bluesandrams
12-16 10:52 AM
http://www.indianexpress.com/sunday/story/250682.html
THE BRAIN RAIN
PALLAVI SINGH
Posted online: Sunday, December 16, 2007 at 0000 hrs Print Email
Shouri Chatterjee comes across as a regular guy from Kolkata, fond of reading and meaningful cinema.
Related Stories
MOON VILLAGEGREEN BUCKSBARGAIN BRIDESNIGHT WITHOUT ENDBang for the buck
Shouri Chatterjee comes across as a regular guy from Kolkata, fond of reading and meaningful cinema. Every morning while cycling his way to his tiny office at the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-D), he mingles with his students. In fact, he�s often mistaken for one. But he dispels the impression with a firm, �I�m here to teach.�
And if you ask his seniors at the institute, this simple statement from the US-returned electrical engineer means a lot to IIT-D these days.
Contrary to what most IITians with a BTech degree in hand and a foreign stamp on their post-graduate degrees did in the 1980s and �90s, Chatterjee abandoned his dollar dreams at the Silicon Laboratories in the United States to join the institute in November last year. A PhD from Columbia University in New York, Chatterjee says he knew all along that teaching and research were his �true calling�.
He is not alone. The 38 other men and women who have filled up faculty positions at IIT-D in the last 18 months, would agree. The new recruits, many of them under 35, reflect a trend that is slowly picking up across all the IITs. Most of those who have joined are either first-time teachers or have taken to teaching after a few years of experience in the industry.
For 32-year-old Anirban Mahanti, for example, teaching at IIT-D is a job change for the better. The shift from a three-year-stint as an assistant professor at the University of Calgary in Canada to teaching at IIT-D may have meant a �big downer� financially but in terms of freedom in research work, the gain, he says, cannot be translated into monetary terms. �In industry-based research, you just do what the company wants you to do. Here at IIT, we set our own pace and do what we want to do,� he adds.
While Prof Bijendra N Jain, Deputy Director (Faculty) at IIT-D, insists that the emphasis on recruiting young faculty is not new, he admits much is being done to �incentivise� the lot.
This month, IIT-D introduced the Outstanding Young Faculty Fellowships. The fellowships, currently numbering 26, offer Rs 1 lakh per annum to the select faculty for a period of five years. Jain says IIT-D hopes to launch about 500 such fellowships in the next five years.
�Creating fellowships are most important to us now than anything else. Return on money invested in a young faculty usually exceeds everything else. They are young, enthusiastic and several of them have left lucrative jobs abroad to join us,� says Prof Jain.
The institute has also asked the Department of Science of Technology under the Ministry of Science and Technology to launch at least a thousand fellowships for young science teachers across the country.
Similar efforts were made at IIT-Bombay when the institute announced a signing bonus of Rs 3 lakh for its new faculty with help from its alumni. It even significantly increased seed research grants to Rs 10 lakh to new faculty members from Rs 3 lakh in previous years.
Educationists say compensation packages are the need of the hour to build a pool of young teachers as a large number of faculties across IITs, hired at a time they were being set up in the 1950s and 1960s in anticipation of excellence in science and engineering education, are nearing retirement.
�The faculty was recruited some 30 years ago. Only a few years ago, we realised the fact that many of them would be retiring,� explains MS Ananth, director, IIT-Madras.
While IIT-Bombay has a faculty strength of 420 with about 100 vacant positions, it is not alone. Figures at the seven IITs reveals an estimated, cumulative shortage of at least 900 faculty members.
At IIT-D, about 20 percent of faculty positions are vacant. Further, according to a report prepared by its alumni association in 2004, more than 20 per cent of its most experienced faculty would retire in the next seven years.
The shortage is most acute in IIT Roorkee, which has a sanctioned strength of 575 but only 345 on the rolls.
So, IIT-D, along with IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Roorkee and IIT-Madras, has standing advertisements for faculty positions in all departments. And, the progress has been �good� as against a �dull response�� until a couple of years ago. �About 50 per cent of the applications we receive now are from teachers settled abroad. They all want to teach at IITs,� says Prof Jain of IIT-D.
