Bhubaneswar, Aug. 16: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) here is inviting foreign professionals for the post of visiting professors.

They will be hired for a semester and take part in teaching as well as research programmes in its various schools. The contract may be extended to one more year. The IIT has invited expression of interest from faculty members and senior researchers from internationally acclaimed groups of universities and institutions.

The visiting professors can engage themselves in multiple academic assignments such as teaching core or elective subjects, co-supervising undergraduate (BTech), postgraduate (MSc, MTech) and doctoral (PhD) students, take part in externally funded projects, writing joint project proposals for international funding, mentoring undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral students along with young faculty members.

The institute has decided to pay an honorarium of Rs 1.50 lakh (approximately equivalent to $ 2,200 per month), apart from other perks, to the visiting professors. The other facilities include travel fare, office space, accommodation, free medical facility and insurance, besides allowance for purchasing office stationary and expenses to attend conferences all over India.

Director R.V. Rajakumar said the visiting professors would have an excellent scope to visit and collaborate with other sister institutions across the country. The institute had already hosted visiting professors from the US, Canada and the UK.

The IIT is also gearing up to celebrate its 5th annual convocation on August 30 on its permanent campus at Argul. Chairperson of the National Board of Accreditation and former director of the IIT Delhi, Surendra Prasad, will be the chief guest and deliver the convocation address.

The institute has initiated collaboration with the Integrated Test Range of the Defence Research and Development Organisation at Chandipur near Balasore by signing agreements for three sponsored research projects. A team, led by test range director B.K. Das, visited the institute's campus and took part in the agreement signing ceremony on August 4.

The institute's dean (research and development) R.K. Panda also attended the agreement signing ceremony.