Postgraduate Studies (MSc and PG-Diploma) at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India.
After successfully completing my BSc (Honours) in Geography with the first positing (equivalent to the university gold medal) from Aliah University, Kolkata, I moved to New Delhi to pursue an MSc in Geography at Jamia Millia Islamia (a central government university under the act of parliament) in 2014.
During this two years of masters programme, I studied a different modules including advanced geomorphology, regional geography of India, world geography, climatology, oceanography, remote sensing and GIS techniques and others. I learnt many new skills and I finished this masters degree with the first division with distinction (84.5%) and achieved second position in the batch for which I have been awarded with the Jamia Merit Scholarship.
While I was studying this MSc, I got interest in the geospatial technologies and soon I realised the importance of this technologies in my prospective research field. As a result, started a Post-Graduate Diploma course in Remote Sensing and GIS Applications after I finished my MSc at the same department in JMI in 2017. I also performed well in the diploma course and I achieved third position in the batch and finished this one year diploma course with the first division with distinction (85.8%). The key skills I gained from this are the photogrammetry and image interpretation, digital image processing and their applications in natural hazard management studies.
During these three years of academic life at JMI, I attended many national, international seminars, workshops, conferences and met scholars in diverse background from all over the world which were highly beneficial for me to develop my research interest and was able to identify the specific theme of geography which I wanted to be involved in. This was the time when I realised my confidence to pursue higher education in the specific domain of fluvial geomorphology which I was curious about since my childhood and started searching related courses and the universities offer the same in abroad to gain more in-depth knowledge and skills in this domain, more specifically in flood management as contributing my academic knowledge as well as practical experiences for the Himalayan flood mitigation and management is my long-term ambition.
Besides academic studies, I was also engaged with other activities at that time such as I was the MSc class representative and also a member of the British Council of India in Delhi. I often go to the British Council Library to prepare for the IELTS exams to fulfil my dream to study and do research in abroad in one of the world's outstanding universities in terms of geographical research and study.
Figure: Student life at JMI, New Delhi, India.
Hostel Life at JMI
First two years of my Delhi life, I lived in the university accommodation and I still remember my room number (101 and 11) at the Allama Iqbal Hostel which is the senior most hostel in JMI. I believe that living in the hostel with other creative and enthusiastic students, research scholars was one of the best decisions I made that time. I had the opportunities to interact with the PhD and MPhil scholars of that time to know about the PhD life and future possibilities in the academic field which increased my eagerness to look for a PhD in future as I have the intention to commence teaching.
I enjoyed my university hostel life at JMI as I felt my hostel as my other home away from home. I made many friends, received continuous supports and guidance from the seniors, celebrated almost all the festivals and overall the hostel life made my journey much easier than I thought.
Figure: Hostel life at JMI, New Delhi, India.
Socio-economic survey in Delhi
During the MSc course, I had two days of socio-economic surveys in the religious places in Delhi as part of the Social Geography module in the second semester. We have visited all the main religious places (e.g. Jama Masjid, Iscon Temple, Gurudwar Bangal Shahib, Akshardham mandir, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah) to survey the socio-economics status of the religious followers or tourists visit to these places.
After these two days survey, we submitted an individual report to the department for assessment and I scored high grades on that module.
It was a unique experience to know about their beliefs and perceptions of the people visit those places and also to understand their purpose and socio-economic backgrounds.
Figure: Socio-economic survey at the religious places in Delhi