About the ACM India Anveshan Setu Fellowship

Objectives of the Fellowship

  • To provide CS/IT PhD students in India:
    1. an opportunity to get up close and personal with best research practices outside their parent institutes.
    2. a longer and more intense mentoring experience beyond ACM India PhD Clinic.
  • The target is to develop Anveshan Setu into a premium-value program over the next three years—something that every CS/IT PhD student in India would aspire to participate in their PhD career.

Eligibility for Students and Mentors

  • Student: Any full-time/part-time enrolled/registered CS/IT PhD student in India.
  • Mentor: Faculty member with established research credentials in India, willing to host and mentor a visitor student for four weeks.
  • It is preferred that a mentor-mentee pair would have interacted in the past through other fora/platforms, viz. PhD Clinic.
  • A mentor will be matched with a mentee only if both sides are agreeable to the match.

Salient features of the Fellowship

  • Duration of the visit: We recommend a minimum of four weeks in a year per visit. Depending on the performance, mentee/student can be allowed to visit same or different mentors up to three times in three years, during the PhD career of the student.
  • It is expected that at the end of each four-week visit, the mentee will have a better understanding and perspective of research methodology and practices in her/his area of interest, develop taste and enthusiasm for exploring an area of her/his interest in depth, and expand her/his network of academic contacts.
  • Depending on the interest by the mentor and mentee, ACM India will do the matchmaking. Explicit approval from the mentor will be taken before assigning a mentee.
  • Mentor and mentee are expected to meet a minimum set of expectations. The guiding principle of these expectations is to ensure that the mentee learns best research practices and feels more comfortable and encouraged in pursuing her/his/their research at the end of the visit.

Expectation from Mentors

  • Facilitate logistics of mentee's visit:
    • Office space/desk, access to building/lab, internet access, access to library (for reading, not necessarily for issuing books)
    • Access to student hostel/guest house accommodation and mess/canteen facilities. Financial support from ACM India is available for this.
  • Have the mentee participate in group meetings, presentations, etc. as a visitor.
  • Spend at least 1-2 hours per week with the mentee on his/her work, giving feedback on research, helping progress with work.
  • Have other students in the mentor's research group spend some structured time with the mentee explaining what they are working on, pitfalls to avoid, best practices to pick up, etc.
  • Have a joint video/teleconference with mentee and her/his/their advisor in her/his/their parent institution at least once (preferably in the first week) during the visit to ensure that all are on the same page.
  • Provide a Completion Letter (see template) to the mentee on institute letterhead, on completion of the visit.
  • Give feedback to ACM India about what worked and what didn't work; a separate form will be shared with mentors for this purpose.

Expectation from Mentees

  • Mentee must have discussed the visit with her/his/their advisor and comply with all requirements of advisor and parent institution.
  • Mentee must submit a no-objection-certificate (see template) from the advisor.
  • Given that this is a full-time visit, mentee must spend a minimum of 40 hours per week interacting with the mentor and her/his/their research group, trying to understand research methodologies and best practices.
  • Participate as a visitor in group meetings, presentations etc. of the mentor's group.
  • Stay in close touch (preferably weekly) with an advisor in the parent institution about work/activities being done in the visiting institute.
  • Prepare a report (format to be provided by ACM India) of outcome of the visit at the end of the duration of visit.
  • Give feedback to ACM India about what worked and what didn't work; a separate form will be shared with mentees for this purpose.
  • Possibly participate in ACM India events and present her/his/their work and experience from the visitor program.

Tentative Timeline

By 15 Oct. 2022 Applications open
By 30 Nov. 2022 Last date for submitting applications
By 15 Jan. 2023 Application review, interaction between potential students, mentors
By 30 Jan. 2023 Announcement of Fellows
March 2023–Feb. 2024 Student visits Mentors

Other guidelines

  • ACM India will have no stake in the produced IP through this collaboration/visit of the mentee to the host institution and beyond.
  • Mentor and student should publish the findings from the visit and beyond in public domain.
  • If the mentor and mentee mutually agree to extend an Anveshan Setu visit beyond four weeks, and if the mentee’s advisor and parent institution are agreeable to this, and if the mentee and mentor mutually agree to take care of expenses related to stay beyond the four weeks supported by ACM India, it is possible to extend the mentee’s visit beyond four weeks. In all such cases, ACM India’s financial support will however be capped to a total of Rs. 20,000 as specified below.
  • We plan to support up to 50 students in the 2023–2024 cycle of the Fellowship.

