VNIT JRF and Project Assistant Recruitment 2026

VNIT JRF and Project Assistant Recruitment 2026: Overview

Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology Nagpur (VNIT) is holding one project walk-in for Junior Research Fellow and Project Assistant roles in its Department of Architecture and Planning. Both positions support the Department of Science and Technology's Climate, Energy and Sustainable Technology Division under an MRDP-funded study led by Dr. Rajashree Kotharkar. The project develops machine-learning-based heat-mitigation strategies by studying urban heat stress, identifying its major drivers and turning the findings into evidence for climate-resilient planning.

Posts and Disciplines

• Junior Research Fellow (JRF): This is the advanced research track for candidates with planning, architecture, civil engineering, urban-design or geoinformatics preparation and a valid GATE qualification. It combines urban-climate analysis with modelling tools and can lead to a regular PhD opportunity if you separately meet VNIT's doctoral admission rules.
• Project Assistant (PA): This track supports the project's technical and data work and is open to notified architecture, planning and geoinformatics backgrounds. It suits candidates who can work with spatial information, basic statistics and urban-design software under the research team's guidance.

Post-wise Duties

Junior Research Fellow

You will contribute to the research design, urban heat assessment and predictive modelling that sit at the centre of the project. Your work may combine GIS layers, field or secondary data, statistical analysis and Python or R workflows to test how urban form affects heat exposure and which interventions perform best.

You will also help turn results into research outputs and planning evidence. The role is suited to someone ready for deeper academic work and the sustained analysis expected in a possible doctoral pathway.

Project Assistant

You will support the team with spatial-data preparation, GIS mapping and model inputs for the heat-mitigation study. The work may include organising datasets, running ENVI-met or related software, preparing drawings and maintaining clear records of assumptions and results.

You will help compare mitigation ideas and prepare maps, visual material and technical summaries that make the project's findings useful for urban-planning decisions.

Service Conditions and Caveats

• Project Assistant tenure: The first contract is for six months and may be extended for satisfactory performance and project progress, up to one year and within the project period.
• JRF tenure: The first contract is for six months and may be extended on the same performance-and-progress basis, up to two years and within the project period.
• Temporary engagement: Both positions are temporary project appointments; continuation is not automatic and remains tied to the funded work.
• PhD route: The selected JRF may register for a regular VNIT PhD only after meeting the institute's separate doctoral eligibility and admission criteria.
• Screening: VNIT may screen or shortlist candidates using the notified academic criteria and the project's practical requirements.
• Travel costs: No TA or DA will be paid for attending the walk-in interview.

Application Submission Notes

Report by 9:00 AM to the Department of Architecture and Planning at VNIT Nagpur for registration and document checking; the walk-in begins from 10:00 AM on 2 September 2026. Bring the prescribed filled form for the role you want, an updated CV and the originals requested in the advertisement.

Also carry a valid photo ID, recent photographs and self-attested copies of relevant certificates and marksheets. A partly filled application will not be accepted, so complete the form before arriving at the venue.

• Assess urban heat stress and organise the data needed for project analysis
• Prepare GIS layers, maps and spatial datasets for climate-resilient planning
• Build or support machine-learning models for predicting extreme urban heat
• Run statistical, ENVI-met, RStudio or Python workflows suited to the assigned role
• Compare heat-mitigation strategies and document their modelled performance
• Prepare technical summaries, visual material and research records for the project team