Exchange Diaries  

Jasmine Jerry Aloor | Aerospace Engineering

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States of America

1. While you were in college, what was your motivation to go for higher studies and in
which year did you get that motivation? How did you manage your academics with
your preparation?

- I was motivated to pursue research since the end of my first year. I was a part of
the research group KRSSG and the work that I did there gave me exposure about
the various avenues of robotics, and motivated me to look into the research
aspects of Aerospace Engineering globally. This encouraged me to follow the
research projects in this field and build my research experience which could help
me pursue higher studies abroad.
I mostly used my vacations to work on my research projects and gain
research experience, but I tried to maintain some level of activities during the
ongoing semesters as well, depending on the amount of load in that semester.

2. What are the factors that you considered for selecting the universities you are going
to apply for?

- The most important factor for me was how well the research work of a particular
professor aligned with my interests. The selection of universities mainly depends
on the field of research of the professor I am applying to work under, which also
helps in writing the Statement of Purpose for the application. If your research
interests do not align with the professor’s work, there is no point in applying for
that particular university. Talking specifically for the US and Canadian universities,
a hefty application fee needs to be paid, so you need to be sure. Ideally there
should be at least two professors you can work with.
Another factor to keep in mind is the type of PhD program offered by a
particular university. Some universities have department cohort selections, where
you don’t need to reach out to professors and selection is based solely on your
application, while for the other universities the professor takes the final decision.

3. 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, and what could you
have done better?

- Yes, I applied for multiple universities. I am not aware of the selection process of
every university, as they are not revealed to the applicant. I applied for the
University of Washington and the University of San Diego, match students based
on professor selections, for which you need to have a prior conversation with the
professor, and if he is convinced and advises you to apply for his university, then
there is a high chance of being selected. This is the general process followed by
many universities, where the applicant has to talk to the professor and get a
positive response before applying. The other selection process is where the
professors are not aware of the applicants, and the final decision is taken by a
department committee after going through all applications, which includes multiple
rounds of filtering and shortlisting, after which they send out selection/rejection
emails. Mostly these two processes are followed by the US and Canadian
universities, which I applied for.
In the universities I did not get selected, I may have not found a good
professor-project match but I still applied for them considering it to be a good
university for robotics.

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

- Currently my PhD program is funded by the professor. I would definitely be
looking forward to applying for fellowships and scholarships soon. Since the
program is funded by the professor, I have some assurance that he will manage it
throughout the duration of my PhD, but to be on the safer side I will try to apply for
different fellowships in the university I am going to. If I apply for scholarships, my
overall stipend might decrease so I will think more on this before making a final
decision.

5. Is CGPA a factor while considering higher studies at foreign universities?

- CGPA is not the most important factor for pursuing higher studies. For a PhD
program which is research intensive, professors look for your research experience
and your ability to perform the tasks of a PhD student. CGPA is just an aspect of
how sincere you were in your undergraduate years, so a good CGPA just adds to
your overall application. It need not be very high for a good selection.

6. Have you taken up any research project at your bachelor/master's level under any
professor here at IIT KGP? How did you manage your college studies and worked for
your research?

- Yes, I did take up research projects under the professors at IIT Kharagpur.
Managing time for the projects along with other activities becomes difficult at
times, so you need to manage the available time efficiently.

7. What were the other difficulties you faced on taking this path and how to overcome
them?

- The primary challenge I faced was to find suitable mentors or professors who were
exactly aligned to my research interests. Initially I wanted to do a project on a
particular field, but the professor working on it was not available. So, I had to look
for another professor to take up that project.
Another challenge I faced was to get a research internship initially, but once I
got that experience it helped me to get further experiences.
Another challenge that I faced was that I had projects in different fields, so I
had difficulty in narrowing down to one field. It also created a confusion that my
diverse experience could hamper my progress in one field. But looking back now, I
feel that this diverse experience had a positive impact on my profile.

8. How did IIT KGP benefit you in your journey?

- IIT KGP benefited me a lot in my journey. The diverse peer group, with seniors
pursuing different fields made it very easy for me to find people in fields related to
my interests. Especially the robotics community at the undergraduate level is very
strong here. Also, the alumni of IIT Kharagpur is very vast and I could get help of
many mentors, who guided me in my research career.

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

- Primarily, the main fields that people go into after their PhD are academia,
industry jobs or research labs. The PhD degree would help me improve my
research base. It is very early for me to decide what field I wish to go after my
PhD, as robotics is an evolving field and my final decision would depend on the
requirement or market at that time.

10. What are the suggestions that you would give your juniors who want to pursue higher
studies? Could you please give a rough roadmap to ease their journey?

- My first advice to juniors would be to get research experience. For pursuing higher
studies, most of the graduate programs have research component in them. So, if
you are aiming for an MS with thesis or a PhD, you definitely need to have
research experience. This also helps in building your profile, so any professor you
apply to work under also gets an idea that you are acquainted with a research
mindset and so you are eligible to be a part of his team.
Another advice I would like to give is to network with students and try to
connect with seniors. This can help in getting a wider perspective and learn from
their experiences. Research is not an easy prospect; it is effort taking and I
personally have failed multiple times in my projects. So, if you want to pursue
research, you need to have a very strong perseverance and resilience to failure. If
you want things to go a little bit more smoothly, then you might possibly reconsider
this path. So, try to get some research experience so get a clearer idea whether
you can pursue this field or not.