The recent recruitments have pushed the number of teachers aged under 35 from 15 to over 30 at IIT-D and �Brand India� is one of the reasons behind the rising numbers.
In the 1990s, Prof K Achuta Rao, now 43, would come looking for research jobs in the field of climate change in vain. �Two things have happened since. First, the Government is encouraging quality research and second, a great research pool is being created here with the advent of big research labs setting up shop here. This is the time to be in India and be part of the changes it is undergoing,�� says Rao who joined IIT-D this June after working in the US for over two decades.
While Rao�s decision to come back to India took two decades, young IITians have decided pretty early. Statistics show that only three of IIT-Kanpur�s 273 BTech students and two from the integrated MSc course went abroad last year. All others�267 MTech students, two-year MSc grads and MBA�-stayed back in the country. In Delhi, of the 1,000-odd job seekers, only one student went abroad to join a financial consulting firm. At IIT Mumbai, 95 per cent of the students were placed in India while in Madras, only two BTech students went abroad.
But the lot willing to take up teaching and research is �still a faraway dream,� says Mahanti. �You can�t say that the US hangover is over. But there has been some sort of reverse drain. That doesn�t mean we should no longer be worrying about brain drain,� he cautions.
THE BRAIN RAIN
PALLAVI SINGH
Posted online: Sunday, December 16, 2007 at 0000 hrs Print Email
Shouri Chatterjee comes across as a regular guy from Kolkata, fond of reading and meaningful cinema.
Related Stories
MOON VILLAGEGREEN BUCKSBARGAIN BRIDESNIGHT WITHOUT ENDBang for the buck
Shouri Chatterjee comes across as a regular guy from Kolkata, fond of reading and meaningful cinema. Every morning while cycling his way to his tiny office at the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-D), he mingles with his students. In fact, he�s often mistaken for one. But he dispels the impression with a firm, �I�m here to teach.�
And if you ask his seniors at the institute, this simple statement from the US-returned electrical engineer means a lot to IIT-D these days.
Contrary to what most IITians with a BTech degree in hand and a foreign stamp on their post-graduate degrees did in the 1980s and �90s, Chatterjee abandoned his dollar dreams at the Silicon Laboratories in the United States to join the institute in November last year. A PhD from Columbia University in New York, Chatterjee says he knew all along that teaching and research were his �true calling�.
He is not alone. The 38 other men and women who have filled up faculty positions at IIT-D in the last 18 months, would agree. The new recruits, many of them under 35, reflect a trend that is slowly picking up across all the IITs. Most of those who have joined are either first-time teachers or have taken to teaching after a few years of experience in the industry.
For 32-year-old Anirban Mahanti, for example, teaching at IIT-D is a job change for the better. The shift from a three-year-stint as an assistant professor at the University of Calgary in Canada to teaching at IIT-D may have meant a �big downer� financially but in terms of freedom in research work, the gain, he says, cannot be translated into monetary terms. �In industry-based research, you just do what the company wants you to do. Here at IIT, we set our own pace and do what we want to do,� he adds.
While Prof Bijendra N Jain, Deputy Director (Faculty) at IIT-D, insists that the emphasis on recruiting young faculty is not new, he admits much is being done to �incentivise� the lot.
This month, IIT-D introduced the Outstanding Young Faculty Fellowships. The fellowships, currently numbering 26, offer Rs 1 lakh per annum to the select faculty for a period of five years. Jain says IIT-D hopes to launch about 500 such fellowships in the next five years.
�Creating fellowships are most important to us now than anything else. Return on money invested in a young faculty usually exceeds everything else. They are young, enthusiastic and several of them have left lucrative jobs abroad to join us,� says Prof Jain.
The institute has also asked the Department of Science of Technology under the Ministry of Science and Technology to launch at least a thousand fellowships for young science teachers across the country.
Similar efforts were made at IIT-Bombay when the institute announced a signing bonus of Rs 3 lakh for its new faculty with help from its alumni. It even significantly increased seed research grants to Rs 10 lakh to new faculty members from Rs 3 lakh in previous years.
