The selection process for this year’s batch has been the first of its kind (we all know why!). All the colleges made attempts to conquer the challenges of conducting online interviews seamlessly. The admissions team at SJMSOM made use of an online platform (Gather) which consisted of a 2-D map, letting you walk around and talk to the other people around you. I used to believe that the waiting period before online interviews is tiring and/or boring because more often than not, the candidate has to sit ideally in front of a computer screen displaying: “Please wait, the panelists will let you in soon”. This was not the case with SJMSOM as all the candidates and the volunteers were present on the virtual platform, it did not feel as if I was giving an interview online. The admissions team was super supportive and patient in dealing with the candidates. It was the closest one could get to experience an offline in-person interview. For me, this was the best part of the entire process.
A brief description of the most important aspect, the Interview:
There were three panelists in the zoom meeting. The interview started with my introduction. We then talked about my areas of interest which were Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics. They asked me to explain the terms: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning, the difference between the three, various types of machine learning methods i.e. supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning, and applications of Convolutional Neural Networks and Recurrent Neural Networks. They then asked me about my purpose for doing an MBA and a few follow-up questions. The panelists were patient enough to listen to all my answers and did not interpolate. The interview ended as we exchanged greetings and I logged out of the meeting. It was a great experience indeed.
