So we wrote a project with the professor at the University of Groningen and then she is my co-guide for the Ph.D. The important factor for me accepting this offer was the interdisciplinary work that I am getting to do. It involves Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Science and Computational Neuroscience.
Course Curriculum :
Since it's Ph.D. we are not required to follow any curriculum but we are free to choose any courses. We can directly contact the professor and ask them to be a part of the course.
Exams :
So I am enrolled in a joint degree program under a project which we wrote under the SPARC scheme of MHRD. So there are no specific tests.
Placement :
There are several opportunities available and they offer guidance for the same as well. Being a Ph.D. student the career choices are a little different for us like going for Post-doc and you usually do that whole process yourself. Although it requires a network and there are plenty of activities in the university which help you get to know a lot of really great people.
Internship :
I have done research internships at IIT Mandi and DRDO in India. They bear the cost of stay and food at IIT Mandi but they don't pay anything at DRDO to interns.
Events :
There is a very well established infrastructure and events even for the PhD students. There are different groups and regular meet-ups for the PhD programs and even with Covid everything is online now. There are different cultural groups as well within Groningen which you can join and stay in touch with your social groups.
Fees :
There is no tuition fee there. Although I have to pay the tuition fee in India which is around 30,000 per semester including hostel and mess fees.
Scholarship :
Yes, so the MHRD is giving us a scholarship of 1000$ per month as well as the travel allowance. Apart from that, we get a top-up allowance of 900€ from the University of Groningen. Both are only for the period of stay in the Netherlands. The usual Ph.D. scholarship remains the same as MHRD.
Faculty :
My guide is Dr. Marieke Van Vugt and she is a well-known figure in the field of study of Mind Wandering and it's an application in the context of Depression. Then my other supervisor at the University is Dr. Niels Taatgen who is again very famous in the fields of Neuromorphic Computing and Cognitive Architecture.
Hostel :
There are international student hostels outside the campus. There are shared as well as single rooms but the availability is a little scarce. Other than that you can get rooms on rent easily. The minimum cost is around 350€ and the maximum is upto you.
