Education
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Summary
This page provides an overview of my educational journey. You may skip to a particular section if you are looking for specific information. Further, each section has a TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read) summary for quick reference:
Why this page
TL;DR - A summary of this section
As of August 16, 2025, I recently graduated from my university in India. Having completed my education so far in India, I felt this page may be helpful in explaining the details of my education, the coursework I have undertaken (before and at college), and help resolve any confusions that may arise from my education history. College education in India is roughly modelled after the British system of a 3 year undergraduate degree, and a 2 year postgraduate degree. However, as with most things in India, there are variations and exceptions to this.
TL;DR - click here for more details
- My pre-college education and college education has been in India.
- The system is convoluted so this will help you understand the details.
Before College
TL;DR - A summary of this section
In India, pre-college education i.e. “school” is a 10+2 years system. This means that there are 12 years of attending school before one can enroll in a college. A given school is affiliated with a board of education, which is responsible for the curriculum and standardized examinations. My schools were affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which is controlled and managed by the Government of India. It follows a curriculum set by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education, Government of India. This curriculum is widely accepted as the benchmark for pre-college education in India. There are two key examinations offered by the CBSE:
- The (All India) Secondary School Examination (Colloquially known as the SSE or Class 10 Board Examination): This is the first standardized test that students take at the end of their 10th year of schooling. It covers subjects like Mathematics, Science (Physics + Biology + Chemistry), Social Science (History + Geography + Political Science or Civics + Economics), English and a second language (I chose French). The examination is conducted simulataneously across India for a given subject over two months, and the answer scripts are evaluated by examiners from outside the student’s school.
- The (All India) Senior School Certificate Examination (Colloquially known as the Class 12 Board Examination): This is the examination for students at the end of their 12th year of schooling. It covers subjects like Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, English and Computer Science. This is also evaluated similar to the previous examination, but the Physics, Chemistry and Computer Science subjects have a practical examination conducted at the student’s school but with external examiners.
There are also other boards such as the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and State Boards that offer similar examinations and curricula, whose results are also accepted by colleges and universities in India.
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- I completed my schooling (10+2 education equivalent to EQF level 4) in India, following the CBSE curriculum.
- I studied Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and English upto Class 12.
- The results of these examination are essentially inconsequential to my college admission in India :_)
How I joined my college
TL;DR - A summary of this section
In India, the college admission process is highly competitive and varies for different fields of study. However, the sciences and engineering (but not medicine) have an (almost) overlapping admission process. The primary entrace examination, which one aspiring for a career in engineering or science prepares for, is the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). Other extrance examinations conducted by private universities, or other entities follow a similar curriculum. Broadly, these are tests on advanced Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. As is the common practice in India, I attened “coaching classes” aside from school for two years, which helped me prepare for these examinations.
Being interested in Physics at the time, and given my options, I decided to join the M.Sc. Physics programme at BITS Pilani (BITS Pilani), a private university in India.
TL;DR - click here for more details
- I wanted to pursue a career in the Sciences.
- I studied advanced Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry to prepare for extrance examinations for college admission.
- I joined the M.Sc. Physics programme at BITS Pilani, a private university in India.
College Degree
TL;DR - A summary of this section
The programme I enrolled in is called a dual degree programme, as it has an option to pursue a second degree. However, it is the norm to pursue an Engineering degree as the second degree and both the university and the programme are structured to suit this (The course requirements, pre-requirements, number of required electives, etc.). Both the degrees are each equivalent to a 4 year degree in the respective subject, and each includes a semester long thesis or industrial internship.
The programme I joined is itself called an Integrated M.Sc. in Physics, which is expected to take 4 years to complete. However, at the end of the first year, based on the grades in the first year’s two semesters and availability of seats, students get an option to select a second degree (conventionally a B.E. degree), which extends the duration of the programme to 5 years.
After a year of study (which by the way was fully online, from home, due to the ongoing CoVID-19 pandemic), having seen the ever-growing importance of digital technology and finding myself intersted in robotics and machine learning, I decided to join the B.E. Computer Science programme.
As part of my coursework, I took up Physics courses equivalent to an undergraduate + masters level Physics curriculum. In Computer Science, particularly in Computer Vision, Robotics, Deep Learning and Machine Learning, I have built a proficiency and practical skillset through self-study, several internships and research projects. You can read more about it here or in my CV. As part of the requirements of the programme, I have done a research internship in 3D Computer Vision and a Master’s project in image diffusion models for data augmentation in underwater images.
TL;DR - click here for more details
- I have graduated from BITS Pilani, India with a dual degree programme - Integrated M.Sc. in Physics and a B.E. in Computer Science.
- Having completed several internships and research projects, I have built a proficiency in Computer Vision, Robotics, Deep Learning and Machine Learning. I am preparing to join a PhD in Visual AI Systems.