DAAD Wise Program Experience -Rahul Kumar Gupta, NIT Rourkela

IMG_0179 Not only this, his passion for researchwork has got him papers on Active power filters published in IEEE. Apart from readingNewspapers and science magazines, he enjoys playing cricket too.He was selected for the DAAD WISE 2013 program with a project on Human Tracking System from a professor at IAT(Institute of Automation), University of Bremen, Germany. The scholarship funded him for whole 12 week stay in Germany. Exact Stipend was 550 euros for airfare, free Visa, 21 euros per day and free health Insurance till stay in Germany.

 

So let’s know more about him…

InternFeel: How you came to know about the internship? Generally what was your way of being in touch with the media to get the information about the various internships?

Rahul: I got to know about this program from our institute mail, and also from seniors. Some websites like Internshala and facebook group “Internship abroad” helped me about upcoming internships.

 

IF: How much competitive is the selection process? What things you feel are looked for in the applicant by the selectors?

Rahul: The scholarship includes all IITs, NITs and some private institutions, so it is a tough competition. Though many IITians have exchange programmes with foreign universities still there is much competition. The first criteria they look for is your CGPA, then your CV, your research interest, Rational and motivation for the future research.

 

IF: What qualities of yours – educational / otherwise, you feel helped you in having an edge over the selection process?

Rahul: Usually there used to be cut-off for CGPA. It happen many times there may be conflict between two candidates CGPA, then the selection process totally depend on your research profile. I believe if you have done some research work before, it proves to be an edge in selection process.

 

IF: Approximately when you got the news for the selection? How was the celebration?

 Rahul: I got the good news in last week of Jan 2013, It came to me through mail. For next few seconds, I could not believe what just happened. Since it was going to be first time getting in a foreign country, everyone in my home got surprised to get the news. I had an awesome celebration that time.

 

IF: What all preparations you did before joining and after the results?

Rahul: The project guide had mentioned some requirements regarding project in the invitation letter, so I had to get aware of some software..

 

IF: Any common mistakes which you feel students should avoid while searching and applying for internships?

Rahul: Yes, people often make mistakes, especially telling about DAAD procedure, you need to search for professors in a German University and persuade him to get approval form. So mailing process is the most crucial thing, it must mention following things:

–    Your Name and Institute name(website)

–    Duration of work

–    Some highlighted achievements (your project ,ranking etc.)

–    Your area of interest related to Prof.’s Work.

–    Deadline details of wise program.

–    Never make grammatical errors

–    Do not mail on Saturdays and Sundays. Mail at the time when it is around 8am at the place you are sending the mail.

–    Send one mail to one professor only. Don’t put any names in Cc or Bcc. It is better to send 10 “personalized” mails in a day than sending 200 mails.

–    Also u can mention about his recent work and you have liked it. (related to area of interest)

–    Attachments:

–    Resume

–    Transcript (grade card)

Wiseapprovalgermanhost.doc (http://www.daaddelhi.org/en/14498/index.html)

 

IF: With this internship being foreign internship, we would like to know what problems came in getting the visa, travel tickets, and any journey related problems which your juniors may avoid?

 

Rahul: First and foremost is to make your passport as soon as possible. In my case there was no problem in making VISA. Since DAAD offers free VISA, only you have to verify your documents at the German Embassy on fixed appointment. For travel tickets, it will be cheaper if you buy it before two months before journey.

 

IF: So Rahul, could you please highlight us with what work/research project you carried out during the internship period? It’s application in near future and your work in it?

Rahul: My work was on image segmentation for a Human Tracking System using some software – Open CV, Primesense. It has great application in future as for Human Tracking system can be used for automatic CCTV surveillance etc.

 

IF: What was the best thing about the work culture and the internship? What all things you liked there? The difference you found in comparison with the work culture of our country?

Rahul: It was perfect. They are like – “work hard on weekdays and party hard on weekends”. Although the work was just a bit of a huge project, I learned a lot doing this work. The best part was that we used to plan to go other countries on weekends with friends taking advantage of superfast ICE trains. Thing I really liked is about German people is their honesty, responsibility and accountability.

 

IF: What project specific problems you or your friends faced, during the internship, which became a bit hard to crack?

Rahul: In my case, initially I faced some problem in finding a cheaper accommodation but finally I did get a good one.

 

IF: Was this your first internship?

Rahul: Yup, this was my first internship but I was selected for IAS internship too.

 

IF: Were there any special events during the internships which you would like to share?

Rahul: Yes, a special meeting was organised by the DAAD for all WISE scholars in capital city of Berlin. It was very well organised. We had some lectures and a cultural workshop. We were invited for dinner at an Indian Restaurant Amrit. The next day we had a wonderful city seeing through the canals on cruise. It proved to be best experience of internship.

 

IF: What was the guidance provided by your guide? What all support you received from your intern institute administration?

Rahul: There, Professors are very much flexible, the one I got helped me whenever I had a doubt.

 

IF: Could you please guide the readers on how to write the Statement of Purpose and cover letter/cv? 

Rahul: Mailing process is the most crucial thing, the cover letter must mention following things:

–    Your Name and Institute name(website)

–    Duration of work

–    Some highlighted achievements (your project ,ranking etc.)

–    Your area of interest related to Prof.’s Work.

–    Deadline details of wise program.

–    Never make grammatical errors

–    Do not mail on Saturdays and Sundays. Mail at the time when it is around 8am at the place you are sending the mail.

–    Send one mail to one professor only. Don’t put any names in Cc or Bcc. It is better to send 10 “personalized” mails in a day than sending 200 mails.

–    Also u can mention about his recent work and you have liked it. (related to area of interest)

–    Attachments:

–    Resume

–    Transcript(grade card)Wiseapprovalgermanhost.doc (http://www.daaddelhi.org/en/14498/index.html.)

 

IF: With DAAD Scholarship, there is a prevailing talk that there is a CGPA cut-off going till 9.2, 9.3. Is this true or a rumour? Do all the students who get selected are above this range? Even if the German professor approves you and say your CGPA is in 8.5-9.0, will you be simply rejected just because of the cut-off?

Rahul: Actually there is different cut-offs for NITs and IITs students. Yes probably for NITs cut-off remain around 9.2, but if the German professor approves you and you are not selected then still there is hope if prof agrees to fund. Last time, there were many who did exactly like this.

 

IF: Any advice for juniors?

Rahul: Yes for people in 2nd yrs, I would like to give advice about involving in some kind of projects, publishing some papers. It really helps in approval from German profs

 

IF: To whom all people you would, like to thank in context of this internship?

Rahul: First and foremost, I would like to thank my family who allowed me to go abroad, also I will thank to seniors and my friends.

 

IF: How much difference this period of 8 weeks made in your intellectual capabilities and mindset. In broad terms what are your gains from this?

Rahul: It proved to be best experience of my life. I got to know some new software and techniques in the field. Apart from that I had many memorable moments with friends in different European countries like Benelux, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Germany.

 

IF: What are your future plans after this internship and how much impact this internship will have on it?

Rahul: I am looking for Masters in Europe with total funding. Of course this internship would help improving my profile and also getting a good recommendation.

 

IF: Any views about this initiative of InternFeel, and how beneficial it would be?

Rahul: It is very good and unique initiative by you and your team. This will aware the seeking students aboutdifferent internships and their application procedures.

 

IF: So Rahul, we are at the end of the interview. From the entire team of InternFeel, we thank you for taking out your time and sharing your experiences for everyone and we wish you best of luck for all your future endeavors.

Rahul: Thank You!

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