Educationists say compensation packages are the need of the hour to build a pool of young teachers as a large number of faculties across IITs, hired at a time they were being set up in the 1950s and 1960s in anticipation of excellence in science and engineering education, are nearing retirement.
�The faculty was recruited some 30 years ago. Only a few years ago, we realised the fact that many of them would be retiring,� explains MS Ananth, director, IIT-Madras.
While IIT-Bombay has a faculty strength of 420 with about 100 vacant positions, it is not alone. Figures at the seven IITs reveals an estimated, cumulative shortage of at least 900 faculty members.
At IIT-D, about 20 percent of faculty positions are vacant. Further, according to a report prepared by its alumni association in 2004, more than 20 per cent of its most experienced faculty would retire in the next seven years.
The shortage is most acute in IIT Roorkee, which has a sanctioned strength of 575 but only 345 on the rolls.
So, IIT-D, along with IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Roorkee and IIT-Madras, has standing advertisements for faculty positions in all departments. And, the progress has been �good� as against a �dull response�� until a couple of years ago. �About 50 per cent of the applications we receive now are from teachers settled abroad. They all want to teach at IITs,� says Prof Jain of IIT-D.
The recent recruitments have pushed the number of teachers aged under 35 from 15 to over 30 at IIT-D and �Brand India� is one of the reasons behind the rising numbers.
In the 1990s, Prof K Achuta Rao, now 43, would come looking for research jobs in the field of climate change in vain. �Two things have happened since. First, the Government is encouraging quality research and second, a great research pool is being created here with the advent of big research labs setting up shop here. This is the time to be in India and be part of the changes it is undergoing,�� says Rao who joined IIT-D this June after working in the US for over two decades.
While Rao�s decision to come back to India took two decades, young IITians have decided pretty early. Statistics show that only three of IIT-Kanpur�s 273 BTech students and two from the integrated MSc course went abroad last year. All others�267 MTech students, two-year MSc grads and MBA�-stayed back in the country. In Delhi, of the 1,000-odd job seekers, only one student went abroad to join a financial consulting firm. At IIT Mumbai, 95 per cent of the students were placed in India while in Madras, only two BTech students went abroad.
But the lot willing to take up teaching and research is �still a faraway dream,� says Mahanti. �You can�t say that the US hangover is over. But there has been some sort of reverse drain. That doesn�t mean we should no longer be worrying about brain drain,� he cautions.
sw33t
11-07 07:54 PM
95 and counting
va_dude
02-17 05:06 PM
I wonder why they even need new FPs, its not like i shed my skin and grew a new one with a new finger print.
Just another wasted step in "the" process i guess :)
Just another wasted step in "the" process i guess :)
john2255
07-20 02:46 PM
am sorry to start a new thread but I feel the following thread is not getting the importance it should get. Everyone please dont miss the following thread. Its a big defeat during our celebrations.
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=10751
Major loss to us Cornyn amendment rejected
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=10751
Major loss to us Cornyn amendment rejected
more...
MatsP
May 18th, 2005, 07:28 AM
I'm having a problem with a Nikon d100 camera taking the necessary pictures for a high dynamic range photo. I need to take 3 pictures in a short ammount of time (which I can do, using the bracket setting) but I need to vary the shutter speed manually in this setting, with a different exposure time for each of the 3 pictures taken in the bracket. Is there any way that I can do this, or any software that will allow me to accomplish this?
Thanks,
Trish
As far as I know, this is exactly how the automatic bracketing mode works. Or at least, on the Canon cameras, that's what it does. Just set that the camera takes a +2, 0 and -2 exposure (I'd suggest using two stops, as you want to make a noticable difference between the shots, otherwise the "extension" of the range will be more or less useless).
However, I'm not entirely sure whether the camera will adjust the shutter speed or aperture, or both. It may well depend on which mode you set the camera to in the first place (Program mode -> change both, Shutter Priority -> change aperture [you set the time, so the camera changes the aperture to match], Apterure Priorty -> Change shutter speed [you set the aperture, the camera adjusts the time to match]).
Alternatively, if you use manual mode (and of course, no automatic bracketing available in manual mode), and set it to the "two stops shorter" time, you should be able to relatively quickly do "two clicks" on the dial that adjusts the time. Then do two clicks more. [of course, two stops is probably more than two clicks, but you get the idea].
