NITIE Mumbai GD/PI Experience (2010-12)

Education and CAT details:

Xth - 94% (best 5)
XIIth - 91.75% (best 4 including Eng)
Grad - 8.13 CGPA (final year)


CAT- OA       QA      DI        VA
      98.50   91.12   91.85   99.52

So I went to NITIE Mumbai, alone, for my GD and PI which was on the 16th of April. It was a really awesome and learning experience. I really liked the B-school. It was extremely scenic and well maintained. I would surely be looking forward to studying in this B-school. Hope I convert.


GD Topic:
When in Rome, do as Romans do.

It was a civilized and proper GD. I had one of my friends in the group and I knew that it would be quite competitive as well as a very good one. I started the GD and then entered a few times with points, counters and acceptances. I was also one of those who put in a summary to the GD. The GD lasted for around 20 minutes, longest GD I have ever been to. Points kept in flowing, including some irrelevant ones, but we were able to keep the GD in track and prevented a fish market situation. The group concluded that it is not a wise idea to blindly do as Romans do (in Rome) but we must choose to do those things which have a positive effect on society. Overall, a good GD and I believe everyone should get good marks in this. The panelists didn't speak at all (other than saying Good Afternoon when we wished them and they gave the mandatory instructions) and communicated through a bell. *Ting*
Before we entered the scene, one of the seniors pointed out that one of the Lady panelists was a senior Economics professor and we needed to impress her.

After this we were asked to sit in the auditorium where they played Andaz apna apna (come on people bring in some variations) and then played Bheja Fry and Kung-Fu Panda. The seniors were extremely helpful and did everything in their power to help us have a wonderful time. Kudos.


Personal Interview

Although I had got a call for PGDIM I was scheduled for a PGDITM panel and I had to wait until all the ITM call-getters had finished with their interviews, after which they took interviews of the remaining IM candidates. Basically the rescheduled candidates had been divided amongst the 6 panels.

There were initially four professors out of which one walked out before my interview and I was left with:
P1 = Lady professor
P2 = Middle aged Professor
P3 = Old Professor (Didn't ask me anything. Was a silent spectator)
Before I entered one of the seniors told me that they were all IT based. (I used this information to my advantage at a later stage :D)

Me : Good afternoon Sirs and Ma'am (The door was open and I was asked to come in even before I could ask permission so I didn't get a chance for that)
All 3 : Good Afternoon.
P1 : So you are an instrumentation engineer. Interesting.
Me : Yes ma'am
P2 : Arkajyoti, please give us a brief introduction about yourself.
Me : (I knew that I didn't need to talk about my college or schooling as they already knew all that) I am an honest and hard-working person who likes a good sense of humor......(:P)
P2 : (although he was busy with paperwork, cut in) So do you have a good sense of humor or do you like a sense of humor.
Me : Sir they are both inter-related. Only a person with a sense of humor can properly like humor in itself. (This is where I realized that no matter how bored or uninterested the panelist may seem, he is always paying attention to what you say)
P1 : Arka you have rescheduled your date right?? What was the original date ??
Me : Ma'am it was on the 12th of April.
(All 3 search through the papers looking for my name in a kind of attendance list. P2 finds it and tells the others)
P1 : So Arka tell me about this final year project you are doing ??
Me : Ma'am we are basically trying to measure muscle power by using a piezoelectric crystal to transduce pressure into an electrical signal and then display it using a 7-segment display.
P1 : So why are you using a piezoelectric crystal and not any other instrument ??
Me : Ma'am you see, the motion of the muscle is very subtle and we needed a very sensitive transducer for this and so we selected the piezoelectric crystal.
P1 : So how are you converting the analog signals into digital pulses ??
Me : Ma'am we are using a sample-and-hold circuit whose output is fed to the 0808 A/D converter and this produces a digital signal which is then fed to the microcontroller/microprocessor.
P1 : So how does a 7-segment display work ??
Me : Ma'am basically it consists of 7 LEDs and we can put on and off any of them depending on the logic required.
P1 : But how are they numbered ??
Me : Ma'am we start with the topmost as 'a' and then we have 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e', 'f' and 'g' as the center going clockwise. 
P1 : I see. So instrumentation eh ??
Me : (smiles) Yes ma'am
P2 : So what are your favorite subjects ??
Me : (AHA !! You are all IT professors eh ?? Am not gonna say any IT subjects here :D) Sir mostly Instrumentation, Process Control, Sensors and Transducers etc.
P1 : I see. So what is the basic principle of an Oscilloscope ??
Me : Ma'am a CRO ??
P1 : Yes yes
Me : Ma'am basically the beam produced is deflected by two sets of plates, the horizontal and vertical plates, and this produces the necessary pattern We apply the variable signals to these plates and get the visual output on the screen.
P1 : OK. So what is a PLC ??
Me : (He He!) Ma'am you see I have done my summer training in basic operations of PLC and Ladder diagram programs from WEBEL ACA. We made a SCADA representation of a cement mill process and simulated the control using a PLC.
P1 : I see so what IS a PLC ??
Me :  Ma'am it is basically a control unit, Programmable Logic Control which consists of different modules like Memory modules, I/P O/P modules and the processor module. It is basically used to control different processes in different plants and factories.
P2 : So Arka, tell me something about your hobbies.
Me : Sir I mostly like to play games especially soccer and other outdoor games.
P2 : That is alright but tell me about this Music you have written in your form ??
Me : Sir basically I started to learn Music theory and the synthesizer from a very young age. I have a few certificates from Royal School of Music, London on music theory and practical. Right now I am trying to learn how to play the guitar and I have basic knowledge of theory of its music as well.
P2 : I see. so what are your future plans Arka ??
Me : (looking highly pensive) Sir basically it's a complicated thing....
P2 : (cuts in)  Is it complicated or are you confused ??? (laughs)
Me : No sir I am not confused. Basically I want to start my own business but not at this point. I want to complete my MBA and then work in a company, gather contacts and experience and maybe some capital money and then go for entrepreneurship after say 10-15 years.
P2 : So entrepreneurship eh ??
Me : Sir you see I have an interest in B-plan competitions. A friend of mine and I had entered a competition for, I don't know if you have heard sir, Ahmedabad Management Association (P2 nods ,hopefully telling me that he has heard of it) and we qualified for the final round. But unfortunately we could not attend the final since it was on very short notice and we could not go to Ahmedabad from Kolkata.
P2 : So what was this plan about ??
Me : Sir, basically we wanted to start a theme-based cafe. (gave details about the idea until P2 was satisfied)
(Now comes the bombastic question of 'em all)
P1 : Arka do you have a habit of taking pan parag or something ????
Me : (WHATTT !!!!!) NO MA'AM !!! (and I don't even have stained teeth, maybe the lighting was off for her to see properly :P)
P1 and P2 along with P3 : That will be all Arka, thank you thank you.
Me : Thank you sirs and ma'am. Good afternoon.



Overall I think it was a nice experience. NITIE is REALLY REALLY scenic and I would definitely like to go and study there. Let's see how fortunate I was. I hope that I impressed the panelists enough. I stayed at the MDP hostel and also visited the Juhu beach the day after. I had a gala time watching LOTR: The Fellowship of the Rings in my room with the AC on. The entire campus is HUGE and EXTREMELY clean and well maintained. Hoping to go back again :D.