Delhi University to send teachers abroad for Masters courses

New Delhi, Nov 19: Faculty at the University of Delhi is being offered the opportunity to go abroad for pursuing Masters courses in 17 different subjects, with the varsity funding their higher education.

"The faculty preferably upto the age of 35 years will be sponsored by DU to do a Masters in areas where we need to strengthen our teaching and learning. The initiative is aimed at bringing our teachers at par with international scholars in diverse disciplines," DU's Dean of International Relations Anand Prakash said.

A batch of 35 teachers will be selected for pursuing one-year Masters course abroad. While the varsity will sponsor their course fee, travel and accommodation expenses, they will also be paid one-year salary by their respective departments.

"The expenditure by the varsity on each of the candidates will sum up to around 15 lakh. We have tied up with certain universities where the teachers will be sent," he said.

The partner universities include the University of Nottingham, University of Edinburgh, University of British Columbia, University of Birmingham, University of Glasgow and King's College London. The universities selected are part of the 'Universitas 21', a leading global network of research- intensive universities of which DU is also a member.

DU has identified 17 areas from which the teachers can choose including International Accountancy, Finance Systems Biology, Bio-informatics, Quantitative Genetics, Actuarial Mathematics Advance Genomics, Nanotechnology, Applied Chemistry and Web Management among others.

"The varsity has received a grant from the Government of India under the University of Excellence Grant for the training of teachers in emerging areas, and hence we have come up with this 'Faculty Training Programme'," added Prakash.

A total of 50 teachers have been sent in the past by the varsity to different universities abroad for their Master degrees, but in the past year no faculty was sent due to non-sanctioning of funds. The subjects have varied in the past depending upon the varsity's requirement.

"The teachers who will be selected will have to sign a legal bond with the varsity according to which they will be bound to complete their course within the stipulated time and will have to serve the varsity for at least three years after the completion of course," he said.

The interested teachers have to send a Statement of Purpose in 500 words to their respective colleges, which will be scrutinised by a selection committee. The applications are open till December 4, 2014.

PTI