visit, Official website : http://www.knowledgemission.ap.gov.in/