Exchange Diaries  

Rajorshi Chattopadhyay | Geology and Geophysics

University of Cologne, Germany

Research Area: Computational Geochemistry

1. What was your research topic?
My research topic was computational geochemistry.

2. From where did you get the motivation and how did you apply for FT?
In my branch the courses are too theoretical and I didn’t find them much interesting. So from my second year I started exploring the computational aspects of geosciences and gradually built interest in them. In 3rd year I started contacting the professors of Germany and a particular professor accepted my request and gave me the offer. But I wasn’t able to go for the internship as I didn’t qualify for the DAAD’s fellowship. But I was in touch with the professor and in my fourth year I didn’t need to mail again, I got the internship under him easily.

3. What was the role of CGPA for FT?
For getting a fellowship in research programmes, you require a high CGPA. I also didn’t qualify for the DAAD’s fellowship due to CGPA in my 3rd year despite getting an offer from the professor. So CGPA plays a significant role.

4. What were the difficulties you faced during the entire process? Did the current pandemic situation affect you in any way?
The major problem was the online mode of the internship due to which discussion between me and my mentor was limited and which reduced my learning experience. If I had gone to Germany I would be able to learn more.

5. What advice would you like to give to our fellow KGPians who aspire for FT?
I would say that you should sort the professors according to the research interest. Do not end up in mailing professors from multiple research areas, in that way you are showing that you do not have interest in a particular area. So you should finalize in which field do you have interest before applying.