Scientist

KERALA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY
PINEAPPLE RESEARCH STATION
Vazhakulam, Muvattupuzha, Ernakulam District, Kerala, India, PIN-686 670

No. PRS-R1/2014 Date : 25 June 2014

JOB NOTIFICATION

We are looking for efficient freshers and experienced specialists of Farm Manager, Project Manager, Phytochemist, Biochemist, Tissue Culturist, Biotechnologist, Microbiologist, Pathologist, Fruit Processing Technologist, Home Scientist, Information Technologist, etc having excellent academic records, strong aptitude for R & D and long term interest at this centre to lead the R & D works at our research centre. The posts are only temporary, expected to be continued over years, on daily wage contract basis at Rs.300-400/day depending on the qualifications, experience, expertise and efficiency.

Application in prescribed word format complete in all respects alone will be considered and all communications will be through email only.

Job Description

Farm/Project Manager should design, set up and manage a world class experimental farm at the centre, supervise the various operations associated with the conduct of field experiments at VAFPCL, Nadukkara and oversee the overall management of the R & D activities of the research centre and report the progress regularly to the station head. Your B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees must be in Agriculture or Horticulture.

Phytochemist/Biochemist should be well-versed with the various analytical procedures for the quality analyses of fruits such as moisture, pH, acidity, reducing, non-reducing & total sugar, TSS, protein, fibre, fat, minerals, vitamins, aminoacids, enzymes, etc and operation of various instruments/equipment used in a chemistry lab. Phytochemist should design, set up and manage a world class Phytochemistry lab at the centre, undertake the regular analytical works in various projects, regularly provide the analytical data and prepare regular reports of various R & D projects.

Your B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees must be in Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry or closely related chemistry field.

Tissue culturist/Biotechnologist should design, set up and manage a world class Tissue Culture lab at the centre, undertake TC production of Banana, Pineapple and Passion fruit and achieve the target production of 30-50 thousand TC plants/year; supervise the biotechnology research work, associate with the overall management of the R & D activities of the centre and report the progress regularly to the station head. The Tissue culturist should be well-versed with the maintenance of a contamination free TC lab; various tissue culture protocols like preparation of explant, inoculation, multiplication,
rooting, hardening, etc and operation of various instruments/equipment used in a Biotech lab.

Your B.Sc. and M.Sc. must be in Biotechnology.

Microbiologist/Pathologist should design, set up and manage a world class Microbiology lab at the centre, culture, identify and develop control measures for the contaminating organisms in the TC lab and maintain it contamination free; supervise the microbiology research work, associate with the overall management of the R & D activities of the centre and report the progress regularly to the station head. The Microbiologist should be well-versed with agricultural microbiology protocols like isolation, culture, identification & control of microorganisms, common pathogens of tropical fruit crops & their control and operation of various instruments/equipment used in a microbiology lab. Your B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees must be in Microbiology or Plant Pathology.

Processing/Food Technologist should design, set up and manage a world class Fruit Processing lab with FPO registration at the centre, develop novel recipes and fruit products, undertake regular Fruit Processing tasks in various projects, regularly provide the production status and prepare regular reports of various R & D projects. Your B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees must be in Fruit Processing, Food Science/Technology, Home Science or very related field.

Information Technologist should have excellent proficiency in Computer system maintenance, MS Office, desk top publishing (Page maker/In design), web designing (Front page/Dream weaver), photography & photo editing (Photoshop/Corel suite), Videography & video editing (Premier) etc; should design, set up and manage a world class Information Communication System at the centre, develop and manage station events, publications and website.

Qualifications

Essential: Appropriate Degrees, 75% Aggregate Academic Score, Scientific and Technological Know-how, Proficiency in English, Malayalam and Computer

Desirable:

Proficiency in English and Malayalam typing
Proficiency in the operation of various specialized laboratory equipment like Gel documentation, ELISA Reader & washer, PCR, UV vis spectrophotometer, UV- Trans-illuminator, Flame photometer, Centrifuge, Microscopes, Electrophoresis, Shakers, ovens, Precision Weighing balances, Deep freezer, BOD, Laminar Air Flow, still, etc.

Proficiency in Computer - system maintenance, MS Office, desk top publishing (Page maker/In design), web designing (Front page/Dream weaver), photography & photo editing (Photoshop/Corel suite), Videography & video editing (Premier) etc.

Driving licence (both two and four wheeler)

Those who have academic excellence, strong aptitude for Research and Development and long term interest over three years at this centre are always encouraged to join the PRS family. Qualification will not be a bar for capable candidates.

Selection Process Selection of candidate is a three stage process. Confident and interested candidates having consistently good academic record with more than 75% aggregate score throughout may email to prsvkm@gmail.com their full biodata/resume in the prescribed application format complete in all respects. Local candidates residing within 20 km from PRS, Vazhakulam with an aggregate score of more than 65% can also apply. Those having less than 65% aggregate score throughout their academic life and interest to work for less than two years need not submit resume and try for placement at the centre. Our team will evaluate your application, answers, views and vision. Every application will be evaluated critically giving 40% weightage for your academic score and 60% weightage for your general capabilities by awarding marks for each answer in the application form. You will be informed of the results with details as to whether essential qualifications met, your test score, status remarks, qualified for further test or not, and our advice memo. Candidates securing more than 60% will be invited for a written test, discussion and interview to assess the candidate's scientific, technical and managerial capabilities. On receiving the Advice memo/Email invitation, you may personally contact over phone and fix up the date and time of your test and interview at your earliest convenience. You are requested to bring your updated CV/biodata in the prescribed application format in compliance with the job notification when you come for the test and interview. The written test consists of two papers; one subject paper and another general proficiency paper, each carrying 50 marks. Subject paper questions will be of graduate and post graduate level. Common sense questions will be in general proficiency paper. Candidates securing more than 70% combined score in written test and found promising in discussion and interview will be given a chance to prove their expertise, skills and efficiency in our research centre. Desiring and determined candidates can avail up to three attempts, provided they improve the test score at least by 10% every time. Those who prove their mettle and win the competition will be selected. Those who are willing to learn and striving to do things better and make things better will have plenty of opportunities at the centre. They will climb up the ladder quickly. Please visit our websites http://www.kau.edu/prsvkm and http://prsvkm.tripod.com to know more about Pineapple Research Station and its R & D goals. Please see our recent Annual Reports to know the type of work going on at the centre.

Last date for receiving application: 31 July 2014

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