Exchange Diaries  

Eeshan Gupta | Computer Science and Engineering

University Of Southern California, United States of America

Research Area: Solution of Inverse problems in physics using Machine Learning,

Duration: 2 Months

Why do think foreign training is important for a students life?
I think you get a lot of exposure and observe the research work in a university abroad and understand the differences with your own college. You also get to know the various aspects of academia that otherwise perhaps you would be unaware of. The university in which I did my Foreign Training had a lot of resources and grants and also the people who were conducting the research had a lot of passion for it. So if you really want to go into research you should definitely go for a foreign research intern.

How was your experience?
It was incredible. The University of Southern California is in Los Angeles, which is a really nice place to live in.Last year they selected 15 interns from the various top colleges India. So over the period of the internship, We had became good friends and together we travelled and roamed around a lot.

Can you tell us about your scholarship programme ?
I got my scholarship from the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum(IUSSTF). They have a lot of scholarship programs like the SN Bose Scholarship program. Mine was the IUSSTF-VITERBI Program, where they select around 15-20 students from all over India and you go to Viterbi and work under some professor. They book your flight tickets(usually in Emirates) and in addition to that you get USD 3500 for 8 weeks.

How did you manage your finances?
The stipend was of USD 3500 for 8 weeks. That is quite sufficient. Rent is expensive in Los Angeles and you will pay on an average USD 500 a month on rent.Other than that the daily expenses can be easily covered.Though you wil not be able to save a lot ,unless you really want to, but you surely can travel a lot and have a great time with other interns.

Did you face any problems there that you like to bring the notice of everyone?
No. The Viterbi School of Engineering has coordinator for the international students, who is very helpful. So she was always there for us in case of any issue. Also they have interactive sessions like taking all the interns for a baseball session. Again Los Angeles is also a great place to live in and so I did not have any problems.

Any advice for fellow KGPians ?
There are a lot of programs which you can apply. Getting into a good program is very helpful. If you are really sure that you want to do a PhD then having a foreign research experience at a good institute really helps.For example, the Viterbi School of Engineering organised a seminar on applying for PhD, which was held by the people who actually selected the PhD applicants. They gave an insight to how you should apply and how basically the PhD program program works over there. They also mentioned that having a research intern at that college is one thing they look out for while selecting a PhD applicant. So if you wish to pursue a career in research then foreign research internship is one thing you should try.