--
Mats
Thanks,
Trish
As far as I know, this is exactly how the automatic bracketing mode works. Or at least, on the Canon cameras, that's what it does. Just set that the camera takes a +2, 0 and -2 exposure (I'd suggest using two stops, as you want to make a noticable difference between the shots, otherwise the "extension" of the range will be more or less useless).
However, I'm not entirely sure whether the camera will adjust the shutter speed or aperture, or both. It may well depend on which mode you set the camera to in the first place (Program mode -> change both, Shutter Priority -> change aperture [you set the time, so the camera changes the aperture to match], Apterure Priorty -> Change shutter speed [you set the aperture, the camera adjusts the time to match]).
Alternatively, if you use manual mode (and of course, no automatic bracketing available in manual mode), and set it to the "two stops shorter" time, you should be able to relatively quickly do "two clicks" on the dial that adjusts the time. Then do two clicks more. [of course, two stops is probably more than two clicks, but you get the idea].
--
Mats
hebron
10-07 10:55 AM
LUV IT !!!!! It is high time people came to know more about this self-righteous drumbeater. Another guy who acts like Dobbs is that chesty AZ sheriff. I also wish, people like Tancredo, Grassley, Durbin change their narrow mind towards legal immigration.
more...
Keeme
06-25 02:15 PM
^^^^^^
Excellent initiative ! Let's do it !
Excellent initiative ! Let's do it !
sanan
06-04 08:15 AM
PD July 2002
no update yet! Although I know atleast one person on another forum got an email on day 1 (June 1st) that his was approved! That sucked for him coz he didn't get any time to file for his wife!:(
no update yet! Although I know atleast one person on another forum got an email on day 1 (June 1st) that his was approved! That sucked for him coz he didn't get any time to file for his wife!:(
more...
ss1026
09-25 09:17 AM
Thank you "boreal" for the answer.
Another question.
If I wait until my new I140 got approved through new employer and then switch. Now a days because of PERM process and premium processing for I140, it may be approved within two months.
Then even if the old employer withdraws 140, does it effect the priority date of already approved 140?
Do any one has answer for this? Please respond
GC4ALL
I am not sure of your exact question as it is a bit ambiguous but here is what I read/understand
You can port an earlier priority date of an old I-140 even if the job description changes or your category has changed (EB-2 or EB-3). But this is only possible when you are applying for your I-485 (your old PD is current) by attaching a copy of your earlier approved I-140.
Also the underlying labor application/I-140 should be valid and not be substituted/revoked or cancelled. Again, check with an attorney but this is my understanding
Another question.
If I wait until my new I140 got approved through new employer and then switch. Now a days because of PERM process and premium processing for I140, it may be approved within two months.
Then even if the old employer withdraws 140, does it effect the priority date of already approved 140?
Do any one has answer for this? Please respond
GC4ALL
I am not sure of your exact question as it is a bit ambiguous but here is what I read/understand
You can port an earlier priority date of an old I-140 even if the job description changes or your category has changed (EB-2 or EB-3). But this is only possible when you are applying for your I-485 (your old PD is current) by attaching a copy of your earlier approved I-140.
Also the underlying labor application/I-140 should be valid and not be substituted/revoked or cancelled. Again, check with an attorney but this is my understanding
gotgc?
02-20 01:47 PM
I have the same issue...my original DOB is different from whats in all my offical documents....local muncipality in India had my birth certficate with original DOB...I said we dont have birth certificate at all...so, they issued me certificate of non-availability....this should be easy to get....
if you submit the original one with different DOB than whats in the passport, it will screw up the whole thing.....
if you submit the original one with different DOB than whats in the passport, it will screw up the whole thing.....
more...
Siddharta
03-13 01:43 AM
Agree with you Infinite_Patience_GC.......for desis I would not recommend doing a full time MBA unless you get into top 10. Foreign students are having a hard time finding a job even at top 10 schools these days.
Although one good thing about part time is that it is less risky and usually lot of big companies help in reimbursing some of the tuition.
