10/30/2016

(12)DebrajChakrabarti'sanswertoWhatisitliketobeanAssistantProfessororAssociateProfessororProfessoratIIT?Quora

WhatisitliketobeanAssistantProfessoror
AssociateProfessororProfessoratIIT?
Howdoyoufindthecurrentteachingsystem?Howdoyoufindthestudents?Howdoyou
findtheTechnologyandResearchoutputproducedbyIITs?Alsothrowsomelightonthe
financialaspectsofbeingateacheratanIIT.

DebrajChakrabarti,formerstudentandfacultyatIITs.
UpdatedNov21,2014UpvotedbySatwantRana,MathematicsandComputing,IITD,2012
2017

Likeformostsuchquestions,italldependsonwhoyouare.Theolder,larger,IITshave
facultystrengthsinthe100sandtheindividualmembersmustexperiencetheircareers
verydifferently.Certainly,itdependsonthedepartment,programandparticularIIT
campus.Butmostofall,itdependsonwhatapersonexpectsfromthesystem.Ifyouare
readytokeepexpectationslow,thenyoumightevenenjoybeinganIITprofessor.
Icanonlyspeakformyself.IwasafacultyatIITBombayfrom2010to2011foroneyear
intheMathematicsDepartmentthere.Formetheonewordanswertothisquestionis
"miserable."Ilefttheplaceafterthatanddidnotregretit.IdescribehowIfelttobeat
IITB.
WhenIwasworkingintheMathsDeptofIITBombay,thebuildinginwhichthe
departmentissituatedwasundergoingrepairs.Thewholeplacewasaconstructionsite.
The"office"whereIwassupposedtoworkwaslittlebetterthanaprisoncell,whichIhad
tosharewithavisitingfacultymember.Allthewhiletherewasunacceptablelevelsofnoise
andcloudsofdustrisingfromthedemolishedpartsofthebuilding.Allthiswentonfor
thefullyear.Therewasnoproperfurniturefortheoffices.Instead,oldfurniturewaskept
inthecorridor,andfromthere,withthehelpofthedepartmentalpeon,oneissupposedto
chosewhatonewants.Allthiswasonalongtermbasis,i.e.,fortheentireperiodofone
year.Onecannotdomathematicswithouttheverybasicamenitiesinthiscasea
peacefulandpleasantplacetowork.Atthesametimeasthesethingshappened,IITBwas
buildingthe"VictorMenezesConventionCentre",averymodernandlavishfacilityfor
holdingconferencesetc.ButtherewasnounderstandingthattheMathDeptneeded
temporaryspacewhileworkwasbeingdoneintheMathsbuilding.
IonceaskedtheHOD(Prof.MuraliSrinivasan,aperfectgentlemanforwhomIhavethe
greatestrespect)whatIwassupposedtodo.Hesaid,"Whydon'tyoustudyathome?"
Problem:Ihadnotbeengivenanyquartersforthefirst3monthsinIITBombay.Iwas
stayingatthe"VanVihar"guesthouse.Every15daysIgotalettersayingthatyouhave
beenoverstayingattheguesthouse,so
IneededittobesignedbysomeDeanintheMainBuildingandreturntotheguesthouse
people.After3months,theycouldnotgivemeacampushouse,butgavemeanapartment
intheIITMarketacrossfromthemaingateontheothersideoftheJogeshwariVikhroli
linkroad.ThisishardlythepeacefulcampuslifeIwashopingfor.
Togetacomputer,onehadtogothroughthestrangebureaucracyofthe"ratecontract."
Ittookme4monthstogetmine.Thedepartmentalcomputerguy(NHKBhaskar)was
totallyincompetent.

AsforacademicthingsIknewbeforehandthatIwouldbemostlyisolated.ButIdidnot
realisebeforejoininghowmuchmediocrityandnonsensewentoninthedepartment.I
taughtMScstudentsinbothsemestersIwasthere.Itwasdefinitelyoneofthebrighter
spotsinmylifeatIITBteachingthesekidsbuttheyweretreatedassecondclasscitizens
inthehierarchyoftheinstitutetheBTechsbeingtheBrahmins.Similarly,inthe
hierarchyofdepartmentsinIITB,Mathsisformostpurposesaservicedepartment,and
wastreatedaccordingly.Whatwasamazingwasthatmanyofmyseniorcolleagueshad
internalizedthispointofviewtheywerereadytodefertothewishesandneedsofthe
Engineeringdepartments,whowereafterall,therightfulownersoftheinstitute.
ThecampuswasfullofgreenerywhichIlikedverymuch.Itwasalsofullof
feralcattlehappilyroamingaboutandansweringtothecallofnature.Theinfinity
corridor,afamedcoveredwalkwayspanningmostofthedepartmentswasinriskoffalling
downtopiecesatanypointoftimeandwasproppedupbysteelsupports.Thebuildings
oftheinstitutemostlydatebacktothe60s,butonewouldguessfromtheirstatethatthey
datedfromthereignofSherShah.Ageneralstateofneglectandapathyreigned
everywhere.
12

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Ididnotlikeit.Ileftitafteroneyear.LasttwoyearsIhavebeenworkingatasmall
researchcentreinBangalore.AlthoughImissafewthingsaboutIITB,hereIatleasthave
theenvironmenttocarryoutmywork.Afterhavingacquiredafirsthandknowledgeofthe
Indianacademiccommunityanditsinstitutions,Iamleavingthecountryforgoodin2
monthsandtakingupatenuretrackjobintheUS.Enoughisenough.

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CentralMichiganUniversity
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