BB 701 Research Proposal

Guidelines and Evaluation         

1. The aim of this course is to have the student propose a research project. The project should of 3 years duration. The student will write it in the form of a grant proposal.
2. Students will not take this course before their second semester.
3. There need not be an assigned guide for this course. However, students are strongly urged to consult a faculty member who may have expertise in the chosen topic.
4. The research topic is to be decided by the student within 15 days of registration. The topic may or may not be related to research work being pursued in the laboratory in which the students will work for his Ph.D. However, if related, the topic should be distinct from the on-going projects and projects submitted by the student’s faculty advisor to grant agencies for funding.
5. The evaluation committee will consist of four examiners (+ topic guide).
6. Stage I presentation: This will be of ~10 min duration and will be scheduled within 3-4 weeks from the start of the semester. This exercise is to ensure that proposal is focussed. The proposals are NOT evaluated at this stage for the purpose of grading.
7. The final write-up should contain 10-15 pages of technical content (i.e., excluding figures, tables, budget, references and other such non-technical details). Objectives must be clearly stated. Methods and strategy to be employed to achieve the objectives must be described (only key details are to be included). The literature survey should highlight the lacunae which lead to the objectives/hypothesis/rationale. This report should be in the format for submission of grants to DBT / DST / CSIR / BRNS. Students may request faculty/senior students to show them copies of grants/BT701 write ups.
8. The write up should be original. Under no circumstance should it include material copied from other sources. If any part of the write-up is found to be plagiarised, the student will be asked to repeat the course.
9. Final presentation: This will be of 30 min duration followed by discussion. It will be held during the last week of the semester. Students must submit their write-up at least one week prior to the final presentation.
10. Guidelines for assessment (report writing and oral presentation)