{"id":1558,"date":"2026-04-30T12:39:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T07:09:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/?p=1558"},"modified":"2026-04-30T12:39:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T07:09:24","slug":"learnings-from-assignments-open-book-exams-at-indian-institute-of-technology-gandhinagar-executive-masters-in-data-science-for-decision-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/learnings-from-assignments-open-book-exams-at-indian-institute-of-technology-gandhinagar-executive-masters-in-data-science-for-decision-making\/","title":{"rendered":"Learnings from assignments \/ open book exams at Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar &#8211; Executive Masters in Data Science for Decision Making"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p id=\"ember53\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One important lesson I learned while working with spatio-temporal graph data on the METR-LA dataset during my Executive Masters open-book assignment:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember54\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Do not keep switching between Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and other LLMs or AI tools during the execution stage. This lesson has repeated itself in the two years throughout the Executive Masters whenever we have been allowed to use LLMs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember55\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My learning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember56\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Different LLMs reason differently<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember57\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 They are trained and fine-tuned differently<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember58\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 They suggest different libraries, assumptions, fixes, and coding styles<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember59\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Mixing their guidance during debugging can create unnecessary chaos<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember60\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 What looks like \u201cmore intelligence\u201d can become \u201cmore confusion\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember61\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Multi-model thinking is useful during brainstorming<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember62\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 It helps in debating, exploring, comparing, and expanding ideas<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember63\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 But once execution begins, consistency matters more than variety<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember64\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Pick one model and work through the problem step by step<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember65\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Ask it to explain, debug, simplify, correct, and iterate<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember66\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 Stay with one reasoning path until the solution stabilizes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember67\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My conclusion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember68\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Use multiple LLMs for exploration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember69\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Use one LLM for execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember70\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mixing models during ideation can create insight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember71\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mixing models during implementation can create chaos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember72\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is especially true in technical work involving data science, graph ML, spatio-temporal modeling, package dependencies, tensor shapes, runtime environments, and debugging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember73\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Progress comes from disciplined iteration, not tool-hopping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ember74\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Note: Enhanced \/ compiled with help of AI \/ LLMs<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Email me: <a href=\"mailto:Neil@HarwaniSytems.in\"><strong>Neil@HarwaniSytems.in<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Website: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.harwanisystems.in\/\"><strong>www.HarwaniSystems.in<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Blog: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\"><strong>www.TechAndTrain.com\/blog<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">LinkedIn: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/neil27\/\"><strong>Neil Harwani | LinkedIn<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One important lesson I learned while working with spatio-temporal graph data on the METR-LA dataset during my Executive Masters open-book assignment: Do not keep switching between Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and other LLMs or AI tools during the execution stage. This lesson has repeated itself in the two years throughout the Executive Masters whenever we &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/learnings-from-assignments-open-book-exams-at-indian-institute-of-technology-gandhinagar-executive-masters-in-data-science-for-decision-making\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Learnings from assignments \/ open book exams at Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar &#8211; Executive Masters in Data Science for Decision Making<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[115],"tags":[296,476,73,450,475,470,465,447,335,478,462,479,474,473,460,459,472,464,415,451,469,467,463,471,466,458,461,468,477,457],"class_list":["post-1558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-machine-learning","tag-ai","tag-aiengineering","tag-analytics","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-careergrowth","tag-continuouslearning","tag-dataengineering","tag-datascience","tag-debugging","tag-decisionmaking","tag-deeplearning","tag-engineeringmindset","tag-executivemasters","tag-focus","tag-genai","tag-graphml","tag-innovation","tag-learninginpublic","tag-llm","tag-machinelearning","tag-mlops","tag-problemsolving","tag-productivity","tag-python","tag-pytorch","tag-spatiotemporal","tag-systemsthinking","tag-techleadership","tag-techlessons","tag-timeseries"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Focus.png?fit=853%2C574&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7do02-p8","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1532,"url":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/keywords-notes-from-executive-masters-in-data-science-for-decision-making-at-iit-gandhinagar-part-1-assisted-by-chatgpt\/","url_meta":{"origin":1558,"position":0},"title":"Keywords &amp; Notes from Executive Masters in Data Science for Decision Making at IIT Gandhinagar &#8211; Part 1 &#8211; Assisted by ChatGPT","author":"Neil Harwani","date":"April 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are 20 high-quality keywords for each category, structured for learning, research, and practical application: 1. Advanced Probability & Statistics Bayesian Inference Markov Chains Stochastic Processes