Financial details

  • ACM India will provide INR 10,000 to the student at the start of their visit.
  • When the student completes the visit, she/he/they will submit a report along with pictures (with mentor, students, lab, etc.) taken during the visit, and ACM India will provide an additional INR 10,000 to the student.

Definitions

  • Mentor/Faculty: Faculty member of the institute to whom the student visitor is assigned.
  • Candidate/Student/Mentee: A student from another institute getting the Anveshan Setu Fellowship to pursue research with the mentor at the institute.
  • Grant: Cash grant named Anveshan-Setu Fellowship provided by ACM India to the institute to fund the candidate's visit and research project.
  • Research topic: Plan agreed between the mentor and the candidate to work on. This could be a 2-3 line description of the topic of research.

List of mentors for 2023–2024

  1. Prof. Chetan Arora, IIT Delhi - Computer Vision, specifically Medical Imaging, Object Detection, Semantic Segmentation
  2. Vineeth N Balasubramanian, IIT Hyderabad - Deep Learning, Computer Vision, Explainable AI, Continual Learning
  3. Prof Aritra Banik, NISER Bhubaneswar - Computational Geometry, Parameterized Algorithms, Graph Algorithms
  4. Arnab Bhattacharya, IIT Kanpur - NLP, Databases, Graph Mining, Data Mining
  5. Supratik Chakraborty, IIT Bombay - Formal verification, Formal methods in Machine Learning, Automated synthesis
  6. Prof. Anirban Chakraborty, IISc - Computer Vision, Deep Learning, Video Surveillance
  7. Ayon Chakraborty, IIT Madras - Wireless sensing, ML-driven sensing, IoT devices
  8. Sridhar Chimalakonda, IIT Tirupati - AI + Software Engineering, Green AI and Software, Human-Computer Interaction
  9. Prof. Dileep A. D., IIT Mandi - Pattern Recognition, Kernel Methods for Pattern Analysis, Speech Technology
  10. Prof. Asif Ekbal, IIT Patna - Natural Language Processing, Multimodal AI
  11. Chaya Ganesh, IISc Bangalore - Cryptography
  12. Pawan Goyal, IIT Kharagpur - Dialog Modeling, Sanskrit Computational Linguistics, Low resource NLP
  13. Saptarshi Ghosh, IIT Kharagpur - Social networks, Law-AI
  14. Sudarshan Iyengar, IIT Ropar - Social Computing, Big Data Analytics, Data Sciences
  15. Prof. Preethi Jyothi, IIT Bombay - Speech, NLP, Multimodal learning
  16. Prof. Harikumar Kandath, IIIT Hyderabad - Aerial Robtics, multi robot systems, Reinforcement Learning
  17. Prof. Hemangee Kapoor, IIT Guwahati - Multiprocessor Computer Architecture, Emerging Memory Technologies, Near Data Processing
  18. Kalpesh Kapoor, IIT Guwahati - Blockchain Science and Technology
  19. Ponnurangam Kumaraguru “PK”, IIIT Hyderabad - Social Networks, Cybersecurity
  20. Prof Radhika Mamidi, IIIT Hyderabad - Natural Language Processing
  21. Prof Neeldhara Misra, IIT Gandhinagar - Algorithms, Computational Social Choice, Combinatorial Games
  22. Prof. Sudip Misra, IIT Kharagpur - IoT, Wireless Networks, ML applications in Networks
  23. Prof. Raghava Mutharaju, IIIT Delhi - Knowledge Graphs/Semantic Web, Ontology modeling and reasoning, Linked Data
  24. Vinayak Naik, BITS Goa - Networks, Ubiquitous Computing, and Cloud Computing
  25. Prof Krishna Nandivada V, IIT Madras - Compiler Optimizations, Program Analysis, High Performance Computing
  26. Prof G N Srinivasa Prasanna, IIIT Bangalore - algorithms and robotics
  27. Prof. Padmanabhan Rajan, IIT Mandi - Speech and audio processing, machine learning
  28. Prof. Balaraman Ravindran, IIT Madras - Reinforcement Learning, Learning on Graphs, AI and Society
  29. Prof Chester Rebeiro, IIT Madras - Malware Analysis, Binary Analysis, Cybersecurity
  30. Prof. Sriparna Saha, IIT Patna - Natural Language Processing, Social Media Data Analytics, Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Bioinformatics
  31. Prof. Saket Saurabh, IMSc Chennai - Algorithms, Graph Theory, Streaming Algorithms
  32. Prof Tavpritesh Sethi, IIIT Delhi - Healthcare, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence
  33. Prof. Rajiv Ratn Shah, IIIT Delhi - Natural Language Processing, Multimedia Computing
  34. Prof. Jainendra Shukla, IIIT Delhi - Affective Computing, Human-Computer Interaction, Social Robotics
  35. Prof. Mayank Singh, IIT Gandhinagar - Code-mixing: Creating libraries for code-mixed language processing, Mining of scholarly data
  36. Srinath Srinivasa, IIIT Bangalore - Consent Management, Big Data Analytics, Responsible Autonomy
  37. P.B. Sujit, IISER Bhopal - Multi-robot systems, multi-agent reinforcement learning, path planning
  38. Prof. Chiranjeevi Yarra - Speech Signal Processing, Digital Signal Processing and Time-varying Signal Analysis

