{"id":1009,"date":"2016-07-02T11:25:44","date_gmt":"2016-07-02T05:55:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/precog.iiitd.edu.in\/blog\/?p=1009"},"modified":"2016-07-02T11:25:44","modified_gmt":"2016-07-02T05:55:44","slug":"gracias-precog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precog.iiit.ac.in\/blog\/?p=1009","title":{"rendered":"Gracias Precog"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi All!, \u00a0As I am about to finish my B.Tech in Computer Science. I feel this is the perfect time for me to pen down my story of association with Precog.\u00a0It\u2019s an experience described in 3 Stages:<\/span><\/p>\n

Stage 1 : Getting Introduced to Precog \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0[First\u00a0year, Second Semester]<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was during my second semester in Probability and Statistics(P&S) <\/span>course when I got introduced to Precog Research Group. P&S was my \u00a0first course taken under Dr. PK. I clearly remember, while Dr. PK was \u00a0taking our class, I saw\u00a0<\/span>Prateek<\/a>\u00a0Sir entering lecture hall from the <\/span>front-right door and he was carrying our quiz question papers. Along with the \u00a0quiz papers, I had noticed that the \u00a0T-shirt \u00a0he was wearing had a logo named \u201cPrecog\u201d. And then within next few minutes,our head TA, <\/span>Srishti Gupta<\/a>\u00a0entered the hall wearing the \u00a0<\/span>same\u00a0\u00a0T-Shirt. I wondered what is so special about \u201cPrecog\u201d. Is it a conference , company or a brand??\u00a0<\/span>(That time, <\/span>I had no clue of research groups @ IIIT-Delhi).<\/span><\/p>\n

After attending all my lectures, I sat \u00a0down in the <\/span>cafeteria and searched about \u201cPrecog\u201d.And that\u2019s when I realized that Precog is a research group which is run under \u00a0<\/span>Dr. PK. I had looked each and every page of Precog website. Then I skimmed through personal websites and LinkedIn profiles of all core members.In short, I \u201cstalked Precog\u201d for about an hour. After looking at the projects like \u201cFinding Nemo\u201d or \u201cCall me Maybe\u201d, I felt very motivated towards working on problems related to social media particularly.And so, I decided to do projects in this field.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stage 2 : Approaching Precog -The First time. \u00a0 \u00a0 [Second year, Fourth Semester]<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>As I had <\/span>stalked Precog, I knew who were the core members and whom to contact first. I remember spending an hour with <\/span>Paridhi <\/a>Ma\u2019am \u00a0in the <\/span>common room of Girls\u2019 hostel talking just about Dr. PK and projects in \u00a0Precog. She told me to mail Sir and ask for an appointment .She focused that my mail should be \u201cshort and effective\u201d<\/strong> enough to impress PK Sir. So, I had <\/span>emailed him hoping that he would consider my application.And Yes! he called me for an interview. During my interview, he marked that there would be a selection process where I would have to submit my resume\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0SOP…Isn\u2019t somewhat similar to MS application? Oh Yes! except <\/span>that, you don\u2019t need LORs here.<\/span><\/p>\n

On PreCog website, there was a section where I had uploaded all my required documents. After 2 weeks or so, I got a mail with the subject \u201c Application Decision\u201d \u00a0from <\/span>Niharika Sachdeva<\/a>. With a lot of excitement, I opened the mail which <\/span>stated,\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI should apply again next year.\u201d I felt dejected at that point of time. But then, I decided to look for other opportunities in Security field. So, I landed up having an internship in <\/span>CERC@IIITD<\/a> under\u00a0<\/span>Dr. A V Subramanyam.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stage 3 : Finally Precog-ger!! \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 [Third and Fourth Year]<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>In the fifth semester, during Foundations of Computer Security course, one of my batch mates told me about PreCog openings.I applied again but with not much expectations. After few weeks, yet again, Niharika Ma\u2019am had sent me a mail but this time, with \u00a0a different subject as \u201cInteraction and interview with Precog member\u201d. So, now finally after two rounds of interview, I had a chance to do BTP under the supervision of Dr. PK. My BTP project was on \u201cDetecting Obscene Content on YouTube\u201d where I had worked \u00a0with \u00a0Payal Bajaj from Adobe Research, <\/span>Bangalore, and <\/span>Rishabh Kaushal<\/a>. My work mainly focused on real-time detection of obscene content on youtube videos used for parenting purpose using Deep Learning. I had developed Deep CNN model to detect abrupt transitions having obscene content in cartoon videos in real-time with 81.4 % accuracy. I must say, this period of BTP was knowledge gaining plus fun-filled experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

I would like to highlight the following \u00a0points about Precog and why I still cherish my times here:<\/span><\/p>\n