Nirmal Shah – Sherbrooke University, Canada (MITACS)

Hi guys, Nirmal here, a 5th-year Dual degree student in the Electrical Engineering department. I interned at Texas Instruments during my 3rd year summers and pursued a research internship at Sherbrooke University, Canada, during my 4th year summers through the MITACS program. I am writing this blog to pen down my research internship experience so it can help you navigate through your intern season.

During my 3rd year intern season, I was confused about whether to pursue an industrial internship or go for an international research exposure, but I had at least figured out that I would like to pursue an internship in core electrical engineering.

I discussed with many seniors regarding this dilemma, and they suggested me to focus entirely on corporate internship first since the top core companies(TI/Qualcomm) come within the first 2 months of the internship season, after which the chances for securing a core internship through PT cell become bleak. In contrast, there is no deadline for applying for a research internship, but it is always recommended to bag one as soon as possible and be done with the process.

After completing my internship at Texas Instruments, I was awarded PPO 2 years before joining. Since I had already completed a corporate internship, I decided to go for a research internship to experience how research is done abroad and to get a holistic view of industry and academia.

I learned about the MITACS Globalink internship, which acts as an interface allowing Canadian professors to post the available research topics, automatically creating a database for the students to select the areas to research. This simplifies the process a lot since you don’t have to spend hours researching universities/topics/professors and writing countless emails. Even after putting in so much effort, the success rate of getting a reply is still less than 10%. The MITACS portal opens up in August and closes around September. You can fill in upto 7 preferences, with a brief description of what research you pursued in IIT or what skills you possess along with your Resume. They also asked for at least a single LOR, with the max being two. There is also a CPI cut-off, which changes every year. I highly encourage you to visit this site and see the eligibility criteria and deadlines to get the most accurate information.

Shortlisting of the professor depends on various factors, like the college’s reputation, the professor’s H-index, and the topic itself. You also need to ensure that to have a high probability of selection, the resume and the skills must be aligned with the topic. My resume was entirely based on core projects. I wanted to pursue something between software and core electrical engineering, and I decided to pursue something related to embedded systems. I filled in my preferences based on the project and professor rather than the university ranking. After the application deadline closes, the professor generally schedules interviews to get to know more about you.

I was finally selected to work under Prof. Bessam Abdulrazak at Sherbrooke University in Ambient Intelligence Lab(AMI Lab). The lab focused on solving problems to ease the lives of old age people through technology.

My research topic was to develop a real-time privacy-enhanced human detection system that would be deployed in nursing homes to monitor people and assist nurses in making informed decisions. Privacy was maintained by using thermal cameras, which would detect heat signatures inside the room and finally stitch them all together to give the layout of the entire floor map. I could see the impact I was trying to make through the project and was really satisfied with my research topic. Many challenges were encountered during the project, but through my professor’s assistance and support, I could finish the entire project within the given time. Instead of feeling remorse for getting stuck somewhere, communicate with the professor freely and try to find out the solution. Ask your professor what they expect from you so that you get clarity about what deliverables are required to be achieved so that you don’t slack off.

The culture was pretty chill; there were no specific times you had to work, and there was unlimited free coffee. Every week, there used to be a party inside the campus(similar to our DJ night inside the insti), in which some professors would also attend!!

Throughout the internship, I learned many new life skills, like navigating alone through an unknown city, cooking food, and managing your finances. I was lucky that I had found 2 more peeps from our insti were also going to the same university, and we decided to rent 4BHK and travel together everywhere. Due to the lack of good Indian food options and being vegetarian, I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to dine outside. I began to miss “ghar ka khana,” and as a novice cook, I even longed for the mess food once I started tasting the dishes I prepared myself. Free lunches and snacks were available inside the university, and they were a lifesaver for me because I didn’t have to worry about cooking that day.

The best thing about the internship is that we met people from different countries and learned more about their cultures. I met people from countries like Morocco, Rwanda, Egypt, and many more.

The stipend provided was more than enough, and we traveled a lot on weekends and went to Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, and Niagara Falls. I did river rafting in Quebec City and went for a night trek in Montreal at 2 a.m.!

After the internship, I learned the differences between academia and industry, how they work, and the pros and cons. I could now make an informed decision about what to do further in my life(job/MS/PhD/MBA).

I would like to provide some key takeaways for those who are confused about what to do for an internship:-

1. Talk with seniors. All your seniors have gone through the same kind of ordeal that you are going through now, and they would provide better suggestions and learn from their experiences. The faster you decide what you want to pursue, the more clarity you will have, and the better you will be able to prepare. The ideal time to shortlist things and preparing for it is during 2nd year summer. The sooner you do, the better you are ready for the intern season. If you are unsure what to pursue and are in DD, get an internship through PT cell, and then in your 4th year summers, try for a research internship. The B.Tech students are slightly at a disadvantage here since they only have 1 summer to explore. Try your best to achieve PPO. Trust me, the placement season is really really stressful and uncertain.
2. Our own insti provides a variety of topics to research. There are many programs like SURP/iSURP through which you can explore whether you like research. By exploring more and more, you would get to know what things you don’t like and be able to narrow down things you can do in the future.
3. If you want to pursue higher studies, I recommend going for a research internship, as it would help you get international exposure and LoR.
4. Learn to cook food. (Hands down the most important skill one can ever learn). The food is too expensive if you decide to dine out, and the dollar to Rupees conversion will make your heart heavy. For instance, we had to pay around 1200 rupees for a single aloo paratha(We get it for 50Rs in the canteen). The Indian restaurants are not that good abroad, and the foreigners eat very bland food. Every time I tried something new, it tasted like baby food. The only 2 cuisines you can have a safe bet on are Italian and Mexican. They can never mess up the pizza, and the Mexican food is closest to our Indian palette, with many vegetarian options.
5. Pack your bags consciously. Take student-friendly flights(which allow 46kg), and check if the place you would live has pots, pans, and cutlery. Take clothes based on the weather, and try that you never have to buy things from abroad(a simple notebook costs around 250Rs).
6. Go outside your comfort zone, explore places, meet new people, and live frugally. When traveling, rather than staying in a hotel for a night, try to find a friend/acquaintance at which you can sleep. This helps you save a lot of money, which can help you try out new, unconventional things.
7. CPI is of utmost importance. Even if you have skills, there is a CPI cut-off in almost all the companies.

At last, I would like to say just take a leap of faith in one direction and give 100% to it, whatever you choose. I have gone through this phase, and due to analysis paralysis, you would never be able to decide yourself, and a lot of time is wasted on this entire thought process. You would feel even more regret later for wasting your time. Be comfortable with uncertainty. As Steve Jobs rightly said:

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards”.

Your plan may never work; you may not get your dream company through PT cell, but in the end, everything gets sorted out on its own if you are dedicated and truthful to yourself.