Category: People

In conversation with Emma

Emma Bancroft Toner, a fourth year UG student from the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, University of Waterloo, was at IIT Kharagpur this summer to conduct her research on “Female Empowerment: Exploring the Influence of Living and Working in Informal Settlements”. Emma was here on a MITACS grant and her supervisor was Prof. Priyadarshi Patnaik of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. Emma immensely enjoyed her stay at IIT Kharagpur and was thankful that she had been given the opportunity to collect and work with primary data. Still the sprightly teenager, I found Emma at the Technology Guest House, her home for the two months of her stay, waiting for me with that ubiquitous nylon bag from Tech Market in hand – a favourite of hers. The market, as I found out, had also been one of her favourite haunts. The conversation quickly veered from her work at IIT Kharagpur to the sights and sounds she had enjoyed so much. Excerpts from the conversation:

What are ‘informal settlements’? And what are the challenges that women in them face?

Informal settlements could be any sort of home on government land or land not owned by the family living there. It could mean shacks or smaller homes. Both children and women have problems in the sense that they could be migrants, leaving behind social bonds and support. Such settlements can offer women a lot more social and economic opportunities but since they are poor, there are problems like lack of access to social services like police or health care, many of which could lead to more violence towards women and children. A lot of such issues are often exacerbated by the combination and intersection of displacement, poverty, lack of resources and services.

What are the areas you are looking at?

At IIT Kharagpur, I looked at women who are from informal settlements but are also employed. I have been interviewing people from these communities and have been asking them about their home life, community life, their experiences of working, how employment has worsened or improved their lives. I interviewed sweepers in the halls and hostels, mess workers in hostels, helpers at the parlours, a cook or two in the hostels and security guards in the hostels.

However, I realized that people employed here are either contractual or permanent and paid differently. They also have different qualifications. Because of this, I now have had to reframe my focus. I now look at how contractual and permanent workers at public institutions are treated when they are from informal settlements.

How valuable has been this experience?

I am in the last year of my program called “International Development” in the University of Waterloo, Canada. When I was first choosing my thesis, I didn’t think I could collect primary data and do primary research. But then I got the chance to come to India and decided to do a case study here. Most of my cohorts don’t get the opportunity to do research on their own. They are all using secondary data.

Does your data lead you to any conclusions?

I still have to go through my data and compare it and change some things. But from what I have seen, I believe that overall a lot of things have improved for women who are employed – they do feel more empowered, have more skills, are exposed to new experiences, and their finances have improved. Some things are undoubtedly worse as they do not have enough time with their families and neither have the chance to do other things like following hobbies or travel. But things are better. There is one woman who told me that before employment she felt she was very dumb, but after coming to work she realized she is among the brightest in her team. What it has done to her sense of self-esteem is wonderful, and that is what I want to focus on.

What has it been like to visit India?

This is the first time I am visiting India, and travelling outside Canada alone. I didn’t know what to expect. Although I did take many classes on south Asian politics and religion, the experience has been completely different. I have loved every bit of my stay here. I wasn’t prepared for the heat but the culture, the people, the colours are wonderful. We don’t have such colours in clothes and homes and streets back home.

What is your feel of the IIT Kharagpur campus?

The campus is beautiful. I was so surprised because our campus is all concrete buildings. There are so many trees and such lushness all around. When I hadn’t started my work, I would go on long walks every day. There is so much to see. All the trees have signs and there are so many different kinds of them. Most of our campus has academics but here, at the Tech market, there are people from the community and even from outside. A lot of worlds meet at the Tech market. The whole vibe of the campus has been really nice. The park is beautiful… I see families here. This is more of a little town than a university or college.

Besides, I have gained so much. My translator – Barsa Majumdar, who is a third year Dual Degree student in the Biotechnology Department – and I have become good friends. I was welcomed to their family home in Calcutta and she showed me around the city and even their ancestral village. I had both city and village experience. She introduced me to her friends as well. Her family was so welcoming. I also dressed in a sari and went to the famous Dakshineswar Temple in Kolkata.

