[bmanna]

Received call letter for interview in MSR from School of biological sciences, IIT-Delhi (http://bioschool.iitd.ac.in/ ). Please give preparatory suggestions and valuable advices to face the interview. 

Regards,
Bharat.

[SunilNagpal]

Hi Bharat,

Dr. Gomes and Dr. Jayaram are the people to impress. Being inclined towards Biological Sciences, Kusuma School's interviews test you on the respective skills only (like Biochemistry, GPCRs, Understanding of Cancer, Protein Modeling, Drug delivery, Pharmacokinetics, kinds of topics).

I hope you are getting my message: 'brush up your biological sciences and elementary sciences'. Special focus should be on the research profile of the professor(s) you wish to work under (and others too, to be on the safe side). Find out some interesting work proposal too (as a contingency plan).

Try not to reflect yourself over-confident (conduct calmly, you shall make it through).

Some points to consider:
1) Your career profile post MS® from Kusuma would be more inclined towards core-research than industrial jobs.
2) Upto 3 years are expected for completion of MS® from Kusuma, with chances of extension (unless you are pro-active throughout your degree).
3) Placement prospects aren't as bright as compared to DBEB.
4) You'll get the tag of IITD which would help you a lot in future.
5) If you'll stay pro-active in co-curricular, academic and placement activities, you need not worry about your career.

If you have any other query, do let me know.

Best wishes

Sunil

[bmanna]

Thank you so much sir. Your guidance helps me a lot as always. I have some questions....
>Is the course duration of MS®3 years not 2?
>You have already mentioned some important topics. But kindly tell some more topics/subjects that i must focus for the interview.

[SunilNagpal]

Hello Bharat,

MS(Research) courses can take 3 years (max time set for MS completion). Minimum is indeed 2 years, but considering the core-research associated with MS courses (with a typical PhD framework: Internal presentations every 6 months, an internal synopsis, thesis submission to the Dean of Students, external thesis defence after 2-3 months of thesis submission), most of the people take more than 2 years (often complete 3 years) to do MS(Research).

Focus on elementary concepts of diseases (which are being worked upon at KSBS). Brush up your concepts about Viruses and their applications as well. You may keep yourself prepared for a subject of your interest as well (I'm not aware of the procedure at KSBS as of now, have asked a PhD fellow at IITD to get some info. The opinions for subjects are thus out of my own wisdom/understanding).

Hope it helps

Best wishes
Sunil

[sram022]

Hi I have been selected in iit delhi DBEB for PhD and iit madras for M.Tech, I wanted know is it better to do direct PhD or do a M.Tech and try for PhD abroad. @Sunil can you please tell me more about quality of research and facilities in iit delhi. I am GATE BT AIR 25 and csir lifescience AIR 50.

[SunilNagpal]

Hello sram,

If your aspiration is to pursue a hardcore research career, then:
Go for M.Tech -> PhD abroad.
or go for direct PhD abroad (GATE is valid for NUS, NTU, HKUST, DAAD)
Give a shot to GRE as well for some university in US/Europe.

If your aspiration is to get into the industry asap, then go for M.Tech only. Didn't you apply for Masters in IITB/IITK/IITD? If your results are awaited then prefer IITB/IITK/IITD over IITM.

Quality of research at IITD is good (you wont find yourself deprived of resources). There's a lot to imbibe at IITD. Being an undergrad, prefer only Masters in IITs (had you been a PG student, I would have openly suggested you to go for PhD in IITs).

Try not to jump into degrees, follow the proper learning curve, you'll enjoy and learn a lot.

Best wishes,
Sunil

[sram022]

Thank you sunil for your reply.I didn't apply for masters in iit delhi and iit kanpur interview clashed with iitb. IITB interview(First) didn't go as i expected. I am left with choices of 1. IITM-M.Tech Clinical engineering
2. IITD-PhD DBEB
3 IITKGP-JMP Agri Biotech

I have interest in molecular biology and neurosciences and i dont want to get in industry jobs.Then the best i am left is to do M.Tech in IITM and then try PhD abroad.

What if i quit my M.Tech in the middle to join PhD abroad,should i pay any penalty for it?Will IITM allow me to do so?

[ASMITA PANDEY]

Sunil sir,

I have been selected for MSR in IITD, biotechnology and biochemical engineering department, IIT Kharagpur for M.tech in biotechnology and biochemical engineering and IIT Madras for clinical engineering. I am not sure which institute to choose among these. I am not sure if i want to do Phd afterwards. what is the scope after doing these courses. It will be of great help if you could guide me and give me some information regarding the future scope of these courses. 


Thank you.

[SunilNagpal]

Thank you sunil for your reply.I didn't apply for masters in iit delhi and iit kanpur interview clashed with iitb. IITB interview(First) didn't go as i expected. I am left with choices of  1. IITM-M.Tech Clinical engineering
                                                 2. IITD-PhD DBEB
                                                 3  IITKGP-JMP Agri Biotech

I have interest in molecular biology and neurosciences and i dont want to get in industry jobs.Then the best i am left is to do M.Tech in IITM and then try PhD abroad.

What if i quit my M.Tech in the middle to join PhD abroad,should i pay any penalty for it?Will IITM allow me to do so?

Hello sram,

Congrats for the achievements! Quitting M.Tech for a PhD abroad is always possible (No penalties). Considering the fact that the other two options end up in a PhD in India, IIT Madras sounds better. It also inclines to your interest (IITD DBEB/IITKgp Agri Biotech aren't in line with your interest).

Once you enroll for Masters, buckle up for Khorana Fellowship and prepare yourself well for the same.

And life might sound difficult in the beginning, but if you keep yourself occupied in co-curricular and academic activities, you will find that "it's too short a time to exploit everything to it's full potential". Stay busy like a bee, there'll be a lot of honey to enjoy that way

Best wishes

Sunil

[A request: Can you share your interview/written test experiences of various IITs you appeared for? I'm sure there will be a lot, which the prospecting GATE aspirants can benefit from. Your experiences of success/failure can lend help to many. Do share if possible.]

[SunilNagpal]

Sunil sir,

I have been selected for MSR in IITD, biotechnology and biochemical engineering department, IIT Kharagpur for M.tech in biotechnology and biochemical engineering and IIT Madras for clinical engineering. I am not sure which institute to choose among these. I am not sure if i want to do Phd afterwards. what is the scope after doing these courses. It will be of great help if you could guide me and give me some information regarding the future scope of these courses. 


Thank you.

Hi Ashmita,

Go for M.Tech in IIT Kharagpur. MS(Research) course is better off for research profiles in future career, especially PhD. M.Tech will keep you open for both. In terms of placement, you'll find equal opportunities in both IITD and IITKgp (lesser in IIT Madras). But as I have said earlier, if you are proactive during your Masters, no one can deny you a good job.

Reasons for recommending IIT Kgp:
1) MS course can take upto 3 years to finish (unless you are very active and disciplined).
2) Practical work load is higher in MS (go for it only if you are well prepared for research, which at times can be a slow process).
3) MS mostly leaves you with research oriented career, especially academia.
4) IITD is yet to match IITKgp in terms of campus infrastructure.
5) Grabbing a DAAD fellowship is easier in IITKgp (as it is dependent on your professor 'whether to allow you for a year in Germany or not'. IITD professors mostly don't favor it because of the hectic requirements of MS course. IITKgp professors on the other hand encourage you to go for DAAD fellowship).
6) M.Tech will keep you open for a technical job as well.

Hope it helps

Best wishes
Sunil

PS: As requested to sram, I request you as well to share your interview experiences and join this chain of helping others.