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The Precog Pulse: Weaving Passion into Purpose
I have taken too long to write this blog, not because of writer’s block or procrastination, but probably because eventually penning this blog would signify a certain finality in my journey with Precog. And if you are a member of Precog, you never want this journey to end 🙂 My journey with Precog hasn’t been the most traditional in many senses. I started as a part-time research intern with Precog in early 2020 while pursuing my BTech in Delhi. A pandemic, multiple courses, a Masters thesis with Precog and countless memories later, I have recently started my PhD at TU Darmstadt and the University of Copenhagen. When I first started…
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Conversations with “PK”!!
Over the years, I have read many blogs of students who crossed paths with PK. I have read students express their gratitude, the joy of being in one of the finest research labs, surrounded by the finest students, and how much they appreciate it. What is mind-boggling is the way the students always come back, make time to visit the current students, exchange memories, and catch up in different nations. It’s almost like an extended family at this point! It’s safe to say it’s not just a lab but an emotion. With every blog I had ever read, I wondered how I would describe my journey. And finally, the day…
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Reflections & Lessons from a Year at Precog
Hey! I’m Ashwin, formerly a research associate at Precog from July 2021 – August 2022, and currently pursuing my MSc. in Intelligent Interactive Systems at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona. This blog contains both my reflections and gratitude for everything I’ve learnt from PK & Precog. From Beginnings to Crossroads: Undergraduate Days at IIIT Delhi My interactions with PK as early as August 2019 during my third year at IIIT Delhi when he was teaching a course on Designing Human Centered Systems (DHCS). Little did I know sitting in that classroom that it would be the start of a special journey that would go on to have a profound impact…
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Disentangling the mysteries of research via PreCog
Research can be daunting, but with the right tools and resources, it can be a rewarding experience. One such resource is the research group Precog, led by Prof. Ponnurangam Kumaraguru or as he likes to be addressed — “PK”. As a research undergraduate, I had a unique experience working with PK for over two years. I say this as throughout my journey; I only met PK “once” in-person towards the end of my second year at PreCog. One of the reasons for this was when I joined, he was a faculty at IIIT Delhi but it was COVID time and by the time we were allowed back on campus, he…
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Made in Precog
Hi there, Welcome to my blog! This one is going to be detailed, so let me give you an overview of what I plan to talk about. I will introduce myself, tell you the story of my life, how Precog fits into the picture, and it’s role in making me who I am today. As an incentive for you to read, I will try to summarize what I learnt along the way, and give you some tips 🙂 Who is Daksh Shah anyway? I am a really enthusiastic kid who is super passionate about computers and finance. I recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree from IIITD (in 2021). I am…
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How to become a Precogger? And Perks of being one…
I joined Precog starting from my 3rd year, and it has been an amazing learning experience for me, since then. It might sound intimidating to most of us, to work with a professor, who has over 8000 citations or to even become part of such a large research group. But trust me, there is nothing to be afraid of. Being an introvert, I myself had a lot of reservations before joining the group. I was scared of petty things like, will I be able to make a good first impression, how will I talk to Ph.D. level students, what if PK doesn’t like my work, yada yada yada. However, my…
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Precog: From FOMO to a Learning Mindset
If there is one thing that would describe any student’s life in India, it would be FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). FOMO makes you do something you might not even want to do. The engineering decision you took, the various competitions you participate in, the effort you gave to get your dream intern. You do a lot of things just because your peers are doing it. And we find a hundred ways to justify our decisions rather than admitting the herd mentality. Don’t get me wrong, and I’m no guru who’s here to enlighten you. I’m also guilty of being a trend-following guy for the better part of my college…
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My PhD journey … up, down, and then up
A PhD journey is never easy, and it becomes even more difficult when you are doing it alongside a regular faculty job at IGDTUW. But, there are many factors that have helped me sail through in this journey. The first factor is my PhD advisor (‘PK’ as he likes himself to be called, without the ‘Sir’). This in itself should give you a sense of his humility and down-to-earth attitude. He has been extremely understanding to me all throughout this amazing journey. He is one among those who has dedicated his life to academics. In this journey, I have had so much to learn from him, not just the technical…