I cleared the written test for M.Tech Research in CDS at IISc Bangalore. After that, I was scheduled for an interview with a three-member panel. It lasted for 50 minutes.

Upon arriving at the IISc Bangalore campus for the interview, we were allowed inside after 8 am. My degree certificate and Aadhar were checked before allotting me the room and panel.I had to wait for around 3 hours before my interview. My preferences were DREAM Lab, MARS Lab, and VCL Lab.The interviewers looked at the form that I had filled out, read all that was written to me, and proceeded to ask me some basic questions based on my responses. I mentioned having studied C++, data structures, and scheduling algorithms.

The first professor asked me a question about finding an element in an unsorted array. He kept asking me basic questions throughout this time. Another professor asked me a question about scheduling algorithms. He asked me to prove mathematically my assertion that SJF is optimal and that no other algorithm can give a better performance than it. The third professor asked me questions on system calls,  user/kernel mode, and whether the addition expression in C++ program also has some underlying system call.

Though I could not clear the interview, it was an enriching experience for me. It helped me gain more confidence and to look at things from a different perspective.

IISC Bangalore introduced the M.Tech AI program in 2019. It is offered by the EECS division. 

For the curriculum,  the basics of optimization, linear algebra, probability, data structure, and algorithms are covered during the first semester. 

M.Tech in AI is different from M.Tech in CDS in terms of core courses. The electives offered in both programs are almost the same.

The IISc Bangalore tag will be very useful in case you go for your Ph.D. in India or abroad. But for that, you need to maintain a good GPA.

The 2021 placement highlights for M.Tech AI (both off-campus and on-campus) are as follows, this was the first M.Tech AI batch-

All the students were placed. The offers received were Indian.

The CDS, CSE, and AI branches receive similar placement and internship opportunities. The students of all these branches receive offers in data science, machine learning, and software engineering.

Thus, M.Tech in AI at IISc Bangalore is a good branch in terms of placements and prospects. It is similar to the CDS program in many aspects.