Exchange Diaries  

Ayush Anand | Chemical Engineering

University of Fribourg, Switzerland

Research Area: Polymer Science

Duration: 3 Months

Why do you think Foreign Training is important, how was your experience?
My research was totally experimental and the research facilities are really good outside. The experiment that I performed there I cannot do it here. Apart from academics, I liked the swiss culture.

What procedure did you follow to get FT?
I applied for some programs like NTHU and IIT Kharagpur foundation Programme but for second-year students, there are not many programs. So I went through the research papers of the foreign professors and I mailed a number of them. Luckily I got two funded offers.

How did you manage your finances?

It was partially funded FT. They paid for my travel and accommodation. I had to pay for the food and day to day expenses.

How did you decide your field of interest for foreign training?

I came to know that one of my professors work on nanoscience. I was actually interested in core chemical engineering so I took a project under his guidance. It was based on polymer science, not much core chemical but later on I developed an interest in that topic and then I thought of doing a foreign training in the same.

On a lighter note, how was your stay in a foreign country?

I actually saw heaven in Switzerland. So yes, it was really good. Apart from my academics I always used to go to some mountains and lakes for trekking. It was wonderful. The work culture here was very good. They have flexible working hours so we didn’t have a specified time to enter or exit the lab.

Role of CG for FT?
What I think is, why will a foreign professor take you and spend around two lakhs on you. So the main thing is you have to convince and explain the professor why you are important to him. In the second year you generally don’t have much experience on research so CG is the only thing that shows how determined you are towards your studies. So yes, CG is quite important.

What would you suggest to your fellow KGPians who aspire to go for Foreign Training?
Start early. What happens is you get very fewer replies. There are three major things. Firstly it's funding, even if the professor is convinced that you will do valuable work but he doesn’t have the funding it’s difficult for FT. Second is vacancies if a student has mailed him earlier and a more deserving student than him mails after that. So if the professor accepts the first one, he cannot reject him later. Thirdly, you should definitely do a project in the topic you want to do an FT so that you can show your research experience in the particular field.