Newsletter

Sci-ROI Connect

Volume 4 | November 24, 2020

Sci-ROI initiatives

This year despite the global pandemic, Sci-ROI organized a large-scale virtual recruitment event for the first time between October 26 – November 1 featuring 12 reputed institutions from India.

130 Sci-ROI members hailing from different parts of the world outside India applied
Sci-ROI received 570+ applications in total
171 one-on-one interviews were scheduled between the institutes and the candidates and conducted successfully on Zoom
Overwhelmingly positive responses from the recruiters and candidates alike

Plus points for the candidates—

No requirement for physical presence during the interview
Anyone from all over the world could apply
Event organization carried out professionally by Sci-ROI

100% of the recruiters who responded to our survey said

The recruitment week aligned well with their institute’s recruitment needs and policies.
They will use the platform again.

Sci-ROI Survey for Formulation of India’s Science Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP 2020)

Sci-ROI has been actively engaged with the STIP secretariat comprising of the office of PSA Govt of India and Department of Science and Technology to provide critical inputs for the generation of Science and Technology Innovation Policy (STIP 2020).

Sci-ROI engaged with STIP secretariat to ensure that the voices and concerns of the Indian diaspora is heard.

We initiated a survey to understand the problems faced by the Indian diaspora which was taken up by researchers currently working abroad as well as those who have already transitioned back to India. We thank all our members who responded to this survey.

We have identified some key barriers faced by scholars while they transitioned and setup their careers in India. The problems identified and potential recommendations to overcome these barriers have been forwarded to the STIP secretariat. This information will be available to all Sci-ROI members soon.

Dr. Avijit Banik represented Sci-ROI on Nov 7^th 2020, in the STIP event. This meeting was presided by the Science and Technology Minister- Government of India, Dr Harshvardhan. Dr Banik has voiced the challenges faced by young professionals after transitioning to India, identified through this survey, during this event. We hope that this engagement with the STIP secretariat will allow us to positively influence the growth of Indian science in the next years. Check the STIP recorded event here.

Diaspora scientists guage India's pandemic 'new normal'

What could be the challenges for Indian diaspora scientists wanting to explore career opportunities back home during the pandemic and beyond?

Sayan Dutta, previous Sci-ROI volunteer and Sci-ROI 2020 annual event organizer, analyses the key learning from a recent global meet.

Click Here for the article.

Cryo-EM Webinar organized by Sci-ROI and WINSTEP

Volunteer's Corner

KAVITA

I am a molecular microbiologist who loves exploring bacterial regulatory RNA. Besides science, I am passionate about helping PhDs to land into their dream jobs, that's where the Sci-ROI agenda meets my interests. By joining Sci-ROI 2020 in January, I lived a fantasy where team of 10 magnificent people were in a mission to help Indian diaspora professionals looking to transition to thriving careers back home. To the team, the mission Sci-ROI 2020 was no less important than mission “save the world”. I contributed to organize academic panels (public and private) with other volunteers and initiated the idea of point-of-contact, where one person from universities across the world will be an active Sci-ROI volunteer. The great success of Sci-ROI 2020 inspite of pandemic was result of untired efforts of organizing team, participants and point-of-contacts. Blissful to find lifelong friends with different personality and skillsets but common passion. Remember, to get success in a STEM career it needs hard work, a great CV and always a person on your side and you can find that person through Sci-ROI organization.

ATUL

I am neuroscientist trying to understand how value signals in the brain affects our motor actions. Or in simpler terms how am I able to reach out to my favorite snack “more quickly” compared to a bowl of boiled vegetables. My path to becoming a neuroscientist was guided by multiple positive influences that I had at different timepoints. Sci-ROI is an organization which strives to provide a positive influence, to the hundreds of research scholars working abroad in their journey to return to India. I was drawn to this idea and decided to volunteer in January 2020. We were a group of 10 people, with varying skills and temperaments working on a mission- organize Sci-ROI 2020 young researchers meeting, in a virtual format. We argued, debated and broke our heads over every single detail of this meeting, for hours, every week, for 8 months. This effort helped us to put together a virtual meeting which was well received by hundreds of research scholars all over the world. More importantly it provided me with an opportunity to meet and form strong bonds of comradery with 9 other individuals even though we were all practicing social distancing. My primary role in the Sci-ROI team was to wear the creative hat and design all the posters and flyers to be used for publicizing the 2020 event. Working with other team members, I also helped in organizing the non-traditional career panel, the entrepreneurship panel during the event and facilitated the virtual interviews during the recruitment week. Overall working with Sci-ROI has given me opportunities to grow beyond my scientific background, developing skills such as teamwork and event management. Most importantly Sci-ROI provides a way to channel my energy in creative ways to positively influence people around me. A way to thank and return the favors of all those people, whose influence led me to my destination.

Current Job Opportunities in India

Sci-ROI's job portal is dedicated for helping researchers and Ph.D. scholars access job opportunities in India. These job listings are targeted towards research, industry and entrepreneurship based opportunities that may be of interest to the research community. Checkout some new additions to our job portal.