Exchange Diaries  

Kushal Kedia | Electronics and Electrical Communication Engg.

Cornell University, United States of America

What inspired you to go for higher studies? How did IIT KGP benefit you in your
journey?
“I have been a part of the Technology Robotics Society since my first year and
that has been a huge reason for me getting encouraged to go for higher
studies. The first time I was introduced to Robotics was in my first year at
Kharagpur Robo-Soccer, that not only help me get interested in robotics and
think about research but also helped me connect with a lot of seniors. There
was one senior who helped me a lot and that connection has helped me a lot
even till now because of the guidance of the seniors. Also, many colleges don’t
have many facilities in the area of robotics that KGP has. If it wasn’t for KGP I
wouldn’t even know what robotics is”

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?
“If you know what amount of time each course takes to study and if you have
all the resources at your disposal, it’s quite easy to manage the studies. Back
when we used to have offline exams for me at least studying 1 or 2 weeks
before the exams were enough. We all have 24 hours a day it all depends on
how we utilize that with a set plan of action to execute”

What is the process of interdisciplinary studies? How easy was the switch?
What motivated you the switch?
“My research area is Computer Science but my branch is ECE. What I felt is that
a lot of universities have a bias in selecting people who are pursuing computer
science. Many universities name their courses electronics and Computer
Science and I have a circuital branch so it worked fine. My recommendation is
to take some courses which are relevant to your area of interest during your

time as an Undergraduate. Some universities have very strict criteria for
these.”
What are the factors you considered for selecting the universities you will
apply for?
“I think it’s important to have good advisors when it comes to applying to
foreign universities, they are professors who teach at different universities.
You have to make connections as many as possible to professors at different
universities, there are people that I have cited in my papers and there are
people who have cited my papers. I did not apply to universities that did not
reply to my emails, I regret that a bit but I think it was a good decision for me.
Some professors try to have some chat before the application so they can get
to know which is a really good factor. I started my communication with
professors around June last year and some professors replied within one or
two months only. It’s important to get to know multiple people at the
university at which you are applying, not only the professors. Also, it’s
important to check the ranking of the university.”

How are you planning to manage your finances? Have you applied for any
scholarships? What were their procedures?
“For Master’s one usually has to pay for themselves but the Ph.D. programs
are pretty well funded. But even if I had to go for a master’s I would have
because it’s a pretty good return on investment”
What are the opportunities after the Ph.D. course?
“Nowadays there are a lot of start-ups that require a lot of research-oriented
minds. There are also multiple opportunities to work in a faculty position at
different universities. Even tech giants like Google and Microsoft also do hire
research scientists. A Ph.D. not only requires academic excellence but also
requires learning many hard and soft skills which in all make you eligible to
work in any company.”

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?

“I would just say that explore as many things as possible for you because once
you get involved in a project you will yourself be able to easily identify what
you like and what you don’t like. Answer these for yourself, do you like
research, or Do you like Corporate Jobs. 4 years is a long enough time to
identify your interests and find at least 3-to 4 areas where your interest lies.”