Tag: foreign internship

You’re Home: IIT Kharagpur tells international students

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An early morning tweet on Earth Day woke up a few students at IIT Kharagpur. A fellow Kgpian student, pursuing internship at Georgia, Atlanta, USA, had tweeted seeking help from the Indian authorities in the lockdown situation. Her friends from IIT Kharagpur got in action and shared her message on IIT Kharagpur’s social media handle. Finally the stranded student was connected with IITKGP Foundation, the alumni body of the Institute in USA, who are now trying to help her reach out to the alumni in the region.

Few days prior to this incident, another such call was made for some IIT students stranded in Germany and Sweden. The IITs are reaching out to the alumni in the respective region to connect with these students under distress. International students across the globe are sharing their concerns regarding their fellowships/grants, visa status, residency protocols as the world has come to a standstill with COVID-19 Lockdown. But what is happening at the home front? The Kgp Chronicle presents an account of the international students outreach at IIT Kharagpur.

IIT Kharagpur at present is hosting students and researchers from 12 countries – Afghanistan, Bhutan, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Russia, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. The Institute is assuring its international students making them feel home away from home while facilitating their academics, stay, residency and other protocols.

The Office of International Relations (OIR) has created an online forum to reach out to the students on a daily basis. The Office shares relevant Institute notices on this forum. The foreign scholars are encouraged to share their concerns and these are addressed as much as possible under these difficult times.

OIR also extended assistance towards extension of visa and processing of scholarship to avoid any disruption of stay and other facilities availed by these students. Some students who have gone home after the mid semester examination are being assisted by the Office and their respective embassies to network with the Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India to arrange for their return when the semester resumes. 

“Several international students are receiving financial aid under international programs run by us and outreach bodies of the Govt. of India. We have ensured that they receive their scholarships on time. We are constantly in touch with the students and are committed towards their wellbeing. With every passing day we assure them there is nothing to worry, like every other student, IIT Kharagpur campus is their home away from home,” Prof. Anandaroop Bhattacharya, Associate Dean, International Relations.

Dr. Than Htike Win from Myanmar who is pursuing research work at the Dept. of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering shared his experience during the lockdown period. As his fellowship period gets over at the end of June 2020, he is trying to progress during this phase, in particular the analysis of his research completed till now and planning to finalize the remaining research work and write the reports. 

Solomon Demiss, visiting research scholar from Ethiopia at the Institute’s Dept. of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering has been pursuing his research work through interactions with his guide and fellow team members, reading and writing reports. Solomon was delighted with the gesture of his fellow students to assist him with  procuring necessary supplies from the market while he is managing his  condition of physical challenge and social distancing.

The students are using this isolation period to extensively improve their knowledge base through optimal use of eLearning platforms. Tamim Boubou, who is pursuing MTech in Control System Engineering at the Dept. of Electrical Engineering, was planning to go home to Syria during the summer recess. But now he is utilising the summer-time by attending online video lectures and taking part in summer projects. 

“I actually enjoyed the online video classes, they are more comfortable and in my view are quite interactive, you can record the session and go back to a certain point whenever needed, in short, it is a good experience,” he said. The summer project he has currently undertaken is related to his Masters Thesis Project which is scheduled in the next semester. 

Tamim is excited about the online group created by the Office of International Relations for international students where they are being updated frequently with all new announcements. 

“Almost everyday we are being checked upon, if there is anything missing that we need, same for all mess and hostel facilities, everyone is so cooperative,” he remarked.

Similar thought is echoed by Charles Munyaradzi from Zimbabwe who is pursuing postdoctoral fellowship in biomedical research. Though he has going through acclimatization with the Indian summers and sceptical about his scholarship as his banking formalities got delayed due to lockdown, he appreciates the regular flow of communication  which gives him an assurance in the current circumstances while being in a foreign land.

Several students also plans to seek assistance from the office for renewal of their passport and residence permit, after the lockdown is relaxed and the embassies resume regular operations. 

The students are interacting with their classmates online for joint study, research ideas, games. Some of them are putting their extra time to use by testing their cooking talents. The Office has also provided them with home and kitchen appliances which are useful now during the social distancing period.

Contemplating on the impact of the pandemic situation on the internationalization efforts of IIT Kharagpur, Dean International Relations Baidurya Bhattacharya opined,

“At IIT Kharagpur, we understand internationalization to mean presenting our best to the service of humanity, and in turn, to bring what is best in the world into our campus. Just as this exchange includes the movement of people, it equally well involves the give and take of ideas, free thought and knowledge. As we come out of this pandemic, we will see some short term changes. A lot of national resources will be devoted by every country in rebuilding their economies.  Movement of people will probably reduce somewhat, and that will include faculty and students. But the free flow of knowledge and goodwill between the home and the world will continue.”

The Dean is planning to strengthen and expand the joint academic programs of the Institute with its international partners, conducting more joint research, proposing for more multi-agency grant applications. 

An optimistic Prof. Bhattacharya said, “We will have more online interactions, and we will learn more from each other in how to make the world a safer, kinder and more equitable place – because in the end, we are all in it together.”

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)