NIT CALICUT ALUMNI ASSOCIATION (NITCAA) – COCHIN CHAPTER

Engineering education equips one to blend knowledge of science, the rigours of mathematics and logical reasoning to come up with cost effective solutions for practical problems. National Institute of Technology (formerly REC) Calicut is one of the most established colleges/institutions in the country with its alumni spread all over the globe. These local alumni chapters have been making notable contributions to the engineering profession.

NIT Calicut Alumni Association (NITCAA) Cochin chapter has been in the fore front of such activities through institution of awards such as Prof K M Bahauddin Award of Rs. One lakh for the distinguished engineering teacher of the state, Prof P M Jussay Award for the Best Outgoing Student, Scholarships for the needy engineering students of the state etc. Dr. G Madhu who won the Prof K M Bahaudddin Award in 2018, returned the cash prize to NITCAA. As per the suggestion from Prof Babu T Jose, the Executive Committee decided to institute an award for the best Ph D thesis of the state in engineering, by making use of the interest accrued from this amount. Accordingly, an award for the best PhD Thesis from the state was instituted in 2019 with a cash prize of Rs.10,000, a memento and a citation for various branches of engineering by rotation every year, starting from 2020.

Name of the Award

NITCAA – Kochi Chapter Award for the Best Doctoral Thesis in Engineering and Technology

This will be awarded to the best PhD thesis in the following areas every year on rotation basis.

(i) General Engineering (Computer Science, Chemical Engineering, Safety & Fire Engineering, and Polymer Engineering)
(ii) Civil Engineering
(iii) Mechanical Engineering
(iv) Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Communication and Instrumentation.

• To provide recognition to outstanding original research work done in Kerala by doctoral degree students.
• To provide incentive for enhancing the quality of research for doctoral thesis.
• To promote high quality doctoral thesis research in emerging priority areas.

This award is meant exclusively for doctoral thesis related to engineering and technology from any University/Deemed University/Institute of National Importance situated in Kerala. The award to be given away every year shall consist of Rs. 10,000 in cash, a citation and a memento.

The supervising teacher of the candidate also will receive a citation.

• Any Indian who has completed his Ph.D. degree in the concerned branch of engineering and technology from a University/ Deemed University/Institute of National Importance situated in the State of Kerala.
• The applicant for the award and his/her research supervisor should hold a B.E/B.Tech or equivalent degree in any branch of Engineering/technology after undergoing a regular programme of minimum 4 years duration.
• The Certificate of the degree/provisional degree must have been obtained during the four years preceding the year of the award. A thesis will be considered only once.
• The research work must be original and must have a direct bearing on some relevant aspects of engineering design/construction/manufacturing/management systems.
• The applicant for the award should have published at least one paper in a peer reviewed Scopus-indexed journal of high repute based on his/her research work.

The President, NITCAA – Cochin Chapter will constitute a committee to call for the Applications for the Award, check the eligibility and to short list the Applicants, if required. The short-listed applications will be sent to a minimum of three experts for Evaluation. Based on the marks given by the Evaluators, the Award committee will make recommendations to the Executive Committee of NITCAA–Cochin Chapter and the executive committee shall make the final decision.

• Conceptual clarity and coherence of the research problem. (5 marks)
• Scientific, technological and socio-economic relevance and priority of the research problem. (5 marks)
• Compilation, analysis and interpretation of existing literature, quality of illustrations and photographs. (10 marks)
• Organization of research work. Complementarity of the various experimental investigations / theoretical analysis and their integration into a logical plan of work. (10 marks)
• Conduct of the research programmes: Scientific soundness and technological modernity of the experimental methods / modelling and simulation and logical planning (10 marks)
• Scientific validity and accuracy of the analysis of data. (15 marks)
• Principal findings: To what extent do they meet the objectives of the research programme? (15 marks)
• In what way the findings constitute a significant advance in our knowledge and understanding or help improve productivity and sustainability. (10 marks)
• Research papers published and their quality as judged by the panel of experts. (15 marks)
• Patents/ copyrights applied for and accepted. (5 marks)

For more details, please refer NITCAA Website http://www.nitcaa.org or mail to president@nitcaacochin.org , office@nitcaacochin.org

The selected candidate shall receive the award in person at the NITCAA Cochin Chapter Day to be held at Kochi on 1st May every year.