Small World Yet Large

It was the best course in remote sensing field which was allied by the best institutions across the world. The course had best faculty from IIRS, ISRO and ITC, Netherlands along with the multicultural environment for research work and skill training. The course was supposed to be of the utmost quality.

The course structure was elegantly designed and the concepts were majorly distributed into a module system. The curriculum was kept in a way to avoid confusions and multitasking. It has a focused and a systematic approach towards the subject. Also, there have been biannual meetings between the institutions to make the required modifications in the course curriculum. During the course, we were given scientific tours to various space centers, national and international organizations to gain the exposure in the field. Academic meets and conferences were also conducted annually. Additionally, Seminars and special lectures from higher dignitaries in the subject were conducted periodically. The course had provided a full research experience by conducting a research module first and then assigning a research topic to the candidates individually. The supervisors were in regular contact for the updations made and the submission of final research thesis. The research work was even monitored by the committees from both the institutions twice in the period of research.

The Master's programme was a joint collaboration between Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Dehradun, India under Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and, Faculty of Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands. A separate entrance exam and interview was conducted by the Indian counterpart (IIRS) for admission in the course.

Sadly, there were no campus placements as of 2018, because there was no placement cell. In 2017, a L&T company came on campus and took few students. However, a small informatory service for placements is established to communicate the latest opportunities to students and alumni via email. Placements are the lacking side as of now but the overall name and experience earned from the course is good enough to apply for the jobs across the globe. IIRS and ITC are well recognized institution in the field of geoinformation science and earth observation. These are quite popular in remote sensing field and are widely acknowledged. Student needs to summarize the CV appropriately ans the course itself leverages the scope of placements off campus. It also opens the door to various research opportunities across other ISRO institutions and various national and private companies. It might extend its opportunities to further research fellowships and Ph.Ds indigenously and internationally.

No, there were no internships.

The campus life was pleasant and peaceful in both the places. In India, there was a small green campus which made me feel like home. The food from the student mess was of great quality. The accommodation was awesome just like home rooms, well furnished and painted. All the facilities were intact like room cleaning, bathroom cleaning, renewing bed sheets etc. Heaters and blankets were issued in winters. There was a high security on the campus. Old retired army was serving the campus initially and then CRPF took over. There was a well equipped gymnasium. a playing area for indoor and outdoor sports. Events and functions like freshers, farewell, diwali, holi , ganesh chaturthi and various religious and intercultural festivals were celebrated. Library was newly constructed and well maintained. It had many resources. A PG student can issue around 4 books at a time. WiFi on the campus is not available due to security reasons. However, we can buy and use our own internet data for our work. In Netherlands, the campus of University of Twente was wide and lavish green covering many wings or departments.My wing, ITC was separately situated outside the campus. It consisted of a 5 storey specially designed building containing various departments (two departments at each floor). It had a common cafeteria for lunch and coffee/tea, a hall for conducting events and ceremonies and a garden area to hangout in free time. We were provided with an on campus card which served as an student ID and as well as a purchase card from which we can buy food items and other stuffs. The card has to refilled by the student only. The accommodation provided to us (ITC hotel) and the ITC building were separated by a 10 min walk but the main university campus was located around 5 km away from the hotel.

It was around 8 lakhs (by 2018), 6 lakhs to University of Twente and 2 lakhs to IIRS. The course curriculum and structure has changed as of now. So. the tuition fees might have raised to some extent.

No, the seat was self-financed.

The institute is a training one, so every department had fewer seats as compared to other institutions in general. For Maters course in every department, there was availability of only 6 to 10 seats. The faculty and staff from both the organizations were good enough, helpful and supportive. Due to limited seats the interaction ratio of a student per faculty was greatly enhanced. Different projects across the programme helped students to interact with the faculty on an understanding level. My supervisors were awesome, they helped me with constructive criticism because of which I had a successful research journey.

For part of the course, one has to stay in India as well as n The Netherlands for some period of time. In India accommodation for girls was in flat system on a sharing basis. One flat was shared among 3 students. For boy, it was room facility with sharing of two. In Netherlands, a single accommodation facility in a 16 storey hotel was provided with all the facilities like bathroom, bed, safe, refrigerator, study table, chairs etc. One floor has two wings each consisting of 15 rooms, having shared kitchen facility. Room service is provided once a week. The hotel reception, washing area, laundry room, recreational area were at the ground level. the hotel is situated in the central area of the city in close proximity to the main market and railway station. The cost of living was included in the tuition fees. It was around 4000- 4500 euros for five months. Small amount of that fee was given to a monthly stipend that covered around 300 euros. The cost of travelling by trains can be cutted off by booking online tickets from the website (https://www.ns.nl/en) which accepts any local bank card or may have other payment options. Asking a friend for the same can also work. Someone can book your tickets on your behalf and can send it to you by email. It would significantly reduce the cost of travelling. For example, from Amsterdam to enschede the one way journey costs around 24 euros but with the online booking it would be only 7 euros. one had to carry passport every time of travel. One facebook group (UT Marketplace) is very useful in the duration of stay, people buy and sell stuffs at reduced rates from the page, like bikes, home appliances, furniture, train tickets etc.