Bachelor's of Engineering in Computer Science

BITS Pilani's Senate is the highest decision making body of the entire institute, comprised of faculty members, administration and 4 student members, one from each campus. As the student senator of the Pilani Campus, I had the chance to represent student interests at the highest level and work closely with the administration to ensure that student concerns were heard and addressed. I stepped into the role at what was the most tumultuous time in recent history for BITS Pilani, when the Senate decided to introduce an attendance policy for the first time ever. We had to work with students and the administration across campuses to reach a middle ground that currently persists today. Was easily the most intimidating experience I had in college, dealing with bueraucracy and the expectations of students alike, but the role has significantly more importance now, and a lot of the work that I have put in will (hopefully) improve the lives of students for the next couple of years.

At what is probably BITS Pilani's most coveted student club, I worked on CEL's various initiatives throughout my three years there. From Conquest, India's largest student run startup accelerator, to CEL's Innovation Fund, our own Venture Capital Arm, to also leading learning iniaitives within the club, I got to experience the world of startups and entrepreneurship in a way that no classroom could have ever taught me. I met some incredible batchies, senior and juniors, and CEL will always be what I'm most proud of from my college life. Easy to say my life in college would not be the same without it, and pulling off initiatives at the scale that CEL does, brings you out of your bubble on campus and really shows you how things work in the real world.

At 180DC, I had the opportunity to work with real clients on real consulting projects. I worked with India's largest NGO, to help them strategize the rollout of one of their largest childcare programs. We handled everything from program planning to final execution as well. But the most exciting experience was when I had the chance to lead a project for an up and coming FMCG startup, where we led their entire product pivot strategy and helped them figure out what their new product should look like, how they should position it and who they should target. They ended up going on the Indian Shark Tank and we got to see our work come to life on national television which was super exciting!

I had the privilege of being a part of one of the most talented student organisations that pulled off India's largest student run startup accelerator, Conquest by BITS Pilani. I was a part of the Finance and Investment Partnerships division, securing crucial partnerships with VC firms and investors that helped us raise 31 lakhs to fund the accelerator. I also got to work closely with the startups in our portfolio, providing them with mentorship and support whenever they needed it. Easily the coolest thing a first year student could experience, watching in real-time, over the course of 6 weeks, how startups evolve, function and operate outside of the classroom.

I worked as a TA for the DSA online course that BITS Pilani undertakes in collaboration with HCLTech. These courses are prepared for underprivileged students looking to build a career in software development. As a TA, a large chunk of my work revolved around preparing course content, tests, quizzes and assignments. It was great knowing that my efforts were going towards helping underprivileged students get access to quality education and resources that they otherwise wouldnt have access to.

The Student Faculty Council is the first point of contact between the Computer Science department and the students. I'd grown frustrated with the way the department functioned and really wanted to be the change I wanted to see. As a part of the SFC, we took students' considerations into account and met with important faculty members of the CSIS department to ensure queries and concerns were addressed successfully. This experience also helped me when I decided to run for the position of Student Senator in my third year as well.

The department is responsible for managing sponsorships and marketing initiatives for BITS Open Sports Meet (BOSM), BITS Pilani's premier sports fest, raising tens of lakhs each year to ensure that the fest is sustainable. I look back at my time in BOSPO (how we call it) with quite some nostalgia, I made some great friends in my own batch and met some great seniors and juniors who made my life on campus a lot more memorable.

The PMP is a mentorship program for freshers at BITS Pilani. Seniors generally get paired up with a fresher in the same stream as them and provide them guidance and support throughout their journeys. It's always nice knowing that a senior has your back when things arent going your way. I'm actually still good friends with my PMP mentor (who also helped me bag my internship) and I thought it only made sense to ensure juniors got the same support from me. Now that college is almost over, I can say that I've helped a fair few juniors figure out what courses to pick, how to study and just help them understand what pitfalls to avoid.