Conducting of the 401 and 402 courses: NCL401 - Project proposal writing and presentation NCL402 - Review writing

and presentation
In the first week of every semester the two courses NCL401 and NCL402 will be floated. Students who are required to take the course in that semester should register for the same and their respective Guides should approve the registration, like in the case of other courses. Coordinators from each division will conduct the courses in the respective divisions. The responsibility of divisional coordinator will be to conduct the courses as per the guidelines. He/She will make announcements regarding the dates of conducting seminars in allncl mail, obtain marks from the evaluators and send the final grades to SAO.

Divisional coordinators:
Division Polymer Science & Engineering Physical & Materials Chemistry Organic Chemistry Catalysis & Inorganic Chemistry Biochemical Sciences Chemical Engineering & Process Development Coordinator 1 Dr M. V. Badiger Dr. T. G. Ajithkumar Dr. C. V. Ramana Dr. C. P. Vinod Dr. Archana Pundle Dr. C. V. Rode Coordinator 2 Dr Suresh Bhat Dr. J. Nithyanandan Dr. A. K. Bhattacharya Dr. Paresh Dhepe Dr. Lalitha Kumar Dr. Venkat Panchagnula

Suggested guidelines for conducting the courses NCL401 & NCL402 project proposals
Course requirement: Two 2 credit courses (400 level) are mandatory for the Ph.D program (in Science or Engineering) NCL401: One research proposal on topics of high relevance and novelty (2 credits) is to be prepared by each student and submitted by the end of the third semester. The proposal should have state-of-the-art review of contemporary literature, methodology, plan of work etc. The suggested format of the proposal is similar to the format of the projects funded under CSIR- Extra Mural Research scheme. NCL402: One Review Article on the research area of the student (2 credits) Time of the course: One proposal has to be completed by the end of third semester and the second one by the end of fourth semester of the student. Selection of the topics for NCL401: (1) The subject proposal in the course NCL401 (third semester) should be based on any advanced topics in the current literature. The starting point for writing this proposal must preferably be a paper or a review in a high impact journal published in the last three to five years. The proposal should not be related to the research work of the student. If necessary, the oral presentation of NCL402 by the end of second year can be combined with fellowship renewal / up-gradation viva. Topics of the proposals of the previous semesters will be made available to the students to avoid repetition. Students can appear for the comprehensive viva after clearing all the coursework including 401 and 402 at the end of the fourth semester. Committee for Evaluation: The Doctoral committee including Directors nominee will evaluate the project proposal as well as the review. Directors nominee will be the chairman and the research supervisor of the student will be the convener of the evaluation committee. The candidate should make an oral presentation for a minimum of 30 minutes (25 to 30 slides) which is open to all students and staff of NCL. The announcement should be send to allncl mail. Guidelines for awarding marks by the members of the committee: Project proposal (Novelty and originality): 25% Presentation skills (Clarity of talk and time management): 25% Clarity and organization of slides: 25% Discussion and defense including answering questions: 25%

The committee members will communicate the marks to the divisional coordinator by the end of the third and the fourth semesters, respectively, for the project proposal as well as the review. Approval of the topic and submission of the proposal: The student should get the topic of the proposal approved by the research guide or the chairman of the evaluation committee within the first month of the semester in which the presentation will be held. The research guide should upload the title of the proposal in PSAM two weeks before the date of presentation / defense. Also, the proposal should be made available to all the members of the DAC, well before the date of presentation / defense. Format of the project proposal: The format of the proposal should be the format of the projects funded under CSIR- Extra Mural Research scheme. The format may be downloaded at http://csirhrdg.res.in/res_forms.htm For suggested guidelines for preparing the proposal please see Appendix.

Any indication that the proposal has been copied or reproduced from other sources (websites, other grant applications, journal publications etc.) will be construed as plagiarism and the author of the proposal will not be allowed to proceed for the comprehensive viva for the confirmation of his/her Ph.D. registration.
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Appendix
General instructions for preparing the grant proposal: The proposal should be reasonable, scientifically significant and executable in the stipulated time of three to five years. The proposal should state the background of the problem being addressed and the relevant literature cited. The unanswered questions in the field should be clearly stated. This should be followed by clear description of the methodology, its rationale and the experimental strategy, if relevant. Any necessary justification must be supported by relevant literature precedence. Although the resources requested should be appropriate and reasonable, no constraints on funding/availability of consumables or equipments need to be considered, while preparing the proposal. Guidelines for preparing the grant proposal: Font: Times New Roman, size: 12, with one-and-a-half line spacing. The expected length of the proposal is between 4000 and 6000 words and may contain the following sections. A. Title:

The name of the student, ID No., Laboratory, Division, telephone and email ID also should be provided. B. Abstract: Six key words (in alphabetical order) must be included at the end of the abstract. C. Introduction:

This section gives the background and significance of the research topic, brief literature review to indicate the current status of research in this field and a clear statement of the objectives of the proposal. This section is expected to reflect the extent of literature survey carried out by the student. D. Hypothesis and Specific Aims:

The hypothesis must be clearly stated based on earlier evidence in the literature, or prevalent theory in an area of research. Specific aims can be listed as bullet points. Emphasis should be on the importance of the proposed project in current or future research.

E.

Methodology Section:

This section can explain the theoretical basis and actual methodology proposed to be employed to achieve each specific aim. Sufficient details of experimental design or the theoretical approach may be provided so that the feasibility of the project can be judged. Relevant references or resources must be cited wherever needed. Trivial details such as reaction time, incubation, quantities of substances, format of input-output of programs etc. are not necessary. If a new strategy or methodology is introduced then its key points should be outlined. F. Available resources, potential problems/limitations:

This section can provide information on the resources available for the project and also an analysis of potential problems or limitation of the approach and how they are going to be addressed. G. Expected Outcome:

This section can highlight how the findings will address the issues raised in the Introduction section. H. Projection of progress:

Outline the course of expected progress of the proposed methodology or calculations over three to five years, with milestones for each year. I. Bibliography:

Citation style: Follow either the Journal of Molecular Biology style or else the American Chemical Society (ACS) style (look up journals such as J. Am. Chem. Soc., J. Org. Chem., Biochemistry, Chemical Reviews etc. for ACS style).

J.

Budget:

Budget can be tabulated as shown below. Items A. Recurring 1. Salaries 2. Consumables 3. Travel 4. Other costs # Subtotal A. B. Permanent Equipment (A + B) Overhead charges (15%) Grand total # Budget for other costs could include contingency grant, unplanned expenditure, etc. not exceeding 5% of the total projected cost. Justification for budget requested under each head should be provided 1st year 2nd year 3rd year Total

K.

Bio data of the investigator

A very brief description of the qualification, expertise, current research and credentials of the investigator relevant for the proposal can be provided in this section. This is to learn to formulate the proposal, so each student can prepare this section with his/her bio data.