I also gained a lot from the intellectually stimulating discussions I had with the faculty of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, particularly Prof. Archana Patnaik and Prof. Priyadarshi Patnaik, who was my supervisor.

Will you talk to your friends about the program?

Yes, I surely will. In fact, I have already been talking to my friends about the experience. I was really lucky to do this. I am the only one in my class to get the MITACS grant. There are around 25 of us doing the ‘ID’ program Around 15 have taken up placements in NGOs in Tanzania, Peru, Vietnam, Sri Lanka or some other country and 10 of us are working on our thesis. Most of us don’t get the opportunity to travel while working on a thesis. But I wanted to do both and through MITACS I have been able to do it.

 

Emma is currently working with an NGO in Odisha. She will then take a trip to north and western India before heading home sometime in August

A time to remember

The promo for the Sant’Anna Business Game says, ‘A unique experience which will leave you with a lifetime of memories.’ This is so true. I came back from the competition in Pisa with a bag load of them.

The “Sant’Anna Business Game” presented by “Jebe”, the student-led Junior Enterprise Business & Engineering non-profit consulting organization, is a unique opportunity for 60 talented students from the best universities in Europe and beyond to network with representatives of leading companies. It is held every year at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa.

The competition presents real-life business challenges on marketing, organizational strategy and operational management. Students enrolled for a bachelor’s or a Master’s degree program can enrol for the game and take an online pre-selection test before they go for a higher challenge set by one of the corporate partners (Bain & Co. this year) of the event.

Always interested in business plan competitions, I cracked the online challenge and got selected for the two-day round in Pisa (I am a 4th year B.Tech student of Electrical Engineering). I landed in Pisa on April 8 afternoon and promptly set forth for my BNB accommodation.

What should have been a 20-minute bus ride, took hours because I had clambered onto a bus marked ‘Lam Vardi’ when I should have taken one marked ‘Lam Verde’. Such are the vagaries of foreign travel for the uninitiated. Had it not been for the kindness of a lady, who provided me the internet hotspot (I had no internet as the SIM I had carried along wasn’t working), I would still be roaming the streets of Pisa.

After bonding with my BNB owner over Bollywood (yes, she is a great fan), Phoebe from that cult soap ‘Friends’ and Maggi, cooked my style, I went around Pisa that evening strictly following her directions.

The competition was early next morning. The business game this time was partnered by Luxottica, Bain & Co., Generali, IBM and Amplifon. Each company provided a challenge for which the 60 participants were divided into 12 teams of 5 each. We were given three hours to work on the challenge and then we had to give a 5 minute PPT presentation.

On the first day of the competition, the challenges were set by Luxottica and Generali. The Luxottica challenge mainly focused on recruitment problems. Generali asked us to ponder on the role of an insurance company in a world dependent on Internet of Things (IoT). We were to gauge how the scenario of the insurance industry will change once IoT penetrates into the general life of more and more people. This challenge required a good understanding of the insurance sector and required innovative thinking about ways to integrate insurance and IoT.

The next day, IBM asked us to create a chatbot, and implement it in an area which we thought was best suited for it. After understanding how the interface works, we were required to model, train and implement our chatbot to enhance human experience in real life sectors. As an engineer with fairly good coding skills, this challenge was one where I contributed the most to the team.

The Amplifon challenge was about the marketing of a newly-launched mobile application. Since the company targets a customer base above the age of 55, the major obstacle for it was to get people of this age to use this application. The target was to boost digital adoption by customers.

I didn’t win but my overall experience of the competition is amazing as I got to learn a colossal amount of things. The exposure to different kinds of people and performing together as a team despite language barriers and different perspectives was one of the most valuable takeaways from the event.

The other takeaways are obviously the sights and sounds of Italy. I wonder if anyone can beat the nail-biting finish to my sojourn – all thanks to me.

