How I prepared for IISc PhD interview in Electrical Communication Engineering department?

In this article, I will be sharing my experience on how I had prepared for the IISc PhD interview in the Electrical Communication Engineering (ECE) department. 

I first came to know of the PhD programme at IISc in ECE when I was in my MS by Research at IIIT Bangalore through my good friend Sumukha. He suggested me to apply in 2024 winter cycle just to get some experience and apply again in summer of 2025. 

The first time when I had applied, I was asked to pick two out of five subjects. I picked Linear Algebra and Probability and Random Process. I was taken inside a room where the panel grilled me on basic questions in these areas. For this time, I had referred to Gilbert Strang videos and the textbook for linear Algebra, and did Tsitsiklis' lectures on probability on YouTube. This helped me to work upon my basics and I was able to answer to some extent. Please note that I didn't do an actual course on these subjects at IIIT Bangalore so I still had a lot of gaps in my understanding. 

The good thing about the interview was you could pick the topics in these subjects you want the panel to test you. Based on my choice, I was asked about basis, rank and linear transformation. The questions were very tricky and I had never come across these in Gilbert Strang. The panel made me feel comfortable by giving hints, however, I just couldn't pick up on these hints. Probability and Random Process was much better as Tsitsiklis' lectures had covered all the portions necessary. 

I hadn't finished my MS by Research in 2024, so the panel couldn't proceed with selecting me. This experience taught me to focus on the nuances of the subjects and get my basics right.

From Jan 2025 to May 2025, I did a course on Linear Algebra taught by Prof. Prem Singh at IIIT Bangalore and this helped me to learn the subject well. I also referred to Friedberg's Linear Algebra, David C Lay's Linear Algebra and Linear Algebra Done Right by Sheldon Axler. After completing these books, I was in a much better position to face the interview. Also, Prof. Prem's course helped greatly.

For Probability and Random Process, I read through my notes I made while watching Tstisiklis' lectures and also referred to Sheldon Ross' A first course in Probability. These books really helped me answer the questions. 

When I gave the interview on 13th May 2025, I was in a much better position and I slayed it. Questions in Linear Algebra were asked on proofs that I had done in those Linear Algebra textbooks and professor's course. Probability and Random Process was great too and Tsitsiklis' lectures and the Sheldon Ross' book helped. 

This is how my experience was with the IISc PhD interview. If you have any more questions on this, please feel free to reach out to my IISc email ID: x@iisc.ac.in where x={soumadityac}. I have to write it like this to avoid spam. Anyways, have a great week ahead!

Key takeaways of this article:

1. Focus on your basics by reading those textbooks or watching lectures. 

2. Work on building your strength in doing proofs. 

3. Just relax and do your best!

P.S.: Refer to the IISc official website for more information on the interview in ECE department. This link https://ece.iisc.ac.in/general-info-research-students/ could be helpful too!