Report of alumni interaction session

1. Report for Alumni Interaction Session (From TCETian)
Speaker: Sujan Narvekar,Batch 2007 Date – 02/04/18
Profile: Architecture- Develops/Web Development, Tata Consultancy Services
Mr. Sujan Narvekar is an alumnus from the batch of 2007.During the session he mentioned
many anecdotes from his time in college and his experience in the industry. For 10 year he
has been with TCS, starting off on technical basis and later being involved in numerous
projects undertaken by TCS. Being the project leader in some of those, he has great insight in
what the IT industry needs from young engineering graduates. One such insight he shared
with the students is that IT industries are not limited to developing software and the
employees by programming. Engineers are taught to solve problems and that is what, is most
of the work that IT industries do-solve problems. This, he backed up with an anecdote about
recent changes in the way passports are issued to Indian citizens and how TCS provided a
scalable technology platform and transformed passport services for citizens. He added that
the actual mark of success was that the overwhelming demand for passports strained the
Ministry’s resources. Mr.Narvekar also underscored the importance of certifications assisting
his journey after graduation into the industry.
He decided not to opt for higher studies and instead decided to be his career in the IT field.
Another important fact he touched with the story of his father is that nothing you learn in
your life, be it in college or elsewhere is wasted. The subjects that you might not know, the
importance of now, like programming, are very useful in your career. He also suggested
everyone should develop reading habit and recommend, “The seven habits of the most
Effective people” by Stephen R. Covey, everyone should read.
Question Answer Session
1. When did you know that you had a liking for programming and that things would
work out for you in an IT industry rather than a core company?
Coding was never my forte. While working on my final year project which was an
automated vacuum cleaner, I discovered that programming is not actually difficult and can be
learnt with the right tools. My liking was for robotics and programming just tagged along
with it.
2. How important is work experience for getting into an MBA program?
If you want to go for MBA, you need a job experience of at least a year. In college, I had a
difference perception that doing a job will deviate me from studies, that I won’t be able to
pursue my dream of doing an MBA. However, that is not correct. When you join the industry,
you understand what is expected from an MBA course. In my case, I never felt like I did not
need an MBA but it might be different for you. But if you’re going ahead with MBA,I say
you definitely need work experience to know what the corporate world is like.
3. I have done an internship in the railways and want to mention it in my resume, but
what exactly should I mention?

2. So, if I am looking at your resume as a recruiter, what projects you have done is not as
important as what was your role in that project or what have you brought to the table.
Describe the project briefly but mention what you thought about it and what solutions you
came up with and in that process what have you learnt.
4. What are the current trends in languages and certifications in the industry?
The current trend is moving towards a new way of doing business which includes Cloud,
Automation which is my forte, Develops which means combining the job of a developer and
the operator of software which keeps in mind the design and overall user experience. Another
trend in the market is the agile model. In simple terms, this model emphasizes the
requirements and needs of the end user and caters to those needs in an adaptive manner. Data
science and big data are also some technologies that have matured. Block-chain is
another big technology transforming a lot of areas ranging from finance to marketing.
5. Does TCS provide internship opportunities for students?
There are opportunities for students to do internship at Pune and Mumbai office but it is as
per the ongoing project and may be sometimes not match with your area of interest. He
assures that he will keep informed the institute of any such opportunity and also send the
updates off campus placement for TCS.
6. How did you develop the professional and corporate skills that made you confident
enough to not require an MBA?
I got opportunity to lead teams on various projects and also I got an opportunity to do
executive MBA from IIM madras which was a rigorous course consisting of assignments and
at the end I had to run a virtual company and now when I interact with other MBA graduates
I know I had not missed anything so I think there is no need of MBA.
7. What is the importance of Project?
It gives you a platform to test your waters and identify your liking and area in which you are
good which you can pursue for your future career.
8. What is your advice to those who want to be Entrepreneurs?
I would advise that before deciding to be entrepreneurs one should study what big players are
doing and their business model. I would suggest one should world for some company and
understands the work culture of corporate and gain maturity and then think of becoming
entrepreneurs. I would suggest them to read “Blue Ocean strategy” by W. Chan Kim book
gives advice to the entrepreneurs.
Speaker: Alex Chalunka, Batch 2007 Date: 28/3/18 on Skype
Mr. Alex started off with giving a background about his career. He graduated from TCET in
EXTC, did his masters in Financial Engineering from NYU and graduated in 2008.He
started working in the financial department in Duff and Phelps, a financial engineering
consultancy .His work surprisingly involved working with calculus along with mathematical
concepts and engineering to solve financial problems. From there he moved to Serengeti asset