Apply for 2023–2024

Team

Fellows for 2023–2024

Student Name with Institute

Mentor Name with Institute

Abhay Kumar Pathak, BHU Varanasi

Prof. Sudarshan Iyengar, IIT Ropar

Aditi Roy, NIT Tiruchirappalli

Prof. Chester Rebeiro, IIT Madras

Akarsh K Nair, IIIT Kottayam

Prof. P.B. Sujit, IISER Bhopal

Ankur Nahar, IIT Jodhpur

Prof. Sudip Misra, IIT Kharagpur

Archana S M, NIT Calicut

Prof. Radhika Mamidi, IIIT Hyderabad

Ashok Yadav, IIIT Allahabad

Prof. Ponnurangam Kumaraguru "PK", IIIT Hyderabad

Babita, MNIT, Jaipur

Prof. Chetan Arora, IIT Delhi

Bharti Khemani, Symbiosis International Deemed University

Prof. Arnab Bhattacharya, IIT Kanpur

Bhushan Zope, Symbiosis Institute of Technology, Pune

Prof. Tavpritesh Sethi, IIIT Delhi

Chanda Grover, Ashoka University

Prof. Preethi Jyothi, IIT Bombay

Chaturvedi Gayatri Krishnapratap, VJTI, Mumbai

Prof. Ponnurangam Kumaraguru "PK", IIIT Hyderabad

Deborsi Basu, IIT Kharagpur

Prof. Ayon Chakraborty, IIT Madras

Deepasree Varma, APJ Abdul Kalam University

Prof. Saptarshi Ghosh, IIT Kharagpur

Fathima Beevi P S, Ilahia College of Engineering and Technology, KTU

Prof. Radhika Mamidi, IIIT Hyderabad

Geetanjali, NIT Hamirpur

Prof. Asif Ekbal, IIT Patna

Girish Sharma, MNIT, Jaipur

Prof. Sudip Misra, IIT Kharagpur

Hridya Sobhanam, NIT Calicut

Prof. Rajiv Ratn Shah, IIIT Delhi

Jaya Sharma, IIIT Delhi

Prof. Chaya Ganesh, IISc Bangalore

Juhi Pruthi, J.C. Bose University of Science & Technology, Faridabad

Prof. Tavpritesh Sethi, IIIT Delhi

Kannadasan K, NIT Tiruchirappalli

Prof. Jainendra Shukla, IIIT Delhi

KATHIRAVAN P, Central University of Tamil Nadu

Prof. Ponnurangam Kumaraguru "PK", IIIT Hyderabad

Komal Rani Tehlan, Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak

Prof. Rajiv Ratn Shah, IIIT Delhi

Krishna Presannakumar, Mahatma Gandhi University

Prof. Padmanabhan Rajan, IIT Mandi

Mamata Das, NIT Tiruchirappalli

Prof. Sriparna Saha, IIT Patna

Nirmala Murali, IIST(Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology)

Prof. Vineeth N Balasubramanian, IIT Hyderabad

Pagalla Bhavani Shankar, Krishna University

Prof. Sridhar Chimalakonda, IIT Tirupati

Pooja Kumari, IIT Madras

Prof. Anirban Chakraborty, IISc

Pranav Shukla, Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU)

