People behind the newly created placement cell say they have decided to “look beyond BPOs and MNCs” and focus on providing research-based jobs to university students.

The issue has gained ground after JNU, which has traditionally wanted to maintain its stature as the ground for researchers, academics and central services aspirants, recently set up a placement cell in the campus. The university is trying to address this question by striking a balance between placement and research.

Professor Anand Kumar of the Centre for the Study of Social Systems, who is a member of the committee appointed to put the placement and counselling cell in place, points out: “While a need has been felt to orient the students to gain practical experience, our attempt will be to minimise the commercial aspect of placement, by looking at job avenues other than BPOs and MNCs. The primary focus is not to push students towards the job market, but to encourage them and also provide them with alternatives in research.”

Both the JNU authorities and the student bodies on the campus say the objective of the placement cell is to promote research opportunities and career counselling, along with job placements.

Highlighting the importance of counselling, Mobeen Alam, joint secretary of the JNU Students’ Union says: “Since every centre has its own nature, their requirements in terms of placement may vary.”

The first session of career orientation is to be organised before the end of the current semester in December. A committee set up for the purpose has decided to launch a website to update and follow up on research opportunities by giving students access to experts in various fields. The cell hopes to rope in the alumni from various fields to expand its resource base.

In a meeting of the committee this week, it was decided that the placement cell would focus on adopting a “student-centric”, and not “employer-centric”, approach. The Student Faculty Committee in each centre of the university will be the hub of placement and career guidance activities.

The implementation of the activities is to be decentralised with each school and centre looking after its needs and requirements.

In the Schools of Social Sciences, Life Sciences and International Studies, the focus is on advanced studies and the need to look at the alternatives. “These can be research organisations like the Indian Institute of Science, Centre for Studies of Developing Societies among others, in addition to various centres run by international organisations like the United Nations,” said Kumar. One of these is the Molecular Biology Research Centre near JNU. The options include teaching and working with NGOs and media organisations, among others, according to Professor Kumar.

In certain schools, however, much of the decision-making in this regard has been left to them. The School of Computer Systems has had an active placement cell since the early 1990s, with students getting close to 100 per cent placement in MNCs like IBM, Mackenzie and domestic IT majors like TCS and Wipro. “With starting salaries ranging from Rs 3.5 to 9 lakh (per annum), the students seem to be happy,” says Dr D K Lobial, faculty in-charge of the school’s placement cell.