AICTE offers Rs 1 lakh monthly fellowship to upskill faculty, bridge academia-industry gap

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has announced a new AICTE Industry Fellowship Programme to upskill faculty in technical institutions. This initiative will give industry exposure to selected faculty members to bridge the academic-industry gap.

Each fellowship will be six to 12 months long. AICTE will provide a monthly fellowship of Rs 75,000, while participating industries will contribute a minimum of Rs 25,000 per month. This will be in addition to the regular salary that the fellows will continue to receive from their institutions.

The process will begin on June 20 with industries submitting an Expression of Interest on the designated centralised portal, specifying the sectors and the number of fellowships they wish to support. Applications will be accepted till July 15.

AICTE Faculty Fellowship: Eligibility

AICTE-approved institutions across India will then nominate faculty members to be a part of the programme. These nominations will be carefully examined by AICTE to meet the eligibility criteria. The shortlisted nominations will be displayed on the portal, allowing industries to pick and choose the faculty members they want, according to their specialisations. The onboarding of the selected fellows is scheduled for August 1.

In order to be eligible for selection to the AICTE Industry Fellowship Programme, faculty members must have a minimum of five years of regular teaching experience at an AICTE-approved institution. Nominees must be 45 years of age or younger.

They will also be assessed based on their academic and research credentials which includes, but is not limited to “publications in top-tier journals, successful execution of funded research projects, recognition through national awards, or securing top ranks in their academic programmes”. A nomination and a No Objection Certificate (NOC) is mandatory from the parent institution to participate in the fellowship.

3-year institutional service mandatory

In order to ensure that the education system receives the benefits of industrial training, AICTE has made it compulsory for the fellows to serve at their institutions for three consecutive years following the fellowship.

The fellowship programme aims to increase graduate employability by making sure that they receive industry-aligned training. It also aims to reform outdated theoretical pedagogy prevalent in institutes. Lastly, it aims to strengthen academia-industry engagement, so that technical studies can align with the practical need of the hour.

AICTE will roll out the programme’s pilot phase in 2025-26, with 350 fellows. But over time it hopes to train up to 1,500 faculty members yearly. This initiative aligns with the country’s vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047.