I missed my train early morning train to Venice the next day as I had overslept. The breath-taking beauty of Venice more than made up for the 123 Euros that I lost. But my exultation over the magnificent views, all of which I shared non-stop with my family and friends, soon landed me in a mess. When I landed in Pisa Centrale at 11.30 in the night, my battery was dying and I had still to make my way to my BNB.

The 30-minute walk took hours as I walked aimlessly in the dark, not knowing the route. A taxi I stopped asked for a sum I couldn’t afford. I ultimately had to plead with a beer-joint owner, who was about to shut down, to give me a few minutes’ time to charge my battery (it didn’t sustain though), and then, after taking many a turn in pitch darkness, I reached my destination taking a tree as my pole star.

I am back at KGP intact, with my bag full of memories – just as the game organizers had promised.

Pictures: Ritik Chachan

 

 

Where credit is due

 

Perhaps the best way to describe what a scholarship does for a student besides giving the recipient instant acclaim is that it gives him/her the opportunity to earn an education. For many, this is an absolute necessity. Without a scholarship, it would be the end of the road. But in all circumstances, whether dire or not, earning brings undiluted joy and immense pride. To earn your keep is to grow up, to take responsibility for your own self. This contribution is always valued, and increasingly so nowadays because higher education comes with a price tag that is directly proportional to how high you want to climb.

The two winners of the Tower Research Capital India Meritorious Scholarship for the year 2018-19 – Vedic Partap (B.Tech/CS/3rd year) and Vivek Gupta (Dual Degree/CS/3rd year) are thus mighty pleased with themselves. The scholarship of Rs 2 lakh each will help them pay their tuition fees. They will also get Rs 20,000 to buy books.

Vivek puts it simply, “Since the scholarship covers my tuition fees for a whole year, this would reduce the burden on my parents to pay for the fees. Also, this is a personal achievement since getting selected for such a merit-based scholarship amidst such a fierce competition of the whole campus (sic) is a feat in itself.”

The Tower Research Capital India scholarship is open to 2nd and 3rd year B.Tech students of three departments – Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics and Electrical Communications Engineering, and MSc in Maths and Computing. So Vivek may be going slightly overboard when he talks about the “whole campus”.

But he is not exaggerating when he talks about the “fierce competition”. Unlike many other scholarships, the Tower Research Capital India scholarship does not consider the financial status of parents for eligibility. This is purely a merit-based scholarship that takes into account the CGPA (at least 8.5) of the undergraduate candidate in the 2nd and 3rd year and the candidate’s performance in the Hacker Rank test. There are not many such purely merit-based scholarships to go around with such a handsome pay-off, and hence the competition for it is truly cutthroat.

The “fierce competition” also brings to the forefront another peculiar problem about the funding of higher education. Vedic puts the issue more squarely. He says, “There are many scholarships that focus on the ‘means’ factor like the merit-cum-means scholarships and other state/national scholarships. Due to my family income, I was not eligible for any of the scholarship. But that does not mean that paying a large tuition fee is not a problem for me.”

Besides, Vedic adds, “The competition for the scholarship also gives us a chance to show our knowledge.” Both Vivek and Vedic, since they are from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, had to respond to questions on web development and database, data structure and algorithms, operating systems and systems design.

The Tower Research Capital India Meritorious Scholarship ticks many boxes. It gives the recipient a tremendous sense of pride in his/her abilities. The added satisfaction is the ability to pay for his/her own education – and thus a not-to-be-messed-with sense of honour among the self-conscious, self-righteous, self-dependent millennials of today.

According to recent studies, the cost of education in India is increasing at an average of 15% per annum. Professional courses, which have become mandatory now, cost a packet. For example, the tentative cost of an MBA is up from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 20 lakh in 15 years. As a top official of a finance company pointed out, “Aspirations have increased, and thus people want to stretch, sometimes ever so slightly beyond their means to pursue higher education which is likely to change the trajectory of their careers and their earnings in the future.”

