ACADEMIC ADVISORIES

18 April 2020Advisory regarding summer interns

In pursuance of the orders of the Government of Karnataka, Ref No. DD/SSU/COVID-19/17/19-20 dated 13 April 2020, and the lockdown orders of the Central Government, Ref No. D.O NO. Z-21020/14/2020-PH dated 16 March 2020, the Indian Institute of Science has been closed since 14 March 2020, and all the students were instructed to leave the campus. No physical classroom instruction has been going on, and all laboratory activities have been stopped, except for essential activities (such as maintaining animals, and maintenance of instruments that cannot be shut down, etc.), and COVID-19-related research and development work. The Central Government has extended the lockdown until 3 May 2020, after which it would be expected that educational institutions will re-open progressively over time, as per government orders and advisories. Once the Institute reopens, re-entry processes will have to be put in place, academic programs will need to be brought back on track, laboratories will have to be re-opened, and research work of the PhD students and post-docs will need to resume. We expect that, for quite some time to come, all this will have to be done while ensuring proper hygiene and social distancing.

Committees of faculty and admin officers of the Institute are working to put in place a structured plan keeping in mind the advisories and notifications issued by the Government of India and the Government of Karnataka from time to time. These plans will be communicated to the Institute community when the strategies have been worked out.

It has been an informal practice that faculty members and Departments accept students of other institutions, from India and abroad, for internships and project guidance, particularly during the summer months (May, June, July). In view of the current situation, and until further notice, faculty should only accept interns and external project guidance if they can be guided by interaction over the Internet. Due to the need to limit the number of people in the Departments, it will not be possible for these interns and project students to come to the Institute for physical interaction and to use laboratory facilities, until normal operations of the Institute resume.

Separate instructions for resuming on-campus internships and permitting interns to work in the Institute laboratories will be notified when the situation so permits.

11 April 2020Decisions on academic schedules and activities

The Institute had to temporarily stop academic activities from 14 March 2020, as per the instructions of the Government of Karnataka to contain further spread of the COVID-19 virus and the lock-down was extended for 21 days w.e.f. 24 March 2020, following the announcement by the Prime Minister of India.

The Indian Institute of Science is committed to helping students complete their academic programs, and to revert to a normal schedule as soon as the situation normalises. Based on the information available as of date, the Deans have worked out the following schedule for completion of the January-April semester of the 2019-2020 academic year, for admissions during the year 2020, and for the conduct of the August-November semester of the 2020-21 academic year.

The only information that can be confirmed as of today is that the Institute will remain closed until 31 May 2020. The earliest that the Institute will reopen is 1 June 2020, and the dates announced below are with respect to this reopening date, and under the assumption that there is no further enforced shutdown. Depending on the orders of the Government of India and the Government of Karnataka, the schedule outlined below is subject to change, even to the extent that the January-April semester of the 2020-21 academic year can extend into May, June, July of 2021. All students are advised to monitor their emails and the IISc website closely for further announcements, and to make their travel plans only after a confirmed schedule is announced. Sufficient time will be allowed before the confirmed reopening date to permit all students to make their travel plans. For example, for a 1st June reopening date, the confirmation will be posted no later than 15th May.

The Emergency Meeting of the Senate held on 8 April 2020, has taken the following decisions for the benefit of the student community of the Institute:

1. Conduct of (thesis) Oral examinations for research students using online facility in all cases

During the interim period, when a PhD defense is not possible in person, all PhD theses that are approved for an oral defense can be defended through a video conference (using any suitable video conferencing tool). It is stipulated that there must be at least 6 attendees, including the student, the research guide, and the external examiner. The online open defense must be well-advertised, and the proceedings of the defense must be recorded. To enable the external examiner to verify that all corrections have been made, the thesis for defense must be sent to the external examiner along with other documents at least one week before the defense. In extraordinary cases, the Deans may recommend in-person oral examinations.

2. Conduct of colloquia of research students using online facility

PhD colloquia can be held through a suitable video conferencing tool such as Microsoft Teams. The Department Chair and the thesis guide must advertise the colloquium well so as to attract a good audience to provide feedback to the student. The proceedings must be recorded, and the number of online attendees included in a report to the Deans.

3. Extensions to the deadlines facing PhD students (comprehensives, submission, etc)

A. The deadline for conducting the comprehensive examination of a PhD student would be extended by 3 months for students who are required to finish the comprehensive examination by 31 July 2020 and 31 Dec 2020 (eg. Regular PhD students who joined in August 2018 or Jan 2019, respectively). However, cases of students with genuine reasons for further delay would be considered by the Deans on a case-by-case basis.

B. The deadline for submission of thesis to be eligible for consideration of the award of Institute Research Associateship (RA), would be extended by 3 months for all categories of PhD students, exclusively for this year. However, the maximum tenure of an RA would be only 1 year including the 3 months’ delay.

C. Registration of PhD students is usually cancelled at the end of 6 years, but due to the COVID-19 lock-down, registration would be cancelled only after 6 years and 3 months.

4. Tentative dates for reopening of the Institute on 1 June 2020, and rescheduling of classes/examinations, etc., for the courses in the suspended Jan-Apr 2020 term

After consulting the Chairs of all the Departments, it is proposed to reopen the Institute on 1 June 2020, provided the lock-down period is not extended further beyond 15 April 2020. Classes for various courses will begin on 1 June 2020 and the examinations are required to be completed on or before 3 July 2020. The SCC proposes the following revised schedule for various course-related activities.

1 June (Monday): Classes begin15 June (Monday): Last date for course dropping. No mention of dropped courses will be made in the transcript in this semester due to the special situation arising from the prevalence of COVID-19.19 June (Friday): Last date of class study leave: Weekend + 2 daysFinal Examination: 24 June (Wednesday) to 3 July (Friday): 8 days

The dates for submission of grades and declaration of results will be announced later.

Students belonging to the second year M.Tech/M.Des/M.Mgt programs who are currently working on their final year projects are required to complete their project examinations on or before 24 July 2020 (Friday) and also vacate their hostel rooms on or before 30 July 2020 (Thursday).

Students will be allowed to continue in the Institute (including hostel) after their examinations are completed only if their degree requirements have not yet been satisfied.

5. In view of the late closure of the Jan 2020 term, the starting date for the Aug-Dec 2020 term is rescheduled to Monday, 24 August 2020.6. Online instruction

Online lectures/tutorials/chat sessions, etc., will be conducted to help the students with their course work until the Institute reopens on 1 June 2020. Special classes may be conducted, especially to clarify doubts arising from online material, etc.

During the interim period, please stay home and stay healthy. Use this time to revise your course material, study the material provided by your course instructors, analyse your experimental results, think about your research problems, and draft your manuscripts. We look forward to having you back safe.

3 April 2020Suspension of classes till April 15, 2020: In compliance with the nationwide lock-down ordered by the Government of India, all classes remain suspended at IISc until April 15, 2020. Students are requested to make every effort to participate / benefit from the online lectures and study material provided by the instructors until classroom instruction is resumed. Resumption of classes will be announced on the IISc website. 14 Mar 2020

  • All the academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities are suspended for 15 days, effective from March 14, 2020. These include classes, examinations, seminars, conferences, visits, laboratory work, project work for interns, etc.
  • All students are instructed to proceed to their homes before noon of March 16, 2020 and await further instructions.
  • As clarity on the current evolving situation emerges, students registered in the various courses (UG and PG), and degree programs, will be informed as to how the interruption of the semester will be handled.