3. management where he has been working for the past 5 years. A part of his work is assessing
accounts for likelihood of credit defaults using mathematical models.
1. Did you degree in engineering help you to add value to what you were learning or what
was it a change in your field?
Financial Engineering isn’t like your MBA degree where you learn about finance. In
Electronic and Telecom we learnt about Fourier transforms and Laplace transforms which are
basics of signal transformation from time to frequency domain. So, let me give you an
example. We were working on a project with the government of Puerto Rico where we used
satellite images to identify plots of land which are government subsidized and tracking those
lands for activity. Like, say if a property gets 20,000 incoming trucks every year and they’re
consuming certain amount of power off the grid ,, there is no way that is it a government
subsidized business. We’re tracking this using signal analysis and helping the government
identify profitable businesses so they can tax those properties accordingly. A simple MBA
graduate absolutely cannot comprehend any of these analyses. So, the mathematics we learnt
was absolutely important in understanding the project and working on it.
2. What is the course of action you took after graduating?
When I was in the fourth year of my EXTC degree, the only offer I had was from TCS and it
was a programming job. I wasn’t inclined towards programming at that point so I decided to
give my GRE and applied for universities. NYU was the only university that gave me a 50%
scholarship based on my grades. . I started preparing during for GRE during break between
7th
and 8th
semester.
Thakur College was very supportive in terms of providing all the documents needed and I
was in the top 10% of my class. Here I want to add that when you are preparing for GRE
identify your strength and weakness and give more time to your weakness like I used to
devote more time to English as my mathematics was strong.
3.How do I know which post graduation course to opt formal or MS?
For me, I guess it was during the time in third year when I was given the responsibility of
handling an event and I had to manage a group of students. Such activities helped me make a
decision and I also had strong technical skills.
4. How does one get a scholarship?
So, the idea is to research up on the universities you want to see yourself at and look up their
teaching staff, be it the HOD, the dean or professors. Find out what their areas of interest are
and if your interests align with those of the professor then you should contact them stating
your interest in the area and that you would like to study it at that university. These professors
are given certain grants from the industry that they are to use and complete projects. The
professors then distribute the project work into assignments and they are given to the
students. So, in my case, I had knowledge of C++ from my engineering background so I
emailed them mentioning that I had a knowledge of C++.Then I got a reply saying that 50%
of my fees would be waived off if I could teach the students C++.It wasn’t my passion
teaching programming but it covered a significant amount of my tuition cost so I agreed to

4. teach C++.So, it’s all about letting them know that you are interested in the same field as they
are working and that you are a genuine learner.
5. What is the difference between a university in the U.S. which is in the top 10s and another
which is in the top 40s?
If you are in top 10 in your university, it hardly matters whether you in top 10 or top 40
university because you get recommendations from your teachers which help to get jobs.
6. What is the importance of Project?
I consider that projects develop your common sense when you apply the concepts you have
learn and common sense cannot be developed by reading books.
7. There are lot of news of trump factor and decline in job opportunities in US after MS.
What is the true picture?
In US polices change after every four years. I would only say when I came to US in 2008
there was recession and companies were laying off but nothing can impact you if you do
things with passion and you survive whether it is US or any other part of the world.
Speaker: Mehek Gangrade, Batch 2012
1. What is the right time to apply for studies abroad ?
According to my experience, I would say that opting for post graduation after getting at least
two years of experience in a job is appropriate .It is an experience in industry is preferred for
the M.S. courses. I went for M.S. without any job experience making me the youngest student
in my batch and I felt like I needed some experience in the outside world.
2. What are the top universities in U.S.A ?
For electrical engineering that I opted, University of Illinois, University of California, GA
Tech, Princeton University, Rochester Institute of technology etc are better choices to
proceed with for M.S.
3. What is the importance of CO & extra-curricular activities in getting admission for
M.S. abroad?
Having CO& extra-curricular activities in your resume adds more weight to your resume and
helps you get admission even if your academic grades aren’t that good. I myself was a
Treasurer of IEEE-TCET chapter in 2013 which added a lot to my resume personally which
resulted in getting me a scholarship at the University of Rochester.
4. How much loan is required to study in U.S.A?
The cost of studying in U.S.A. is much more expensive as compared to other countries
costing about Rs.25 lacs to Rs.30 lacs per academic year inclusive of your living expenses.
So taking up a student loan is preferred while studying which lessens the burden on your
parents and you end up repaying the loan yourself after getting a job over there and making
you a responsible person in life.

5. 5. How to prepare for G.R.E.? Are online resources/books sufficient or do we need to
take up classes?
If you havethe time and capacity to go through verbal and quant books on your own without
someone having to monitor you, then it is well and good otherwise taking up classes is also
an option if you don’t study much being at home. I prepared for G.R.E. just for 40 days
before the exam and used my time wisely by writing two essays and solving math problems
for two hours each day for 40 days straight. So it depends on your caliber ultimately and your
grasping power.
6. What are the job opportunities after completing post graduation from U.S.?
According to me, U.S. has become a money minting country in today’s world where you get
endless opportunities for jobs in technology field. Many universities after completion of post
graduation offer job fairs which give numerous chances for students to present themselves in
front of the companies and bag themselves jobs.
7. Is a counselor necessary to apply for M.S. abroad?
I did not approach any counselor for applying abroad for M.S. I underwent all the procedures
from my G.R.E. preparation to getting selected at the university myself. But my brother was a
huge help for me during that time. But of course, going to a counselor for help is not a bad
thing and one can always approach a counselor for help regarding post graduation.
8. What is an appropriate G.R.E. score to get into a good university?
Anywhere between 300 to 320 is regarded as a pretty good G.R.E. score and above 320 is an
excellent score. I received a score of 305 in G.R.E. exam by preparing for 40 days. If only I
had got a few more weeks for my preparation, I’d have scored better. But yes, a score above
300 can get you into a good University.
9. Can we change our streams for M.S. in U.S.?
Yes ,of course, you can explore various courses for post graduation online and look for your
interests. You can also get into law if that’s your interest as many people nowadays are
opting for that. And being in EXTC can open several gates for you in various other fields.
10. How to obtain scholarship while pursuing M.S.?
Many Universities offer scholarship programs which vary from your fee getting reduced by
10% to even 100%. You need to have a strong resume to get a good scholarship. Having
many extra-curricular activities and co-curricular activities in your pocket boosts your resume
by a huge number. Even if your academics are bit weak, it doesn’t matter that much as you
can show the amount of activities that you’ve done throughout college which helps you bag a
scholarship in return.