Both Vedic and Vivek do not discount the importance of merit-cum-means scholarships. But they do believe that purely merit-based scholarships are also important to encourage top achievers who would not qualify otherwise to keep their performance at par with the best. Vedic says, “Many of my friends are very capable and in great need of scholarships.” Vivek too believes that there should be scope to compete for scholarships that fund foreign trainings and internships for which there are often no reimbursements.

IIT Kharagpur has been trying to address the “need” that Vedic talks about by increasing the financial threshold for eligibility for some of the scholarships, many of them instituted by the Alumni. The IIT KGP Foundation of US has also started a scholarship for foreign internships from the financial year 2017-18. But, quite obviously, more needs to be done.

Vedic wants to go for higher education in computational neuroscience and Vivek is looking forward to a summer Internship next semester. Do they have any plans for making use of the money they will eventually save?

Oh yes! Vedic wants to use his internship pay (and any of the rest he could save) to buy a new laptop or perhaps go for a trip. And Vivek? He chirps, “After paying the tuition fee, I could use the rest of the money (from the scholarship), along with my internship pay, to buy a new hardware, may be a laptop for myself. But before all this, a gift for my parents tops my list as without their support, this would not have been possible.”

 

Banner: Suman Sutradhar

Humans of KGP

I have spent 38 years on this campus and the one thing that I can tell you as a result is this: I shall die a happier and more contented man than many others on this planet.

The lure of KGP is its people – all these bright, young minds as much as their brilliant teachers and mentors. And all these books that you see around me. These books are my passion – they are like my children.

Today, as a part time librarian in this Hall Library post retirement, I handle the entire process – from the acquisition of books to their cataloguing and arrangements, keeping track of them and ensuring the right library ambience. Ask me about any title, any author – and if it is here, I shall tell you. The trust, the appreciation and the respect that I enjoy from the students, the Library Secretary, the Hall warden – that is the highest reward I have for my work.

I joined IIT Kharagpur as an employee at the Central Library and some years later, I was approached by then warden of Nehru Hall to handle some responsibilities at the Hall library for a few hours in the evenings, after my regular work hours or whenever time permitted. I said I’d be delighted – that’s how it all started and here I am, in that journey still. Even after retirement. I could have just spent my retired life like any other – lazing at home, doing domestic tasks, playing with my grandson. But there’s a magic in this campus – you’d never leave if you had a chance to be here. I was fortunate to have had that chance.

I come here for a bit in the mornings and then again for the entire evening. I don’t keep track of hours. Sometimes, I’d just be locking up for the day and someone would come rushing with a request: “Please, Dulal-da, I really need that book.” I cannot say No, can I? We are here to facilitate their studies, how do a few extra minutes of duty make a difference?

I remember the early days in the Central Library, Midnight used to be closing hour. We would keep going around the heads pored over the books five minutes before closing, and they would keep saying, “Just a minute.” Especially right before exams. ‘Just one minute’ stretched into quite a few, but I don’t think any of us ever minded that. It is a strange sense of satisfaction that you get when you are helping such brilliant minds in their pursuit of knowledge.

It is a fact that library usage has gone down a lot in the age of the Internet. But I still feel nothing can replace a book. And the continuing footfalls, though less than earlier, tell me that a good many others even in this current generation also feel the same way. Every semester we keep getting requests for more books, more editions. We really need a larger space now for this library.

And then there are the memories. 38 years is a long time. There are so many, I don’t know how to filter them. Some years back, a student came rushing just as I was closing the Hall library. I thought it would be the usual last minute request for a book. So I opened the doors, and led him in. But no! It turned out he just wanted to sit and sing a song for me that he had just learnt! Such childish claims on you fill you with a warmth difficult to express in words.

