There arose a necessity to create a nationally unified, interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in biosciences aimed at amplifying the production of highly proficient, internationally competitive human capital. The aim was to equip these trained individuals to offer pioneering bioscience solutions to present-day challenges with relevance both nationally and globally. The primary goal of this envisioned program was to promote extensive academic and research collaboration among institutions within the DBT BRIC (iBRICs), RCB, and ICGEB, thereby enhancing networking opportunities for Ph.D. scholars.

Programme Overview:

The i3C BRIC-RCB Ph.D. program in biosciences aims to achieve its objectives by enrolling exceptionally talented Ph.D. scholars who will undergo foundational coursework and receive training in cutting-edge technology platforms during the initial semester at RCB. While building upon the existing RCB Ph.D. program, this new initiative will incorporate substantial innovative content, capitalizing on the academic and infrastructural strengths of both RCB and the iBRICs. Governed by RCB statutes, ordinances, and regulations, the program will adhere to the latest UGC guidelines regarding eligibility, duration, and coursework credit requirements. Additionally, the Ph.D. program will feature a practical immersion program (field internship) lasting three months, immediately following the first semester of coursework. This immersive experience is designed to provide scholars with hands-on exposure to areas of societal significance, enabling them to effectively integrate into the professional biotechnology sector. It aims to cultivate a transformative pool of human resources poised to shape the future. Subsequently, doctoral research under the guidance of supervisors from the iBRICs, RCB, or ICGEB will follow the coursework and internship phase.

Eligibility & Selection

The new i3C BRIC-RCB Ph.D. programme is expected to include highly talented students from backgrounds in the broad fields encompassing biotechnology, medicine and engineering. There will be two proposed tracks of entry into the programme. 

Track I 

Number of seats: Up to 70 

Fellowship emoluments: As per extant fellowship norms of the respective funding agency 

Educational Qualification: Indian/ international (e.g. TWAS) students with an MSc/ MTech in any of Life Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, MPharm, MVSc, MBBS or an equivalent degree would be eligible to apply. An aggregate score of 55% or an equivalent grade in the preceding qualifying degree examination would be a necessary qualification (with a 5% relaxation for SC/ST/OBC- NCL/differently-abled allowed as per extant statutory norms). Four-year undergraduates from all of the above disciplines are also eligible as per UGC guidelines. 

Selection Criteria: Admission to the i3C BRIC-RCB Ph.D. programme in biosciences would require qualification in a national level fellowship examination such as the DBT-BET, CSIR-JRF, UGC-JRF, ICMR-JRF, or similar, which provides a five-year valid fellowship for pursuing a Ph.D. tenable at any of the iBRICs, RCB or ICGEB. Eligible applicants will be screened and shortlisted for interviews to be conducted around June-July each year.

Track II

Up to ten additional fellowships are likely to be instituted to encourage engineering (BTech/BE) and medicine graduates (MBBS) to apply to the programme. Undergraduates in any branch of engineering (BTech/ BE) or medicine (MBBS) with 55 % aggregate marks in the preceding qualifying degree examination would be a necessary qualification (with a 5% relaxation for SC/ST/OBC-NCL/differently-abled allowed as per extant statutory norms). The selection process will involve a separate written examination and/or an interview.

Allotment of institution and Ph.D. supervisor

The selected students will be provided counselling at RCB and assigned institutions and Ph.D. supervisors along with their admission offer. The assignment of supervisors and iBRIC institutions will be made based on the interview merit scores and the student’s preferred research areas and supervisors, which would be submitted by the student prior to the interviews. In order to streamline the process, each iBRIC would be requested to provide the available list of supervisors before each admission cycle. It is expected that about five students from the programme will join each iBRIC/RCB/ICGEB in the first year, totaling about 75 students. Since all students inducted into this programme will receive their Ph.D. degrees from RCB, BRIC/ each iBRIC would be required to maintain an academic affiliation with RCB. Similarly, each iBRIC supervisor is also required to be an adjunct (affiliated) faculty of RCB.

Registration and enrolment

The selected students will register with RCB immediately after admission and be required to activate their Ph.D. fellowships. A one-page broad description of the Ph.D. project, prepared in consultation with the assigned supervisor in a prescribed format, would need to be submitted along with the registration. The selected students will also be required to activate their respective Ph.D. fellowships directly through their respective parent iBRICs. During the scholars’ stay at RCB in the first semester, RCB will provide the monthly attendance record to the respective institutions to facilitate fellowship disbursement from the funding agencies. Selected students will be housed at RCB-administered accommodation for the first semester, during which all campus facilities available to RCB students will be made available to the selected students. These include twin shared, off-campus leased accommodation, transport to and from the campus, meal facilities in the mess and cafeterias, access to campus medical and counselling facilities, and access to library, IT, and sports facilities.