The NMRS SOP Committee discussed the modalities for the biennial NMRS workshop and emphasized the need for structured education and training in NMR for students and postdoctoral researchers in the country.
The Committee proposed the establishment of a regular training program titled the “NMRS School”, with the following recommendations:
Structure and Frequency
- The NMRS School will be conducted once every two years, in alternate years to the NMRS Conference.
- After a deliberation, committee suggested that to achieve full benefits of the workshop, it should be held in in-person mode.
- The duration of the School will be 14–15 days (minimum two weeks).
- The school is envisioned to run during summer or winter vacation, utilizing empty hostels for affordable accommodation and catering to maximum of 40–50 students/postdoc per batch
Curriculum
- The School should have a structured curriculum with at least 80% fixed content, covering core principles and major topics in Magnetic Resonance. This curriculum should be repeated in every biennial NMRS School.
- The remaining 20% of the program may include emerging topics, delivered through research talks, tutorials, or specialized sessions.
- The Committee recommended that the President, NMRS, constitute a Curriculum Committee comprising experts from key areas such as:
- Solution-state NMR
- Solid-state NMR
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Application of EPR in biology such as ENDOR, ESEEM, DEER, Protein structure and folding etc.
- Other relevant subfields
Financial Support
- NMRS may provide seed funding of maximum up to INR 2,00,000 for each NMRS School.
- Given its biennial nature, the Committee agreed that this level of support is appropriate.
- Organizers may be requested to return any unspent balance to NMRS after completion of the School and settlement of accounts.
- Organizers should seek additional funding from government grants (e.g., ANRF) and industry sponsorship etc.
Participation and Fees
- Participants (students and postdoctoral fellows) may be charged a reasonable registration fee.
- Selected participants must possess prior knowledge of basic NMR theory, including completion of relevant coursework at their home institutions.
- Further, committee suggested that the organizer should have discretion in applying a criteria for selecting the students for the NMRS school in consultation and advice from NMRS executive committee.
- Organizers will identify instructors, whose registration and lodging fees (and if possible travel) should be waived for the duration of the School.