Although one good thing about part time is that it is less risky and usually lot of big companies help in reimbursing some of the tuition.
sanatshah
10-25 06:09 PM
Mine 485 receipt no# also starting with SRC08008XXXXX and it's not showing online status.
more...
vvpandya
11-06 01:55 PM
I had a LUD on 10/18 and then today the online status says Document mailed to applicant..hope that is it...my recvd date is 7/2 and recpt date is 9/11
hijackers
04-27 10:24 AM
Since you got your H1B approved, it is risky to take another chance with lottery. With the approved H1B you can transfer it. In the meantime from this time till October you can get your OPT extended but you have do it within 30 days of receiving your H1 notice. Dont worry, you are not out of status. Look out for a job now.
more...
alex99
09-28 08:51 AM
Please advice....
gaz
09-02 06:47 PM
not a red-dotter - but i do believe we should leave the forums open to talk not just about immigration but also immigrant related issues.
this will help draw more people towards IV who can then contribute to IV core agenda in any way feasible for them.
also will motivate people to hang around IV even once they get their GCs or Citizenship.
I got 2 red dots for this .....Crazy people
this will help draw more people towards IV who can then contribute to IV core agenda in any way feasible for them.
also will motivate people to hang around IV even once they get their GCs or Citizenship.
I got 2 red dots for this .....Crazy people
more...
immm
07-07 01:45 PM
(Admins, please delete this thread if already covered)
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/opinion/story/13765761p-14347307c.html
Our View: Feds play games with immigrants
They said they had an abundance of green cards and then rescinded the offer in a matter of weeks.
Last Updated: July 7, 2007, 03:16:02 AM PDT
If you want to know what's really wrong with our immigration system, consider the July debacle at the Citizen and Immigration Service.
Individuals and businesses typically have to wait years to apply for "green cards" for permanent residency based on job skills. The backlogs have been so severe that an engineer from India or China has had to wait six years to apply for a green card. In other employment categories, the wait can be nine to 11 years. For people from the Philippines, the wait in some work categories is 22 years.
But then in the monthly Visa Bulletin issued June 13, the State Department said that employment-based visas would be available.
This set off a rush among sponsoring businesses and individuals who have waited in line for years to apply for green cards. Thousands prepared applications and mailed them in time for the immigration service to receive them by July 2, the first day of the application window.
Then on that very day, the State Department issued a "never mind" update, announcing that the 60,000 green cards it had expected to offer would no longer be available. The thousands who submitted applications will have their applications sent back to them. As Los Angeles immigration attorney Carl Shusterman said Tuesday, "We're right back to square one, with scientists, engineers, teachers and health care workers having to wait in endless lines for employment-based visas." Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, chairwoman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law sent irate letters to the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security. She said that changing course midmonth is contrary to years of practice, would result in the loss of thousands of dollars already expended by sponsoring businesses and individuals to prepare applications and, more important, would "threaten the integrity and predictability of our immigration system." This is no way to treat people who try to play by the rules.
The Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman notes in his 2007 annual report to Congress that the nation has a "perpetual backlog" of employment-based green card applications. This backlog means that even green cards that should be available aren't used. This contributes to the backlog; if green cards are not issued in the year they are authorized, they are lost. In 2006, more than 10,000 employment-based green cards were lost, even though the immigration service had 100,000 to 150,000 applications waiting to be processed. Since 1994, nearly 219,000 employment-based green cards have been lost because the immigration service isn't processing enough applications in a timely manner.
It gets worse. The funds appropriated by Congress to jumpstart a backlog elimination project expired Sept. 30. The backlog will continue.
In the long term, this country needs to increase the number of employment-based green cards to meet demand. But if the immigration service cannot even process applications in a timely fashion for the current numbers of employment-based green cards that are supposed to be available, what's the point? In the short term, if Congress and the president do nothing else regarding immigration reform, they should at least make sure that the immigration service processes green card applications in timely fashion. The backlog is inexcusable and contributes to the nation's illegal immigration problem. If we want people to play by the rules, we have to make it possible for them to do so.
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/opinion/story/13765761p-14347307c.html
Our View: Feds play games with immigrants
They said they had an abundance of green cards and then rescinded the offer in a matter of weeks.
