Greetings to all, I am Prasoon, and this blog is about my MTech (RA) selection process experience at IIT Bombay. Here are my GATE results:
- Rank: 447
- Score: 764
- Category: GEN
First, I want to clarify that the MTech (RA) at IIT Bombay is not a research-oriented program. It is a regular MTech program, but instead of TA work, you will be assigned different tasks. The details are explained further in this blog.
Overview of the Selection Process
Unlike the MTech TA program, the MTech RA selection is not solely based on the GATE score. The process involves multiple steps:
1. Shortlisting for Programming Test: Based on the GATE score, students are shortlisted for a programming test.
2. Programming Test and Interview Shortlisting: Students are further shortlisted for an interview based on their GATE score and programming test results.
3. Final Selection: The final selection is based on the interview performance.
Even students with slightly lower GATE scores can secure admission by performing well in the programming test and interview.
MTech RA Positions
Students must fill out a form indicating their preferences for the RA position (up to 3 projects). The interview is conducted based on these preferences. There are two types of RA positions: Institute RA and Project RA. Institute RA students can select their MTech project guide later, while Project RA students must do their MTech project under the professor they were selected for. You can find more information about the projects [here].
My preference order was:
1. clab
2. Development of a Scalable, Secure, Feature-Rich, AI-Assisted Programming Autograder
3. Webteam Institute RA
I eventually received an offer from clab. The interview process was conducted offline.
Programming Test
The programming test was held in a Linux environment. We had 2 hours to solve 5 programming problems, each worth 5 marks. The test was held on May 11th from 2 PM onwards.
1. Given two sentences, find out whether they are anagrams.
2. Given a number, find all the prime factors of that number.
3. Print an n*n 2D array in spiral order.
4. Due to COVID-19, there should be a gap of at least two chairs between any two students. Given a number of chairs, find the number of ways students can sit.
5. I couldn't recall the last problem.
I found the problems to be relatively easy and solved all of them in about 40 minutes. I spent the remaining 1 hour and 20 minutes freezing in the chilled computer lab of IIT Bombay. The shortlist for each project was announced on the evening of May 12th. I was shortlisted for clab and Webteam Institute RA. From my observation, candidates were selected for a maximum of 2 projects.
Interview Experience
cLab Interview (May 13th Morning)
There were 4 positions available, and around 50 candidates were selected for the interview. The interview was conducted by Prof. Kameswari Chebrolu.
Prof: Introduce yourself.
Me: I emphasized the intersection of my skills with the project requirements, including Django, Docker, React, and my competitive programming achievements and work experience as a Quant Dev at Futures First.
Prof: Do you know Linux commands?
Me: Yes.
She asked about basic Linux commands like `grep` and `ls`, which I answered well. She also asked basic questions about DSA, Nginx, Docker, and JavaScript.
Prof: Do you have any questions?
Me: 50 students are shortlisted for this project including both MS and MTech. So, what is the breakdown of each of the program? Also, do MTech students need to do research or just development work?
Prof: We are willing to select deserving candidates from either program. MTech students will be involved in development work only, but they can work on a research-based problem statement for their MTech project in the final year.
Me: Okay, great. So, for example, we could work on using NLP to ensure that STL is not used in labs where STL is not allowed?
Prof: Yes, it is open-ended. You can find problems in any domain for your MTP. This isn't just about DSA; there will be labs for cloud computing, AI, etc. So, before you come here, learn some advanced Docker concepts.
Me: Okay.
Prof: Any more questions?
Me: No, thank you, ma'am.
The interview lasted about 20 minutes.
WebTeam Interview (5 Minutes Later)
There were 5 positions available, and around 40 candidates were shortlisted. The interviewers were Ankit Mishra (1st year MTech RA) and Prof. Parag Chaudhuri.
Prof: Introduce yourself.
Me: Similar skills required for the cLab project.
Prof: Where should we start?
Me: JavaScript would be a good start.
Ankit asked a few questions on JavaScript, which I answered comfortably. They also asked basic questions about React and REST APIs, providing hints when needed.
Prof: You worked in a firm before preparing for GATE. Could you describe your work there?
Me: I did.
Prof: And you prepared for GATE starting from August for 6 months?
Me: Yes.
Prof: That's great. Why did you leave your job?
Me: Answered
Prof: If you get a job at Goldman Sachs, would you decline it? (It was a follow up question 🙂)
Me: Answered
Prof: Were you interviewed for other projects here?
Me: Yes, for cLab.
Prof: Okay. You can go now.
Me: Thank you, sir.
I was selected for the cLab project and accepted the offer.
Conclusion
My interviews ended on the morning of May 13th by 11 AM. I stayed in the IIT Bombay hostel until the morning of May 15th. Although I had a spare day, I didn't explore the campus due to the hot and humid weather. I had a flight to Bengaluru on May 15th for my interview at IISc for the MTech (Research) program in the systems domain on May 17th. I will be posting about that experience soon.
Thank you for reading about my MTech (RA) selection process experience at IIT Bombay. If you have any questions or need more details, feel free to ask!
