Exchange Diaries  

Shakul Pathak | Chemical Engineering

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

From where did you get the motivation? How did it all start? How did you handle your preparation for your academics?

The first burst of motivation came when I was doing my internship at the Science for Life Laboratory in Sweden. I was working on a problem that involved designing a microfluidic chip to detect circulating tumor cells to help in diagnosing cancerous diseases inside the body. This internship proved to me that my studies/degree in Chemical Engineering is not just restricted to the core areas of Chemical Engineering but also encompasses areas that are out there but not covered in academic courses. This aroused my interest in internships and research so that I could get to be a part of these areas. The second reason is the environment and freedom that you are provided with while doing research. I found the flexibility in deciding the direction of my research under a professor in a laboratory very enchanting and also aroused my interest in research opportunities in the future.

Did you apply to multiple universities? If yes, can you please elaborate on the differences in the selection process of the universities? In universities in which you were not selected can you please share what you felt you lacked, what could you have done better?

The process of selection is affected by the region of the university. Let us say you are considering universities in the USA and universities in Europe, then you need a Master’s degree in Europe but only a BTech degree is sufficient for applying for a Ph.D. in the USA. In the UK most universities require you to contact your prospective supervisor early on in the process. However, in the US you just need to indicate the names of the few professors whom you would like to work with. These are the two major differences in the set of universities I applied to. Within a country, there are very small differences between universities such as you being asked to mention a few extra lines stating how you would add to the diversity of students already present there and why you are applying for that particular university. Otherwise, it is more or less the same across all universities wherein you are required to show two or more Letters of Recommendation.
Yes, there were a few universities that rejected me. Many applicants due to the COVID-19 last year applied for universities ranked higher than the ones they were already admitted to, which increased the competition. However, the reason for rejection is not explicitly mentioned and the Letter of Rejection is often very vague.
Well, I did analyze the rejection letters and concluded that I had sent different sets of Recommendation letters to different universities, and a majority of the universities that selected me had been given the same set of Recommendation Letters by me. This indicates that the people writing the Recommendation letters for you play a major role in your selection. They should be familiar with you and should be confident that you deserve to go to grad school. A person writing your Letter of Recommendation will only write four or five letters for you and therefore, you may have to decide which universities you will be sending that letter to. So do ensure that the person is very familiar and friendly with you for the maximum advantage. Your CG does play a major role but your Letter of Recommendation is what gives you the edge. Also, try to choose people who have good writing skills. You can check for that from their research papers and articles. So, in short, do choose the people writing Recommendation letters for you carefully!

How are you planning to manage your finances? Have you applied for any scholarships? What were their procedures?

Well, the MS programs are not fully funded, but the Ph.D. programs in most of the reputed universities are fully funded. I recommend people interested in applying to universities, not apply in cases where their programs are not fully funded. In most cases, the universities select you only if they can fully fund you.

Role of your CGPA?

Well, I had a CGPA of 9.5 when I applied to these universities. However, CGPA is just a threshold that you need to cross going by the current situation. You should be in the top, say, 10 percent of students in your batch. Apart from that, you need to focus more on your research interests and achievements, or else even a high CGPA will not help you in getting admission to these universities.

How is your university going to manage everything in this confusion of Covid-19?

So far all I have been informed is that they are planning to open the campus. They have mentioned that they shall allow students to enter the campus from say, September, but it is subject to the condition that you can leave your country. There are currently international travel restrictions in many countries. They have already started calling the students and from their side; they are open. However, these are unpredictable times. There is a form I-20 that needs to be filled to apply for a visa which still needs to be filled by me. However, from their side (university) everything has been started.

How did IIT KGP benefit you in your journey?

The International Relations Cell has been instrumental in my progress. My first internship was through the International Relations Cell. Other than that, the curriculum at IIT Kharagpur is also good though there are a few changes that can be implemented to improve the overall research enthusiasm among students.

What difficulties do you think the pandemic will bring (or has brought already) in the process?

One of the biggest problems faced was a lack of coordination among people applying with me. It would have been better if we (the students applying) would have been physically present on the campus and discuss certain things among us thereby helping each other. Currently, everyone is in far-off areas and available at different timings which reduces the overall coordination among students. Also, there was some difficulty in getting Letters of Recommendation such as if a student sends a mail to a professor asking for a Letter of Recommendation within three weeks and realizes that the professor has not read the mail even after two weeks then the student starts to panic a lot and starts to look for other opportunities or maybe other people to write the letters for him/her. So, I had to plan much ahead than usual to get things done.

What are the opportunities after the Ph.D. course?

There are several opportunities actually and if I start mentioning them then I can go on for the next 20 minutes but the main opportunities, coarsely speaking, can be going for an academic job as a professor, lecturer or maybe go ahead and work as a research scientist at places like Intel, Procter & Gamble or Dow. Another track may be going for consultant positions, though you could have gone for a consultant job after your BTech degree as well. Another final option: people doing good research which is applicable in the commercial regime that later leads on to many start-ups and entrepreneurial activities which is another interesting area to be in at the forefront of innovation.

What message do you want to give the juniors today who are interested in pursuing similar courses?

If someone is currently a junior then he/she should try to explore as much as possible as there are several research areas that Chemical Engineering offers and it is in no way restricted. It is a very flexible department where you can check out and explore different sorts of research work happening in different areas about which you can easily find out on YouTube or maybe via many research labs on the internet. You do not need to be an expert in their work to check out their websites. Even if you can understand their work and develop some interest, that counts. So, if you like their work then try to work in that research area yourself and do it with all your dedication. You will feel good about it even if you are not able to get something out of it. Therefore, for the first few years, say, up to the third year, do this research and exploration. It will help you get to great places for your research work and even if you feel you do not want to enter the research field then there are other options available as well. In the end, do contact your seniors who have been/ are working in the research field for guidance as it will prove beneficial. Keep believing in yourself.