There are the shared confidences, too. One of the brightest boys of his batch once came to me with a fallen face and shared how his mother refused to allow him to apply abroad. She did not want the only son to leave the country and home. I asked him to go slow, explained things to him from his mother’s perspective. He stayed on for a few more years, convinced his parents and then went abroad. Years later, when he came back to visit KGP, he made it a point to come meet me and we reminisced those conversations all over again.

Whenever older students come back, visit the library and congratulate me on my work, I feel flushed with pride. They are all so dear to me. Around two years back, one such alumnus visited the Hall. He had a lot of people around him, and everyone in the hostel was so eager to meet him. But he still took out time to visit the library. After going around carefully, just before leaving, he placed a hand on my shoulders, and said, “Very well maintained.” I felt a little bit taller at that moment. The name of the alumnus: Sundar Pichai.

(As told to Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya)

Humans of KGP

From being a typical JEE aspirant to being a typical ‘job-material’ IITian. This summarizes my first three and a half years in Kharagpur. Luckily, while being a dual degree student, I got a PPO from one of the most sought-after employers in my 4th year. As Baldev Singh tells Simran in DDLJ, I told my heart, “Ja jee le apni zindagi”.

And so, I went on the Jagriti Yatra, a 14-day train journey around India. For the first time, I noticed non-IITians and non-engineers, working on nation-building with the kind of passion I could only dream of being infected with. KGP gave me the space to explore my other self — from watching films to making films during Ad Design.

I had an inkling deep down that I might not like my job, but I wanted to try it out. I wanted to live the money-eyed dreams seeded in a small-town background. Just 9 months and I was done. I wanted to make films! I decided to shift to Mumbai after a call with Akshat, a KGP senior who happily offered me a roof.

While I was looking for odd jobs in production houses, I got a Facebook notification from Ashay, another KGPian, inviting me to like his page Camera and Shorts, a film collective. We met up in his house, and within an hour, we knew we were working together. We chugged some beer to mark our collaboration.

Looking back, I now realize that it was KGP which gave my inner child a safe space, invaluable friendships, and a feeling that if I make the leap of faith I will find fellow KGPians who are already flying. As the saying goes since antiquity, “You can take a KGPian out of KGP, but you cannot take KGP out of a KGPian.”

[POSTCRIPT: Samarth now lives in Mumbai and is a full-time filmmaker. Self-taught in the art, he loves to tell stories that highlight invisible narratives. “The Unreserved”, his debut feature documentary, is a national award-winning film about conversations during a 17-day pan-India train journey in general compartments. It was recently screened on campus for first-year students and received a standing ovation. Samarth is currently crowdfunding for “The Borderlands”, a documentary about capturing the human side of life in the Indian borderlands. His campaign is the largest ever on Wishberry, with 535 backers chipping in to help him raise INR 27 lacs in 40 days.]

Adding value

Professor Tiwari’s gurukul

If you happen to take a midnight stroll across the academic complex of IIT Kharagpur, somewhere close to the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, you are likely to come across a group of students in deep conversation with a professor. Classes at odd hours of the day, and even night, are not something unusual in IIT Kharagpur. But hardly any class continues till the wee hours of the morning, except perhaps this particular one in this particular department.

The most amazing part is that this is a class of students who willingly subject themselves to the rigour day after day. If there is anything common among this class, made of students of diverse ages, seniority and disciplines, it is their teacher – Professor Manoj Kumar Tiwari – and their belief that no matter how arduous this after-class class, they stand to gain from it.

This class has produced scholars who often get funded internships, usually in top academic institutions abroad or corporate houses, or offers for fully funded doctoral research, or ultimately land top notch jobs.

So what is the alchemy behind all this?

Prof. Tiwari gives a simple answer. “I help them learn to research. They get into a mould where they can systematically present their ideas and can critically analyse things. Even the most ordinary students can learn to do that. Remember, the problem is not with toppers. They will any way make their mark, but with those who are not.”

