Careers outside academia: Interview with Anirban Chakraborty

Could you tell us a little bit about your professional journey so far and the type of work you have done outside the typical academic career path?

My academic and research administrator journey began in 2011, when I joined Presidency University. During my PhD (in Nanoscience), my research interests were in the areas of nanoparticle synthesis and applications, reaction kinetics study, and sophisticated imaging techniques. After completing my PhD, I thought of joining a Post-Doc in Kanazawa, Japan, but I got into administration at Presidency. I thought I would spend only a few months here, but I found the job very useful and attractive. I became the Assistant Registrar and then the Deputy Registrar. I worked closely with the leadership team with the objective of transforming a great college more than two hundred years old into a twenty-first-century research university.

Then, I joined Ashoka University in 2017. At Ashoka, I am involved in framing policies and guidelines and developing strategies to facilitate research, new initiatives (projects, collaborations, establishment of new centers, etc.), and internationalization. I supervise four main verticals of the Research and Development Office—grant management (both pre- and post-award), research infrastructure management, research personnel management, and academic communications.

I am also interested in higher education management and policy research, which is entirely different from the subject of my PhD research. My recent scholarly works on Indian higher education have appeared in “Globalization, Societies and Education,” “Outlook,” “Sustainability,” etc. In 2021, I was awarded the India Research Management Initiative (IRMI) grant by the DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance to create a new vertical that focused on providing advice on research grants, identifying best practices, and building networks in this field.

What helped you make this transition? Did you face any challenges?

In the initial phase, I was unsure about academic and research administration as a career path. I was fortunate to join Presidency University at an early stage of my career. I was involved in various activities, such as faculty recruitments; establishing/facilitating national and international collaborations; and liaising with funding agencies, different governments, and accreditation/ranking agencies. I handled other responsibilities as well, including infrastructural development, development of e-resources for the library, and management of the university council and governing board.

I realized that the skills I had learned during my PhD were very beneficial and necessary for performing these roles. Competencies like negotiation skills, experience in performing qualitative and quantitative analyses, problem-solving skills, project-planning and adherence to a schedule, and the ability to work independently with minimum supervision and communicate effectively with diverse audiences are essential. In this field, one needs to work in close coordination with many other sectors and offices. As an administrator, one has to face many challenges, such as limitations in financing and lack of resources. But I have never regretted my decision to diversify and utilize my PhD training in a meaningful way in this field.

What types of career opportunities can PhD students and researchers explore outside academia?

Surveys and reports say that most countries produce more PhD holders than the number of jobs available in the higher education and research sectors. But there is a wealth of rewarding career options in non-academic domains. Apart from industry positions (such as those in research and development, production/manufacturing, marketing, regulation, intellectual property, consultancy, and equity research), careers such as those as a science manager, scientific officer, director, advisor, consultant, administrative officer, grants manager, grants advisor, project coordinator, core facility manager, etc., are becoming very popular in many universities, institutes, and non-governmental organizations.

On the basis of your experience, what would you say are the 3–5 most important points a PhD student or researcher should consider when exploring non-academic career paths?

The funding for science and technology in India has increased each year for over two decades. Many agencies have been actively pushing for reforms through several policy initiatives and schemes to bring education and research on a par with international standards. The landscape in which international grants and contracts are won has become increasingly competitive.

The research ecosystem of the 21^st century includes different types of complex environments. Researchers have to master the art of raising and managing funds from diverse sources, navigating ethical considerations, conducting research in large consortia, evaluating research impact, and addressing social problems through inter-disciplinary collaborations. All of these have generated the need for a proper research administration system in universities and institutes.

In the last decade, a few universities and research institutions in India took steps to create science-led administration structures that extend support beyond financial management. And now, there is a growing group of scientists in non-academic roles, including grant management, scientific outreach, ethics, and others, who are working alongside faculty and researchers.

As an academic/research administrator, you will be expected to wear multiple hats and be involved in many processes. You will have to interact with various stakeholders (scientists, bureaucrats, policymakers, and sometimes politicians) and should possess persuasion and negotiation skills to get the expected results. You will be expected to read and remain up-to-date with the latest developments in the field and cannot be confined to a narrow area of specialization. That’s one of the critical and significant changes you need to become accustomed to when moving from a PhD or post-doc position to an administrative role. For this transition, you need to introspect and realistically evaluate job prospects based on your interest, passion, and skills.

Many Indian institutions now are developing a sound academic and research-management support base for their faculty and researchers. Without such support, the time and funds invested in research by an academic are not utilized optimally. The lack of good administration support can also hinder future growth and lower the chances of attracting extramural funding and resources.