Many Indian researchers working abroad hope and plan to return to India to set up their independent labs in the future. However, they often find themselves stymied by a lack of information, both about the transition process and about the scientific ecosystem back home. This article, based on a panel discussion on the topic of “Return to India”, collates some useful advice for early-career scientists planning to make the move to India.
The 10th Young Investigators’ Meeting was held in Thiruvananthapuram from 5 to 8 March 2018. During this meeting that was attended by YIM alumni from the past ten years, structured discussions were held to understand the pulse of life sciences research in India and brainstorm on the future of Indian life science research. This report, born out of those discussions and recommendations, was published in Current Science on 10 Feb, 2019
Five years ago I attended the 2nd YIM, Kolkata as a PDF, this year I attended the YIM, Gulmarg as a YI. Here is my perspective of the meeting from a YI point of view.
India has now developed a few internationally recognized research institutes in the life sciences. These centers have developed a critical mass of outstanding scientists, are well equipped for modern research, attract international scientists, and have become competitive for junior faculty recruitment with institutions in the US/Europe. However, the success of these relatively few centers also poses challenges. First, when Indians doing their postdocs abroad consider applying for a junior faculty … More
It was July 2006 when I started applying for a faculty position in Delhi. At the time, I had been a post-doc at University College London where I was working on the molecular characterization of epithelial tight junctions.