You should expect to be assigned an office on day one. It will probably already have some furniture. If you need to refurnish it, there is help. Some funds are available for office and lab furniture from the institute. (You will need to write to Dean(Planning) (deanplanning@iitd.ac.in). As a general procedure, most requests you send to the institute administration have to go through the unit Head. Each unit also has certain funds, which you may talk to your Head about. Either way, you will need to follow procurement rules to purchase furniture. Expect a few months before everything arrives and your office looks like you envisioned.
If you need dedicated laboratory space, you should get on this early. Space is always at a premium in any educational institution. Start talking to your Head about space even before arriving. If you are lucky, space will be available as per your choice. More likely, you will need to make do with something less. In some cases, you may even have to share laboratory space with another faculty member, probably with a similar set of lab infrastructure. At least, initially. The flip side of this is that the lab may already have equipment you may be able to share on day one. (In general, however, you should be able to get access to equipment in any colleague’s laboratory just for asking.)
In any case, you will need funds for your lab and research. And students too. See the documents for External funding , Internal startup funds and Research personnel. (internal links to this website)
Other than teaching and research, expect a few committee assignments within your academic unit. This is not only a shared load but is also a good way to get to know your colleagues and start to learn about the IITD system. Many units hold a welcome session to introduce new faculty members to their colleagues. That will not suffice. Just walk into your colleagues’ offices and say Hi. It Is not construed as an intrusion. You may find that many others drop into your office to say Hi.
It is useful to know that there is not a hierarchy ingrained in IIT Delhi faculty culture. Faculty members are equals, and free to chart their research directions. As primary stakeholders, we all have a role in maintaining that equity and a respectful environment. When you sense otherwise, please help address that anomaly. Talk to other faculty members, your Head, Dean (Faculty), or the Director. There also exist IGES and grievance committees. Sometimes you may feel stymied by some procedures or practice. Some are harder to fix (government rules, lack of resources, etc.) than others. If something is weighing you down, it may just be waiting for your initiative to fix it. At the same time, finding the right balance of teaching, research, and other mantles and time management are keys to success.
Some faculty members have more administrative responsibilities than others. Unit heads have the most. But only with requisite assistance and review from their colleagues can they lead the unit to greater heights. We all have a stake in reaching those greater heights. The committee of professors have a slightly larger role in application scrutiny in faculty hiring but it needs to justify its recommendation based on feedback from faculty members at all ranks.
