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Gauri Wadhwa | Aerospace Engineering

University of Colorado Boulder, USA

Research Area: Flow-mediated Infection Transmission in a Dynamic Social Environment

What was the University and topic of research that was taken up by you during the FT?

I worked at FLOWLab at the University of Colorado Boulder on flow-mediated infection transmission in an indoor dynamic social environment. My question was to find out how the airflow affects the spread of airborne infection in indoor environments where people are continuously moving.

Why is an FT important? How would one compare research in Indian universities and foreign universities?

One most significant point is to go to that university, interact with the other students and faculty and get to know their research methods and culture. I was given mentorship from Ph.D. and master’s students who were working in that research group which helped me gain an idea of how to go forward in my work, the field of interest, and career in general, and research methods used by them. Since I had attended it online there was not much of a difference compared to research in Indian Universities. I had done a project under a professor in our institute and it was more like one-on-one talks rather than the foreign university where group meetings and presentations were also important.

FT vs corporate internship, what are all the things we are missing out on and what are we gaining more?

As I have not done a corporate internship, I do not have personal experience but according to the discussions with my internship mentors who have done corporate internships, there they first introduce you to the kind of work they do and then assign you to a project where we need to give our contribution. It is a more rigid structure whereas in an FT such as mine, initially, the professor gave me the topic and resources, and after some time of initial implementation of the code, I had the freedom of exploring the paths that I can go in this topic. Hence flexibility is the main difference one could say.

Should BTech students aspiring for higher studies from abroad opt for an FT?

Yes indeed, it really is a good idea. Foremost the student will understand what research is like and can decide whether he/she wants to pursue research and secondly it will help you to build connections that might help you later such as you can be accepted as a graduate student, possibly even by the same professor if he/she likes your work.

What exactly is the application process for the FT? Are there any important documents one must keep?

I got my FT through mailing. When I sent the mail, I attached a cover letter along with it and also my CV with it. After sending the mail, I sent some follow-up emails and the professor had responded then. One important point to keep in mind while sending emails is to send follow-up emails, at least 2, in case the professor misses the mail. After this, there was a small interview where they asked about what experiences I have and what experiences I’m looking for in this internship. Later, they offered me the position and I accepted it. While mailing professors, many documents are not required whereas if one is applying through different programs, documents such as letters of recommendation and official transcript are required.

When should one start applying for an FT? How long did the procedure last till you got the desired FT?

If one is applying through various programs, such as MITACS and DAAD, stick to the deadline and if you’re mailing professors, start in October. This is the time when profs start accepting interns. But for me, due to the pandemic, there were a lot of uncertainties even up till December. All the replies that I got in this period were negative telling that the labs were closed. I sent the mail in December and I got the response in January after 2 follow-ups.

What is the role of CGPA in the selection process?

In my interview, there was no particular discussion on CGPA rather my interests and different projects that I had taken. If you have courses that provide you with the basic math or physics required for the research then CGPA won’t play a significant role. But at the same time, it is ideal to maintain an average CGPA. Also, they do not expect you to know everything. Some math that you have already learned is also helpful as it is important for research mostly.

How did the pandemic affect your application for the project? Did the pandemic have any positive impact on the project?

The topic that I worked on was new and it was not funded. The project, being online enabled me to carry out this project else if it was offline, I would have required funding for traveling and accommodation that was not available. This was one plus point but one major drawback was that if it was offline, I could have applied to many other labs where experimental work could have been done. Most of the professors replied saying that the labs are closed and are not accepting interns this summer.

Where should a student, who is unaware of the entire application process, look up information about professors and their research work for opportunities?

First of all, get to know different programs such as MITACS and DAAD and also lookout for some of the Indian programs as well. Other than that you can ask your batchmates and seniors too. Regarding mailing professors, make a list of professors in your interested field from the universities that you are interested to join, or you can find them through the research papers related to your field of interest and then you can go to the professor’s website/ their lab website and get to know about their research and visit their google scholar profile to see what kind of projects are they working on currently and if they are of interest to you.

How should a first-year student prepare beforehand for his FT application in their subsequent year?

I think they should first find out which field they are interested in and explore their opportunities. You can also do projects under a professor to discover different research topics. If you find out what interests you, you can read some research papers that might also lead you to professors that work on those topics.

Does belonging to IITKGP provide any added benefits for getting your FT?

I think it did help me, especially as the professor that I worked with was an alumnus of IITM and also there was an alumna from IIT Kharagpur in his research group. It’s not like I was given any preference, but he had some idea/courage looking at my CV and the amount of experience I had, given that he knew what experience someone from IIT would have.