Akhilesh Kumar, Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering at IIT Kharagpur, who was part of Prof. Tiwari’s ‘gurukul’ since his college days in the National Institute of Foundry and Forge (NIFFT), says that other than the ‘willingness to engage’ (which Prof. Tiwari often deduces if a student comes back to ask questions), there is nothing that bars entry into the late night classes. Shubham Aggarwal, who has Dual Degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from IIT Kharagpur and is now with Schlumberger, in fact, says that he joined the classes in his sophomore year, dropped out when his enthusiasm fizzled out, and joined back again in his fourth year.

What happens in these classes and makes students go back to it?

Ankit Gandhi, 2008 BTech in Industrial and Systems Engineering, says, “I was expected to do literature survey, formulate the problem, develop algorithms and related programming, and generate analytical reports… We worked for very long hours at a stretch, often breaking past midnight but we all left motivated by the accomplishments of the day. Having almost 10 years of industry experience since then, I haven’t found any comparable project where incentives and efforts are so well aligned.”

Ankit started his career as a Manufacturing Engineer with Schlumberger and after studying Management and Strategy at the London School of Economics on a full scholarship, is now with A.T. Kearney, where he is Senior Manager specializing in Supply Chain Analytics and Digital Transformation.

Abhijieet Ghadge, who did his MTech in the Industrial Engineering and Management (now known as Industrial and Systems Engineering) Department in 2009, draws attention to another facet. “Under the mentorship of Prof. Tiwari, you are expected to multi-task on different sets of activities, along with a primary focus on conducting research… Since several students are mentored by Prof. Tiwari during a given time, you are encouraged to work in collaboration to overcome some of the individual weaknesses and learn from such experiences.” Abhijeet joined Loughborough University in the Spring of 2009 to conduct funded research on supply chain risk management, a work that was recognized by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), UK as the ‘Best PhD thesis’ across all UK universities (2014). He is currently Associate Professor, School of Management, Cranfield University, UK.

Prof. Tiwari too emphasises on “collaborative strength”. He says, “I have BTech students, some may be doing their Masters, Dual Degree, some PhD. Some of them may do programming well but not be able to write. Others may be doing some other thing better. It is a collaborative class.”

What he does not mention is what can be called the ‘Tiwari factor’.

Ankit says, “Pursuing international internships and high-paying MNC jobs was a la mode, but the energy and inspiration provided by Prof. Tiwari truly changed the way I looked at career planning and breakthrough research.”

Shubham says, “Once you have figured out your area of interest, Prof. Tiwari makes you go through an extensive body of literature, and then, with his guidance, you are able to reach the bottom of a problem… Once you have done that, he will guide you to formulate the problem, get you in touch with leading researchers in that area working for leading organizations and universities around the world. Now, you will able to publish quality papers in leading journals. It will put you on the global map, opening up various avenues to pursue your cause and goals.”

Rahul Rai, an Associate Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at the University at Buffalo, who was mentored by Prof. Tiwari when he was student at the National Institute of Foundry and Forge (NIFFT), where Prof. Tiwari was previously tenured, says, “His mentoring changed my life for good. Because of his support, I was able to secure research assistantship to pursue my graduate studies and that jump-started my academic career in the US.”

Abhijeet seconds this opinion. He says, “This ability to conduct and disseminate research, indoctrinated by Prof. Tiwari, has helped multiple students to be successful in achieving funded PhDs across reputed universities in UK, USA, and Canada.”

Prof. Tiwari himself says, “If someone is applying to Harvard for example, and has a paper in a reputed journal, then the evaluating body which is analysing the papers gives more attention.”

The point is perhaps best exemplified by Prof. Akhilesh Kumar’s experience. Prof. Kumar confesses that his GRE score was nothing to write home about and he had almost given up hope of being able to continue in academics. And yet, he got offers from foreign universities for pursuing doctoral research. He thanks his papers in international journals for the breakthrough. “Nobody expects a BTech student to write a paper in an international journal. When we joined [research], you are expected to search for papers, read the literature and so on. But we had already done that. That helped all of us,” says Prof. Kumar.