Central Limit Theorem Hypothesis Testing Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) Bayesian Networks Copulas Multivariate Distributions Monte Carlo Simulation Gibbs Sampling Hidden Markov Models (HMM) Variational\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Academics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Academics","link":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/category\/academics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Image credit: www.Pixabay.com","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DS-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DS-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DS-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DS-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DS-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1038,"url":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/2023\/03\/since-the-last-few-years-5-to-10-years-there-has-been-an-exponential-growth-in-executive-education-courses-and-market-across-india-herewith-i-am-compiling-some-of-the-good-options-for-executive-ed\/","url_meta":{"origin":1558,"position":1},"title":"List of good executive education programs in India &#8211; Part 1","author":"Neil Harwani","date":"March 5, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Since the last few years (5 to 10 years) there has been an exponential growth in executive education courses and market across India. Herewith, I am compiling some of the good options for executive education in India - Part 1. ISB Executive Education Continuing & Executive Education (ahduni.edu.in) IIMA ExecEd\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Education&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/category\/education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Credit: www.Pixabay.com","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Education.png?fit=1200%2C825&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Education.png?fit=1200%2C825&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Education.png?fit=1200%2C825&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Education.png?fit=1200%2C825&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Education.png?fit=1200%2C825&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":472,"url":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/2019\/06\/required-reforms-in-indian-education-system-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":1558,"position":2},"title":"Required reforms in Indian Education System\u200a\u2014\u200a1","author":"Neil Harwani","date":"June 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Having an interest in life long learning, teaching and overall education ecosystem and based on my experience with going through various diplomas and degrees, below is what I would say should be the future of education in India. If India needs to have more well educated and better \/ productive\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Education&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/category\/education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Education.jpg?fit=960%2C708&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Education.jpg?fit=960%2C708&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Education.jpg?fit=960%2C708&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Education.jpg?fit=960%2C708&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1154,"url":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/2023\/10\/my-observations-on-pedagogy-in-executive-education-work-integrated-learning-programs-part-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":1558,"position":3},"title":"My observations on pedagogy in executive education (Work integrated learning programs) &#8211; Part 1","author":"Neil Harwani","date":"October 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Executive education fundamentally is different from education for younger adults by many ways who are just out of school. Listing below some observations for executive education which results in overall success for executives: More focus on open book rather than closed book exams. Focus on case studies and take-home assignments,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Education&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/category\/education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Credits: www.Pixabay.com","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Idea.png?fit=1200%2C924&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Idea.png?fit=1200%2C924&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Idea.png?fit=1200%2C924&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Idea.png?fit=1200%2C924&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Idea.png?fit=1200%2C924&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1061,"url":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/2023\/05\/some-unique-courses-for-working-professionals-in-india-post-liberalization-reforms-in-education-part-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":1558,"position":4},"title":"Some unique courses for working professionals in India post liberalization \/ reforms in education &#8211; Part 1","author":"Neil Harwani","date":"May 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Here with I am providing a list of unique courses that I have observed in India post liberalization \/ reforms in education. Most are online \/ work integrated or distance learning - this is Part 1 of the list for working professionals: PGC IISc from TalentSprint -\u00a0Deep Tech Expertise for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Education&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/category\/education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Credits: www.Pixabay.com","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/books.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/books.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/books.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/books.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/books.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":336,"url":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/universities-colleges-offering-courses-degrees-in-analytics-data-science-in-india-part-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":1558,"position":5},"title":"Universities &#038; Colleges offering courses &#038; degrees in Analytics \/ Data Science in India &#8211; Part 1","author":"Neil Harwani","date":"August 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"BITS Pilani - Offering MSc in Analytics, MTech in Computer Science with specialization in Analytics IIM Calcutta, ISI Kolkata & IIT Kharagpur - PG Diploma in Business Analytics Great Lakes, Chennai - PGP in Analytics IIIT Bangalore - PGP in Analytics via UpGrad XLRI - Executive Program in Data Science\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Analytics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Analytics","link":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/category\/analytics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Analytics-3.png?fit=1200%2C1047&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Analytics-3.png?fit=1200%2C1047&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Analytics-3.png?fit=1200%2C1047&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Analytics-3.png?fit=1200%2C1047&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Analytics-3.png?fit=1200%2C1047&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1558"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1558\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1560,"href":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1558\/revisions\/1560"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techandtrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}