Note: Please note that this article was written in Summer 2014, and things may have changed a little since then. So please make sure to write me an email in case you have any specific questions about the course, university, faculty or in general future in computer vision.

Dear prospective student of MSCV,

If you are reading this page, that means either you have written to me or some of my colleagues for the guidance regarding admission to Universite de Bourgogne (University of Burgundy). On this page, I will try to answer some of the basic Frequently Asked Questions that I have come across regarding the MSCV or ViBot courses.

I was a student in MSCV-2 and graduated with Master in Computer Vision in 2012. These answers are based on my personal experience or the experience of that of my colleagues from VIBOT. The questions here are taken word by word from the emails I have received from prospective students. Please excuse me if there are any grammatical mistakes, but these answers are written in hurry and I will make the necessary changes later on as I see necessary.

Q: How good is the course and faculty?

A: The course is absolutely marvellous, I loved this course, but then again, are you familiar with IP/CV areas. I decided to go for this course, because I was absolutely fascinated by these areas. It's not a just a regular Computer Science Masters, so it would help you make an informed decision if you take a look at the research work being conducted in IP/CV areas.

Regarding Faculty, I couldn't complain about any of them when it comes to proficiency in their chosen areas. As always, all the faculty members have different ways to teach a particular course, and you may or may not be comfortable with their way. But you can always meet the faculty members outside the class and clear your doubts. UB and also other 2 universities have absolutely amazing faculty members, and in 2 years I felt we were the most pampered students when it comes to the level of knowledge and amount of knowledge we learned.

Q: Regarding the course I wished to know that is it more robotics oriented or computer science programming oriented?

A: Funny enough it's neither and both of them as well. In MsCV curriculum you will have few courses which introduce you to basics of Robotics, but there isn't a great emphasis on it. The masters course is mainly focused on Image Processing and Computer Vision. So Yes you will see a lot of programming mainly in Matlab and C/C++ but you needn't worry too much about it as it's not that difficult to cope up with.

Mainly you will be learning a lot of Image Processing stuff which includes right from the image acquisition to tricky post processing of the images, a lot of colour image processing and also some intensive Maths in first two semesters. You will also learn basics of Computer Graphics along with their applications. Computer Vision part which comes in later semesters focuses on 3D reconstruction and various camera models which can be used in almost any field where you work with cameras and/or images.

Q: Further what are the job-scenario in France in this area as it appears to me that it is a different and very narrow research oriented field, and further about PhD opportunities.

Job scenario shouldn't be a big question mark if you ask me honestly at this stage. Given the fact, that you will be entering job market in (YourAdmissionYear + 2) I don't think anyone can accurately predict the demand of the market, but I can assure that all of my classmates got placed in good jobs and / or PhDs in their areas of interest, in entire Europe. In case of Jobs, you will find some very good opportunities given you have previous work experience as well. Also the fact that this is a niche field of research, you have more prospects of getting placed in jobs or PhDs as it's difficult to find trained and qualified researchers in these areas.

Q: What are the prospects of doing PhD from university of Bourgonge after the masters?

Prospects of doing PhD from the same university or the consortium (UB, UdG, HW and other Asian universities) are always there. But let me tell you, keep this as a very last option on your agenda. You will understand why once you reach Le Creusot. It's a very small town, which makes learning for 2 years with colleagues and classmates very much fun, but beyond that Le Creusot has a very very limited social life, which is a key aspect if you want to settle for PhD which takes 3 - 4 years in good cases. You can always get good connections and references from UB professors and they will do their best to get you a position that you would like using their contacts.

Q: Is there problem with French, as I do not know French?

It may be a problem if you are unwilling to learn French, but everyone who is related to the course, that is the admin staff and teachers speak good English, only French that you need is during your daily life in Le Creusot, such as groceries and going about the town. But you can easily pick that up in first 3 months if you give it a go. University offers a complimentary French course in the first semester and it will surely make your life a lot easier. Besides that you will find the admin staff to be very very helpful and caring, David and Herma were almost like local guardians when I was studying at UB. You can also start learning French on Duolingo and it will surely make it a lot easier. Before I reached France I could barely speak any French myself, but I didn't face much problems during my 3 semesters in UB.

Besides the University staff, you will also be guided by the PhD students at Le2i (the main research lab at UB) and your seniors will make sure that you won't face many problems in first few months.

Q: How is Le Creusot, housing for students, cost of living and people?

A: I stayed in Residence Jean Moulin, and it was fabulous. Le Creusot is actually a small town, but that doesn't mean it lacks in facilities. the University and the town in general are really beautiful and very very good place to study for Masters. Since you don't have a lot of distractions you will end up doing pretty good in your studies. Plus, there is not a lot of English speaking crowd in the city except for students and researchers in the lab, so it's a closed community for staying which I absolutely enjoyed. For more information regarding the same, please contact the responsible persons in UB.

Q: I could not find people/students studying there now, where are they from mostly?

A: You can always email David Arnaud or Herma, if they are still there, to connect you with some former students working in the areas that are mostly fascinating for you. I know lots of students from there, my seniors, classmates and juniors, and most are doing exceedingly well. You can search for Vibot / MSCV groups on Facebook. They are mostly dormant but you can find members in that group and ask them questions if you have any

Q: Would you recommend me to join ?

A: Without a doubt, if you are interested in IP/CV then you MUST join, it's absolutely fabulous course.

Q: I have applied to some other university, how should I choose between the other university and UB?

A: This may be a common dilemma faced by many of you and my suggestion is to go and check for things that you are most interested in, it can vary from person to person. I was most interested in learning theoretical and practical aspects of IP/CV, so I went to UB looking at the level of research being conducted in Le2i/UB. It is always an important criteria when choosing a Masters program. I was also recommended this course by couple of seniors I had met before going to UB, who were part of the VIBOT program.

It is after all your decision, but in the hindsight I can say, I am really happy with my decision to join UB for Masters program and I do not regret my decision in the slightest.