Shubham is in the industry. But he argues, “I can take on a problem from a research point of view, figuring out, working out a solution for it with patience… and bringing it into practice.”

Prof. Tiwari has become known as a ‘foreign internship professor’, but his motivation does not end with procuring foreign offers alone. He is in regular touch with his students, long after they reach foreign shores. In the case of Prof. Kumar, he was instrumental in his decision to come back to India and teach in IIT Kharagpur.

“Although he is a tough task master, he is a funny person, and keeps cracking jokes. It was not all limited to academics,” says Prof. Kumar.

“Firstly, understanding that sound logic backed by good data can be a powerful tool in changing business and society. Secondly, appreciating the role of mentorship and team work in channeling raw talent and energy into constructive outcomes. Finally, recognizing the impact of hard work and perseverance in delivering success.” These are Ankit Gandhi’s takeaways from Prof. Tiwari’s classes. Prof. Tiwari’s other students would, undoubtedly, concur with Ankit’s observations.

Prof. Tiwari is world renowned for his research contribution to the field of Operations and Supply Chain Management, with over 300+ publications and multiple research and industrial funded projects. He is an INAE Fellow, and rated second among researchers working in Logistics and Supply Chain Management in India (White paper published in TU Dortmund University, Dortmund Germany in 2012 on researchers working in Logistics and Supply Chain Management in India)

 

A Frenchman comes to town

Charlie Fevrier from Toulouse was in IIT Kharagpur recently on a short term internship

Mr Charlie Fevrier from the Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse, France was in IIT Kharagpur on a short term internship at the Electrical Engineering Department starting April, 2018. Foreign students doing their Masters Programs from any recognized institute/university, and interested in carrying out course work/research not leading to a degree may visit IIT Kharagpur for a short period not exceeding two consecutive semesters with the intervening summer/winter term. Such students are accepted as ‘visiting students’. Students also visit for joint programmes of short duration such as Practicum and Workshops which are organized by the partner universities. The interview with Mr Fevrier was taken during his stay at IIT Kharagpur.

 Tell us about yourself.

I am Charlie Fevrier. I am from France, Toulouse. I finished my MSc in renewable energy. I came for a six month internship in April. I am scheduled to go back in September, but I have some travelling to do. I will go back by the first week of October.

What made you choose IIT Kharagpur?

For a long time now I have wanted to visit Asia, especially India. I wanted my first destination to be India. One of my teachers knows IIT Kharagpur. I sent my mail and my internship was accepted. I did not know anything about IIT Kharagpur. But it has been a nice surprise here.

What did you discover about  IIT Kharagpur?

Everything was a discovery. I did not know that it was a small town like this. This was new for me. It is very different from France. Everything is within the campus. Everyone lives within the campus. You can do everything you want within the campus… go the Golebazar, eat what you like.

How were the facilities here?

My internship was under Prof. Karabi Biswas of the Electrical Engineering Department. My work was to make a prototype to measure voltage etc. I met all the lab personnel. It was very easy to introduce myself. Everyone was kind and helpful. I went to the library to read, and there was AC, which was an additional benefit. The Office of International Relations was very helpful. Every time I had problem, I went to them. In the lab, everybody helped me to find things. Everyone was. very helpful.

How does IIT Kharagpur compare with the laboratories and facilities in France?

In France, it is an open university, not closed like IIT Kharagpur, where everyone and everything is on one campus. There are no doors and walls like this. Most of the students cook their meals. There is not difference where the laboratories are compared. The only difference is that in France, there is too much security in the labs. However, I guess students here have to be careful also. In the Electrical Engineering lab, there is always a chance to get electrocuted.

What was your cultural experience?

I met a lot of people, visited temples. Principal difference was the food. I tried every dish in every canteen and everywhere in every restaurant. I met people and travelled with them. I visited the museum and also played sport. In the three months, I shared my passion with many friends in sports.

