Exchange Diaries  

Vibhuti Singhania | Chemical Engineering

University of Alberta, Canada

Research Area: Data Analysis

Duration: 2.5 Months

How did you apply for FT?
There is a programme called University of Alberta Research experience, it has a tie up with IIT Kharagpur, in India it is open for only three universities IIT bombay, IIT kharagpur and University of Hyderabad, so this was a special programme hence I applied on the portal and through that I got this internship.

Why the professor preferred you over others for this project? What was in your profile?
I did not do projects at all, actually my CV had a lot of competitions that I participated in and I also did many maths courses as I am currently pursuing a minor in Maths and computing, so I guess that helped me to get this internship.

Why do think foriegn training is important for a students life?
It's a very nice experience, I think everyone should at least try once to get a FT, because when you go out of India it gives you a really good exposure, you get to know how research is conducted as in India its different and over there it is completely different, the involvement of professor, the weekly meetings, everything is scheduled very well and in a timely manner.

How was your experience?
It was really good, the professor was also happy with the work I did. We also had poster symposium ceremony, you also get a chance to present your work at the end, it's really a wonderful opportunity for people who want to pursue research because in that you can connect to all the professors and people from research who are invited to look at your work. So as I haven't presented myself that way ever hence it was an amazing experience for me. Other than my work the university also organised many events for us, like they took us for a trip to Banff a city near Alberta, where there were high mountains, beautiful lakes and greenery all around. It was really worth going.

What difference you experienced in education there as compared to India?
As I already said everything is very scheduled there, they really value time very much whether it is about education or any other thing. The professors are really approachable, they give you time slots so that you can go and discuss things with them and the research students with whom you are working with, they are constantly guiding you at each and every step, telling you what is to be done and what is not, and they give you your freedom also to suggest whatever you want in the project. They were very helpful, friendly and accepting of your ideas too so that are some of the differences I witnessed.

How did you manage your finances there?
All the expenses were covered by the scholarship which I got and that was more than sufficient. I didn’t have to spend anything from my own side.

Role of CG in FT?
As of my part is concerned, even though I didn’t have 9 pointer CG it was 8.78 at the point when I applied for the FT. So I was also very nervous about the fact that I don't have a very high CGPA plus I am applying for a research internship that too in a non core field but the professors over there are very accepting of the fact that if even if you are not very much interested in your core branch and don't have a very high GPA but if you have prior experience what you like to do, so they consider that part and select you. Just a decent GPA would be enough.