Prof. Raghava Mutharaju, IIIT Delhi

Pyare Lal, IISER Bhopal

Prof. Harikumar Kandath, IIIT Hyderabad

Rajeev Ranjan Dwivedi, IISER Bhopal

Prof. Vineeth N Balasubramanian, IIT Hyderabad

Ranjeet Vasant Bidwe, Symbiosis Institute of Technology, Pune

Prof. Tavpritesh Sethi, IIIT Delhi

Reshma Sheik, NIT Tiruchirappalli

Prof. Rajiv Ratn Shah, IIIT Delhi

Riya Verma, IIT Madras

Prof. Chetan Arora, IIT Delhi

Rupinder Kaur, SLIET Punjab

Prof. Vinayak Naik, BITS Goa

Ruthwik Muppala, IIIT Hyderabad

Prof. Ayon Chakraborty, IIT Madras

Sabyasachi Mukhopadhyay, IIT Kharagpur

Prof. Sriparna Saha, IIT Patna

Sandipan Dhar, NIT Durgapur

Prof. Chiranjeevi Yarra, IIIT Hyderabad

Sonia Rani, LPU Punjab

Prof. Sudarshan Iyengar, IIT Ropar

Soumyajyoti Dey, Jadavpur University

Prof. Anirban Chakraborty, IISc

Sourav Das, IIIT Kalyani

Prof. Asif Ekbal, IIT Patna

Sricheta Parui, IIT Kharagpur

Prof. Sriparna Saha, IIT Patna

Suneera C M, NIT Calicut

Prof. Raghava Mutharaju, IIIT Delhi

Sudhansu Bala Das, NIT Rourkela

Prof. Asif Ekbal, IIT Patna

Suvam Mukherjee, NIT Surathkal

Prof. Vinayak Naik, BITS Goa

Unnikrishnan K N, IIIT Kottayam

Prof. Kalpesh Kapoor, IIT Guwahati

Vicky Vikrant, NIT Tiruchirappalli

Prof. Saket Saurabh, IMSc Chennai

Vivek Kumar, NIT Patna

Prof. Saket Saurabh, IMSc Chennai

Yamini Sahu, IISER Bhopal

Prof. Harikumar Kandath, IIIT Hyderabad

FAQs

Q: I have not yet attended the PhD Clinic, can I apply for this fellowship?
A: Absolutely, you can. We strongly recommend applying to Anveshan Setu Fellowship after attending the Clinic, but it is not mandatory.

Q: Will there be any written test, interviews, for the selection process?
A: No, there may be an interaction session (which could be a PhD Clinic slot too) with the mentor to ensure that you are prepared to make the best use of the visit.

Q: Is there a necessary condition that I can visit only the faculty that I interacted with in PhD Clinic?
A: No, not necessary. You can apply to visit any host faculty mentioned in the application form. Please be aware that this is a matchmaking activity, where host faculty should also be interested in hosting you.

Q: Will I get a lab space/desk to sit and work in the host institute?
A: Depending on the infrastructure facilities of the host institute, you will get some space.

Q: Will I get a hostel in the institute that I will be visiting?
A: Same goes for hostel rooms; be prepared to stay in some hostel type accommodation outside if you don't get a hostel room in the campus.

Q: I just finished my PhD, submitted my thesis, waiting for evaluation/defense, am I eligible for this fellowship?
A: Congrats on submitting the thesis, must be very satisfying. Unfortunately, this program is for PhD students who have not yet reached the final stages of thesis defense.

Q: How much fellowship money will I get?
A: INR 20,000 per student per visit. ACM India will credit INR 10,000 when you start the visit and additional INR 10,000 when you complete the visit and satisfy the requirements (report, pics, etc.).

Q: When can I visit? Should the visit be planned in summer?
A: Visit timing can be planned with the host faculty; both you and the faculty member can decide on the timing for the visit. Visit should happen in the period of March 2023–Feb 2024.

Q: Do I need to have ACM membership to apply for this fellowship?
A: No, any PhD student (not restricted to ACM members) can apply for this fellowship.

Q: I received the 2021 Fellowship, but did not visit the mentor because of the pandemic and other reasons. Can I apply again this year?
A: If you are still a registered PhD student, you are eligible to apply. We look forward to seeing your application.

Q: I received the 2021 Fellowship and I visited the mentor. Can I apply again this year?
A: If you are still a registered PhD student, you are eligible to apply. We look forward to seeing your application.

Q: Does the fellowship elapse?
A: Yes, the visit must be completed during March 2023 – Feb 2024.

Q: Can I visit the mentor for more than 4 weeks?
A: ACM India expects a mentee visit for a duration of 4 weeks, the mentor and mentee can mutually agree (with consent of the mentee's advisor and parent institution) to extend the duration of the visit. If you need any financial support for extending the visit, please reach out to us at (pk.guru[at]iiit[dot]ac[dot]in) with the request.

For any clarifications, please write to pk.guru[at]iiit[dot]ac[dot]in.