How an Indian Engineer Earned the Fully Funded DAAD KOSPIE Scholarship to Complete His Master’s Thesis at TUM

I am Akshay Malviya, and I come from a small town called Jabalpur, located in Madhya Pradesh in Central India. Currently an Applications Developer at Wolfram Research in India, I completed my bachelor’s in Electronics and Communications Engineering in 2021 during peak COVID. After completing my bachelor’s, I was working remotely for an MNC before leaving for my master’s in Signal Processing and Communication Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar in 2022, which is where I was given the opportunity to complete my master’s thesis as a DAAD funded exchange student at the Technical University of Munich for a duration of 7 months during the winter semester of 2023.

DAAD KOSPIE Scholarship Details

The DAAD KOSPIE IIT Master’s Scholarship program supports Master of Technology students from Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to conduct their master's thesis research at a German university, particularly within the TU9 Technical Universities. This is a "sandwich" program, meaning students spend part of their master's studies in India and part in Germany. I am grateful to my guide Prof. Ulf Schlichtmann at the Technical University of Munich, for being given this opportunity to work with him and his team of researchers.

The DAAD KOSPIE Scholarship is fully funded, providing a monthly stipend of 992 euros, along with health, accident, and liability insurance. It also covers travel allowances and a one-time research allowance. Additionally, it includes a four- to six-week German language course at the host university, designed to help scholarship holders integrate into the country and ensure a smooth transition.

Educational Background

I completed the traditional 10+2 school level CBSE exams with a CGPA of 9.6/10 in my 10^th and a 90.2% in my 12^th standard. This is the most common high school-level evaluation that most people go through in India. I finished my Bachelor’s in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing, Jabalpur, with a CGPA of 7.5/10 and went for my Master’s in Signal Processing and Communication Engineering at IIT Bhubaneswar. At the time of applying for the scholarship, my CGPA during my master’s was 9.21, which I assume was a great help in securing the scholarship.

How Did You Prepare to Apply to Institutions?

Apart from corresponding with potential thesis guides at TU9 unis through emails, for which I had a lot of help from my IIT Bhubaneswar professor, Dr. Srinivas Boppu, there was not much preparation for this process.

How Did You Prepare to Apply for the Scholarship?

Since I had undergone all my schooling in English as the primary language of communication, I did not have to appear in any exams for English language certificates. Also, the scholarship was not tied to any standardized exams, such as the GRE, but rather to my academic performance during my Master’s.

What Do You Think Made Your Application Stand Out?

Apart from my decent scores throughout pretty much all of my schooling, I think my previous experience as a Senior Software Engineer and likely the solid recommendations from some of my Professors at IIT Bhubaneswar must have made my application stand out.

What Would You Have Done Differently if You Were Going Through the Process Again?

Probably nothing.

What Advice Would You Give Those Looking to Apply for a Similar Scholarship?

Keep pursuing what interests you, and do not be disheartened by failures. Most importantly, don’t take yourself too seriously and have fun!