AICTE Drafts New PhD Norms in Technical Education: Faster Completion & Mandatory AI Disclosures

The AICTE has recommended allowing research scholars to transfer between universities during their PhD studies and allowing retired faculty members to serve as co-supervisors after retirement.

AICTE Proposes New PhD Rules

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has proposed changes to the PhD process in engineering and related fields. A task force constituted by the council has recommended that candidates be allowed to complete their PhD in as little as two and a half years, provided their research is published in reputable journals.

According to the draft rules, PhD students in technical education must publish their research in peer-reviewed journals or conferences, with the researcher named as the first and corresponding author. If the research is published in high-impact publications, such as Scopus-indexed Q1 journals, candidates may be eligible to submit their dissertation after 2.5 years, instead of the usual three to six years.

The panel also suggested that the role of artificial intelligence in research should be clearly declared. Any material created with the help of such tools should be given due credit and its contribution should be limited to a certain percentage of the overall work. This change in PhD criteria has been made to ensure academic integrity and transparency.

According to reports, other AICTE recommendations include allowing researchers to transfer between universities during their PhD and allowing retired faculty members to serve as co-supervisors after retirement.

The AICTE task force has also formulated guidelines for the Doctor of Science (DSc) degree in engineering, applied sciences, and allied fields, which can be completed in one to three years.

These proposals will require approval and formal notification from the Ministry of Education before they can be implemented.