Exchange Diaries  

Manideep Mamindlapally | Electronics and Electrical Communication Engg.

University of Oxford, United States of America

1. While you were in college, what motivated you to go for higher studies and in which year did
you get that motivation? How did you manage your academics with your preparation?
- “It didn’t come all of a sudden in my mind. I was never interested in placements and
packages. In my 2nd year, I tried to explore the domains of Machine Learning and Natural
Language Processing with the seniors in this domain whom I admired. I stumbled upon a
topic called Information Theory which got my attraction. I took courses, additionals, minors
and explored all the related domains.”
2. What is the process of interdisciplinary studies? How easy was the switch? What motivated
you the switch?
- “In my 2nd year, I got interested in fields like ML and NLP, mainly due to their increasing
demand and hype in the KGP campus. Many of my seniors, whom I admired were working on
it. Also, Information Theory caught my attention. It’s an integral part of Communications in
the 6th semester. I approached the professor and asked him for some projects. He introduced
me to a new professor from the same department. He was having no PhD students back then.
So he was willing to give me his time. Moreover, I took additional courses which further
helped me to get into that track”

3. What are the factors you considered for selecting the universities you will apply for?
- “In the last 1.5 years, I took subjects like computational complexity, approximation algorithms
etc. and was deeply interested in Quantum Information Theory, which is an aspect of
theoretical computer science. I worked with fairly famous professors in Europe and wanted to
explore the CS aspects of Quantum Information Theory. I was focussing on PhD programs,
mainly in the US, because of their 5-year duration. It provided better flexibility and laid a strong
foundation, which was necessary for an Interdisciplinary study. I applied to MIT, Harvard and
UC Berkely but got rejected from all of them. In Europe, PhD programs are 3-4 years, which
needed a quite strong foundation of theoretical computer science which I lacked. So, I
enrolled in this course called MS in Mathematics and Foundations of Computer Science at
Oxford University. For selecting the universities, I mainly relied on the fame and reputation of
the university in the specific area.”

4. 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?
- “I applied to MIT, Harvard and UC Berkely in their PhD programme, but got rejected. I talked to
the professors at all three universities. The selection procedure is quite competitive. In the
first round, it’s anticipated that there’s an elimination based on the CGPA. I was eliminated
even after a CGPA of 9.2 which is considered to be fairly decent. These universities look up

only for the top 3% of candidates. Though CG is not the sole criterion. The achievements and
SOP can overpower the CGPA factor, but it needs to be strong enough. I was selected in round
2 of Harvard. I applied to its Quantum Sciences and Engineering course which was introduced
this year only. For Oxford, the thing is different because it’s a master's programme. They don’t
expect research knowledge. Moreover, the programme was quite new. Moreover, I had an
achievement of the best bachelor thesis. So it helped me get through it.”

5. How are you planning to manage your finances? Have you applied for any scholarships? What
were their procedures?
- “I’ve applied for a few scholarships. I’m not planning to take a loan as it might pile up,
considering that I’ll also go for a PhD. There are a few partnered scholarships, with Oxford
University. Moreover, the UK government also provides a few scholarships like Rhodes
Scholarship and Bursaries. These require separate applications which are dead quite early.
There are many other scholarships too like Commonwealth and Chevening scholarships.
Besides these, many Indian agencies provide scholarships including tuition + Living expenses.
These are very competitive as only 10 students are selected every year.”

6. Is CGPA a factor while considering higher studies at foreign universities?
- “It’s always recommended to have a good CGPA if you want to do research or want to go for
higher studies in general. Do all your subjects well, even if you’re not very much interested in
them as it will get portrayed on your report card. Low CG might not be very welcoming for the
top universities. Though the other factors like SOP, LORs and achievements overpower the
CGPA factor, their importance is mainly reflected in the 2nd round. In the first round, the CGPA
plays a decisive role.”

7. 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 work for your research?
- “When I approached the professors and conveyed to them my interest in Information Theory,
he gave me 2-3 papers to read and explain. Besides it, he gave me a few problems to work on
which I enjoyed. Though I’ve worked on ML and NLP beforehand, they didn’t bear any fruit.”
8. What were the other difficulties you faced on taking this path and how to overcome them?
- “I didn’t apply for CDC internships in my 3rd year. Rather, I applied for some foreign training
programs at foreign universities but didn’t get selected for them. All my friends got an
internship which I failed to get. It was a really low point in my life. So, I decided to convert to a
Dual Degree and explored more. I chose my specialisation in Telecommunications as it
involves Information Theory, but I wanted to go to a more theoretical version of that. ”
9. How did IIT KGP benefit you in your journey?
- “IIT KGP has played a very important role in this journey. Firstly, the professor with whom I
worked, guided me very well. It wouldn’t have been possible if I had not been at IIT KGP.
Moreover, the IIT tag helped me to get good internships as well as research projects under

two other profs. The flexibility of courses allowed me to explore my interest in computer
science and I took additionals to improve my knowledge. Finally, the TAG matters. While
applying, the IIT brand helps in confirming the authenticity of the GPA, which helps you while
applying for a top-notch university”

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?
- “I would give a few tips for the juniors:
● Start exploring your interest in the 2nd year. Read segments and articles. Even get the
information through YouTube but explore.
● Pick a pool and work on it. If you don’t like it, then drop it and restart another. This
way you’ll learn more and more about your interest.
● Try different topics, don’t limit yourself. Take electives, minors and additionals.
● Approach a professor and ask him to give you some project under him. This way you
can gain some work experience too.
● Look for some research internships.
● Encourage your professor to support some conference publications. IIT KGP supports
2 conferences a year (offline) and 1 International conference per year. These
conferences will add a feather to your cap and will be influential while applying for
higher studies.”