Last Updated: July 7, 2007, 03:16:02 AM PDT
If you want to know what's really wrong with our immigration system, consider the July debacle at the Citizen and Immigration Service.
Individuals and businesses typically have to wait years to apply for "green cards" for permanent residency based on job skills. The backlogs have been so severe that an engineer from India or China has had to wait six years to apply for a green card. In other employment categories, the wait can be nine to 11 years. For people from the Philippines, the wait in some work categories is 22 years.
But then in the monthly Visa Bulletin issued June 13, the State Department said that employment-based visas would be available.
This set off a rush among sponsoring businesses and individuals who have waited in line for years to apply for green cards. Thousands prepared applications and mailed them in time for the immigration service to receive them by July 2, the first day of the application window.
Then on that very day, the State Department issued a "never mind" update, announcing that the 60,000 green cards it had expected to offer would no longer be available. The thousands who submitted applications will have their applications sent back to them. As Los Angeles immigration attorney Carl Shusterman said Tuesday, "We're right back to square one, with scientists, engineers, teachers and health care workers having to wait in endless lines for employment-based visas." Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, chairwoman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law sent irate letters to the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security. She said that changing course midmonth is contrary to years of practice, would result in the loss of thousands of dollars already expended by sponsoring businesses and individuals to prepare applications and, more important, would "threaten the integrity and predictability of our immigration system." This is no way to treat people who try to play by the rules.
The Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman notes in his 2007 annual report to Congress that the nation has a "perpetual backlog" of employment-based green card applications. This backlog means that even green cards that should be available aren't used. This contributes to the backlog; if green cards are not issued in the year they are authorized, they are lost. In 2006, more than 10,000 employment-based green cards were lost, even though the immigration service had 100,000 to 150,000 applications waiting to be processed. Since 1994, nearly 219,000 employment-based green cards have been lost because the immigration service isn't processing enough applications in a timely manner.
It gets worse. The funds appropriated by Congress to jumpstart a backlog elimination project expired Sept. 30. The backlog will continue.
In the long term, this country needs to increase the number of employment-based green cards to meet demand. But if the immigration service cannot even process applications in a timely fashion for the current numbers of employment-based green cards that are supposed to be available, what's the point? In the short term, if Congress and the president do nothing else regarding immigration reform, they should at least make sure that the immigration service processes green card applications in timely fashion. The backlog is inexcusable and contributes to the nation's illegal immigration problem. If we want people to play by the rules, we have to make it possible for them to do so.
kopra
02-25 11:21 AM
Usually they dont create a big issue for H4 re-enty at Port of Entry. But time has changed, and the only thing you can do is to try.
She doesn't have to go for H4 Visa stamping, as she already has a valid H4 Visa stamping valid until Aug 2009. (I think). I'm more worried about Port of Entry, if she will have any problems..
She doesn't have to go for H4 Visa stamping, as she already has a valid H4 Visa stamping valid until Aug 2009. (I think). I'm more worried about Port of Entry, if she will have any problems..
StarSun
02-10 09:41 AM
The call is on Thursday (today). Please send in your questions as soon as possible to IVCoordinator@gmail.com
sgX05
02-11 03:49 PM
Hi everyone,
Today i got an alert form USCIS that the pending 485s (for my wife and myself) have been transferred from NSC to TSC. Wanted to see if others with 485s pending at NSC have seen similar action.
My priority date is Oct 2005 and my 485 has been pending at NSC since July 2007.
Today i got an alert form USCIS that the pending 485s (for my wife and myself) have been transferred from NSC to TSC. Wanted to see if others with 485s pending at NSC have seen similar action.
My priority date is Oct 2005 and my 485 has been pending at NSC since July 2007.
transmit
March 28th, 2005, 03:36 AM
Yes, the SB800 is the best option for a flash with the D70 (http://www.noendpress.com/pvachier/cameras/nikon_D70.php). As for lenses, depends on what you need. I think the 50mm 1.8 is a great lens for only $100. Works very well for wider portraits and any kind of low light photography. If you have the money to spend, the 12-24 is also a very useful lens.