Ajit Kumar Kalgi
Technische Universiteit DelftBeing “HIGH” is all that one can imagine when he/she starts thinking about Holland. It was quite a surprise(or I must say pleasant surprise) to actually live in a culture that legalizes most things which are otherwise considered taboo in major part of the world. One can imagine to be in the same state of highness if he/she opts to study microelectronics in TUDelft...
These routine details one can easily access through the department website. Apart from these some of the experiences during my studies so far have been quite amazing.
From my observation so far in The Netherlands, dutch people seems to believe in the notion that one should be motivated enough to choose and do the things that interest him the most'. This could also be the reason for such an open minded and straight forward nature of the dutch people. This attitude is also reflected in the kind of course structure they have for masters studies in microelectronics or for that matter any branch. Only a small number of courses are made compulsory which serve to introduce the particular specialization they represent and account for 25 ECTS while rest of the credits can be completed as per student's interests. One is free to choose any course and at times it is free to choose courses from other departments but conditioned to fit into the student's study program.
One notable difference in the masters program in microelectronics and that of other study programs is the number of credits for the thesis. The thesis project in microelectronics accounts for 60 ECTS (although a small number of 45 ECTS projects are also available) while for other study programs it accounts for 45 ECTS. One can also opt to work with a company on a particular thesis topic which is again upto the interest of the student. Depending on the direction of thesis one can also be sponsored to build a prototype which is a rare opportunity to get when compared to most other universities at masters level.
I am currently associated with the electronic instrumentation group working on “The high resolution, high impedance sigma delta modulator” (again the word high). The group itself is well known for its contributions to the design of smart sensor systems and interface electronics. It is directly reflected in the number of journal and conference publications resulting every year. The discussions with the postdocs and phd students in the group is only serving to increase the knowledge of my specialization. The interactions with my friends associated with other groups also gives the same impression.
The clean room facility in the department is one feature worth mentioning too. It could be a common facility in most of the world's best universities, but the fact that there are a few associated courses that allows a master student to access the clean room facilities and offers an opportunity to work there is something that even the experienced professional designers in the best of companies couldn't have been through.I am glad that I choose TUDelft for pursuing my master in microelectronics and I am sure that the university has the same level of excitement to offer for any student who wishes to study here. If it has to be concluded in a line then it would be “with the choice of pursuing master in microelectronics in TUDelft one also opts to be a complete engineer by default”.
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