IISC Bangalore Exam Experience

Hey everyone! Here, I am sharing with you my experience of the written exam for the IISC Mtech AI program 2023. This is one of the most celebrated and desired preferences for studying Artificial Intelligence in India. This program is offered by the Division of EECS (comprising CSA, ECE, EE, and ESE Departments).

Selection procedure

The shortlisting of the applicants is mainly done through gate scores. So, based on your gate results you can apply for the program from the IISC website. With reference to my application for admission to Course Programme (M Tech/M Des) at the Institute, I was shortlisted for the MTech program in Artificial Intelligence for the in-person written test.

The date and venue were as follows:-

Date: April 17, 2023

Venue: Department of Electrical Engineering (EE), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru 

Syllabus for MTech (AI) Written Test.

1. Calculus: Limits, continuity, and differentiability. Maxima and minima. Mean value theorem. Theorems of integral calculus, evaluations of definite and improper integrals. Taylor series. Partial derivatives, multiple integrals, and directional derivatives.

2. Linear Algebra and Matrix Analysis: Vector space, basis, linear dependence and independence, matrix algebra, rank, determinants, system of linear equations, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, LU decomposition.

3. Probability and Statistics: Random variables. Uniform, normal, exponential, Poisson, and binomial distributions. Mean, median, mode, and standard deviation. Conditional and joint probability, Bayes theorem. Correlation and regression analysis.

They have also provided me with some sample questions to prepare and take ideas from. So, as mentioned in the syllabus around 70-80% of the topics were the same as gate. However, some extra topics are there that CSE students generally don’t study at the gate but were there in our BTECH courses. If one solves gate and tifr pyqs wherein special attention has to be given to advanced level of questions.

Exam experience

The test was 1.5 hrs (90 minutes) long. It was a pen and paper-based test where we have been provided with a question paper with 30 MCQs. We were required to tick mark the right choice in the provided question paper itself. The questions were of moderate to tough level. There were several questions from linear algebra such as finding eigenvalues, the value of determinants of some complex matrices. Then there were some tricky probability questions. There were two to three questions from convergence and divergence concepts.

Overall, it had been an amazing experience, nevertheless, the competition is quite tough as it is an interdisciplinary branch, so top rankers from other branches like electrical, electronics etc, also compete with CSE students for an intake of around 40 students, the intake can fluctuate over years. But that feeling to be in IISC especially visiting the campus itself is enough to make you enjoy that amazing opportunity.