Will you encourage others to come here?

The good point is that IIT Kharagpur is very clean… the air is clean, there is little dust, and such a lot of trees. Compared to other cities, there is a lot of nature here. It is a pleasure to go around IIT Kharagpur. Yes, compared to IITs in the other cities, there might be less to do in the campus. But I would prefer to be in IIT Kharagpur than in IIT Delhi, where the air quality is very bad.

What is your feedback?

I am happy with my work. In five months, I have completed my prototype. I created a final prototype that is working. I have written a user manual, a calibration report. I am teaching others to use it correctly. My objective was to create something to help measure power efficiency. In the lab people are using sensors, but these are not energy efficient. I come from ‘renewable energy’ background. I wanted to make sensors autonomous by adding batteries, solar panel. My prototype is now measuring how much power has been consumed. So I made the prototype that measures power, voltage, AC/DC, frequency, fast drift so that I can measure the data.

What is your favourite place in IIT Kharagpur?

I like Vikramshila, where we were training, especially when there is nobody. I like the guest house. Up the staircase, there is a place from where you can view the sunrise and sunset. And Chedis’, where I have been many a time.

Following the conclusion of his internship at IIT Kharagpur, Mr Fevrier left for a month-long tour that started in North-eastern India. He began his journey from Shillong, and travelled to Darjeeling, Nepal, parts of Himachal Pradesh and finally Rajasthan. His only regret is that he did not have time to visit South India. His two-day stay at IIT Kharagpur following his trip was taken up with meeting and bidding goodbye to the friends he had made in the campus, and a few more visits to Chedis’. Mr Fevrier left for France on October 3, 2018.

Inspiring win

Prof. Sudip Misra of the Computer Science and Engineering Department sets an inspiring example by winning the Careers360 Outstanding Faculty Award in Computer Science for 2018

“A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron,” said Horace Mann. And the best way to inspire anyone is by setting an example. Dr Sudip Misra, Professor, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, has done just that by winning the Careers360 ‘Outstanding Faculty Award’ in Computer Science for the Year 2018.

Prof. Misra recently received the award from the Union minister for Human Resource Development, Mr Prakash Javadekar, at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Teen Murti Bhavan, New Delhi. The citation says that after having examined 301 articles in the domain of Computer Science, Dr Misra was chosen as the winner. With 95 publications in 2015-17, a cumulative of 2237 citations and with a 24 h-index, Prof. Misra was adjudged the “most research proficient faculty of India” for 2018. As informed by Careers360 – a group specializing in the domain of education – the weights for output, citation and h-index set for evaluation were 33.5 per cent, 31.6 per cent and 34.9 per cent respectively.

The SWAN laboratory of IIT Kharagpur, where Prof. Misra works with his team, has seen the birth of several inventions and innovations. Prof. Misra and his research team recently developed an autonomous unmanned aerial drone. The completely indigenous BHIM drone, which has advanced features of aerial surveillance, is in keeping with the government of India’s ‘Make in India’ campaign, and could be used for para-dropping emergency supplies and post-disaster rescue operations.

The SWAN lab has also come up with a one-of-a-kind lifesaver technology that can be fitted in an ambulance to ensure remote monitoring of patient’s condition by doctors even before the patient reaches the hospital. This technology, named “AmbuSens”, is capable of wireless monitoring of various physiological parameters like ECG, heart-rate, temperature and blood-pressure.

Prof. Misra’s students at IIT Kharagpur’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering also recently won the Gandhian Young Technological Innovation award this year for devising an IoT sensing device that can be used in agricultural fields and construction business.

At the award ceremony at New Delhi, the AICTE Chairman, Prof. Prof Anil D Sahasrabudhe, was the guest of honour. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 50,000 and a citation. Prof. Misra says, “I would like to thank IIT Kharagpur, my department, my students, colleagues, and friends who form the building blocks in different ways for getting these awards.”