Learning From The Right People : FootSteps

On 19th March, Thursday, Students’ Alumni Cell, IIT Kharagpur had organized the event FootSteps. Its objective was to provide a platform for the undergraduate students to interact with the soon-to-be alumni and hear from them their own success stories. The event was also a springboard for the launch of Student- Alumni Mentorship Programme which assigns alumni mentors to students. Atal Ashutosh Agarwal, Finance Head of the Student's Alumni Cell and a contesting candidate for the post of Vice President, Technology Students’ Gymkhana opened the proceedings by informing the audience about the Mentorship Program and then introducing the speakers. There were five speakers at the event. Read on to find out what they had to say.

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Mallika Saharia

 

An Inter IIT ( and Former National ) tennis player who won gold in each of her four years, Mallika Saharia was the first speaker of the evening. She is a proud Chemical Engineer, she has been placed at ITC ( after receiving a PPO ), and yet she still feels like most of the people sitting in the audience, "I don't know where life is going to take me next, I'll just be giving my best!".  The seeds of success are sown at an early age and so was the case with her. In her second year she bagged a research internship at the Technical University of Munich, one of Europe's premiere universities. "I have worked on a research project in Germany and now I will be in a paper manufacturing factory, Isn't it amazing how versatile and open-ended your options are. " She interned at ITC in her third year which made her realize the differences between a research and a factory environment. "I got to know what people in Germany are doing, about their culture and work ethics, and then after my second Internship, I learnt how to deal with workers, how to speak to people and also the differences between a research and a factory environment. These experiences help you grow as an Individual and will shape who you are." Her final advice to students - Excel at at least one extra-curricular activity and maintain a good CG. 

"The more you put in, the more focused and dedicated you are the more you will get back."

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Apoorv Jain

 

Vice President of Technology Student's Gymkhana, General Secretary of Students’ Alumni Cell, IIT Kharagpur, a member of Hindi Technological Dramatics Society and a Bachelor's degree in Agricultural and Food Engineering with Masters in Financial Engineering, now that's a CV most of us would die for. He has it all and yet he remains ever so humble. Apoorv Jain was the second speaker of the evening. In his own words, Apoorv was not very much into academics, and was keen to explore other fields that IIT Kharagpur had to offer. " It is not easy to decide what you want to be, or what you like. However it is easy to decide what you don't want to be. So explore various fields in your first two years at college, and cross out things that you don't want to be.", were his golden words of advice. Before realizing that he would start out his career in Finance, he did a research internship in Canada, in his second year, after which he crossed research off his list. He interned the next year at a financial firm, realized that it was much more to his liking, and dedicated his final year to preparing for interviews at financial firms. And in between all this he also performed well at extra-curricular activities while maintaining a good CGPA. His hard work and perseverance landed him a job offer from Credit Suisse one of the world's largest banks.

"Choices are not made in a day, they gradually happen as we explore various fields.  Explore as much as possible because only by exploring can you find out what you were made for. And while you are at it, maintain your CG, companies want candidates who can handle multiple tasks simultaneously."

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Madhuresh Dwivedi

 

Most people today are hardly interested in research, but not this young man. MadhureshDwivedi has already completed his PhD at the age of 25! Like Apoorv Jain, Madhuresh is from the Agricultural and Food Engineering Department and had joined IIT Kharagpur after clearing the GATE exam, for his Master's degree. He says that it was only after joining IIT that he started participating in extra-curricular activities, which he believes have had the biggest influence in shaping his personality. Representing his hall in 5 different sporting events, holding the post of Secretary, Aquatics Sub-Committee and also being a part of the Illumination core team is no easy task. Add to this the almost unbelievable feat of completing 2 years' work in just 6 months while he was a Visiting Research Scholar at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, holding a patent for preparation of gluten free bread, and the fact that he has visited 11 countries since joining IIT Kharagpur, and you can do little but look up in awe. As Madhuresh clearly explains to us, there may not be quite a lot of money in research, but later on in your career, the fruits of your effort will grow exponentially. According to him, to succeed in research, one needs to be patient and have strong work ethics.

"Study well and maintain good relations with your seniors were his parting words of wisdom."

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Tejeshwar Singh Gill

 

With a degree in Biotechnology and a job at the Boston Consulting Group, it does seem that Tejeshwar has a lot going for him right now. However this wasn't always the case, as he himself tells us, "Four months back, I had no idea what direction my life would be taking. Like most of you here I too was confused about which field I would be working in." So what helped him ultimately succeed? He explains to the audience the concept of 'spikes'. "Spikes, are somewhat like domains in which you are interested. You need to have one or two domains and then you've got to work hard to excel in your domain. Sports can be a domain, research can be a domain, being a part of a social activity, research or even internships can be your domain. You need to show the interviewer that you are passionate about your work." According to him the atmosphere at IIT Kharagpur is such that the students have the opportunity to excel in a any domain and explore various alternative career choices. He himself has made full use of it, he was the captain of out Inter-IIT tennis team and has won three medals in Inter-IIT tennis.

"You need to have one or two domains in which you can show the interviewer how you have worked hard and overcome obstacles. And while you are at it, also remember that your CG is your most important domain."

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Karandeep Singh Gujral

 

Karandeep Sing Gujral, a student of the Geology and Geophysics Department was the last speaker of the evening and also the only one who knew from his second year what he wanted to do. "In my second year, after my departmental courses started, I realized that I enjoyed these subjects and I was quite sure that I wanted to be in a core company. " He too believes that being a part of societies helps students to develop their skills and recommends everyone to be a part of at least one society. "However, I always kept academics as my first priority."  He was a member of both ETDS and Entrepenuership Cell. According to him nothing comes suddenly, you have to work for things and build up your profile to suit your interests. "Also, you need to be aware of the various opportunities that IIT KGP gives you. Talk to your seniors, I came to know about the HULT prize from my seniors and it was through their help that my team got selected for the HULT regional finals in London." Through his efforts Karandeep will now be working at Schlumberger after receiving a PPO from them.

"There is no well defined path, everybody has their own fields and their own paths."

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What I Realised From This Event :

1. Extra-curricular activities are important for the development of one's personality, and sports are also an important extra-curricular activity. It isn't necessary to be a part of some society ( eg. Mallika Sahari, she wasn't a part of any society ).
2. I need to narrow down my field, I can't be working on too many things. It is easier to cancel out the things that I don't like, and ultimately I will find what I do like.
3. Once I find what I am good at, I need to work hard on it and try to be the absolute best in that field.
4. Being uncertain about your future career isn't necessarily a sign of weakness, everyone has been through it at some point.
5. Marks do matter, A LOT!

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While I always try my best, errors have a way of creeping in when you least expect them. Do tell me about any that you might find :-)