Exchange Diaries  

Parth Lohomi | Agricultural and Food Engineering

University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA

Research Area: Genetic Modelling/data visualization

Duration: 3 Months

1)How did you get your FT? Was it through emailing directly to Foreign Professors or through Scholarship Programme?
Ans. Yes, I got FT through emailing directly to Foreign Professors. In total, I got 3 offers in this manner. Since I was interested in the genetic algorithm so I selected this offer.
2)How was your first day in Chicago?
Ans. After landing in Chicago, my house had already been booked by my professor in lincoln, So I made another 12 hours journey to Lincoln by bus. The day I reached was Saturday, but work was commencing from Monday onwards. These two days I visited the university for registration part in which I-card and other documentation work were done under by ISA.
3)How important is FT?
Ans.) FT is quite important for Personal Development and gives you a very unique experience. You become self-dependent and learn to manage your finance. Also, the experience of research there is quite different than here in India.
(4) Why do we prefer the Foreign Training over Research Internship in India?
Their labs have the latest technology and are comparatively more professional. The level of seriousness regarding research on agriculture is a lot more compared to India. Also, their government and university fundings are a lot higher.
(5)Any problems that you faced there?
The only problem that I faced there was regarding food as I am a vegetarian. I managed that by cooking food myself.
(6) What is the role of CGPA in FT?
Yes, CG is important. As I am DR1 so I highlighted that and that helped me. Also, some programs like Mitacs have cut off so you need to have good CG. Having a CG above 8 is good.
(7) What is your advice for Juniors aiming for FT?
Don't think that there are a lot of prerequisites. All you need is enthusiasm and patience to get that.