Niketha Sushilkumar

ENC 2006, MSc. from Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA

Earlier worked as Associate Consultant with Capgemini, Pune.

Earlier, worked as an Associate Consultant with Capgemini, Pune and my work entails software development in Mainframes technology for HSBC North America. I would be joining DUKE University, US for its Engineering Management programme - Fall 2008.

When I first came to UMIT, I simultaneously had two thoughts on my mind,

One, Beautiful Campus! Only later I realised we're not the only ones in it.

Two, A place of opportunities - my conclusion from the notices and posters on the boards I'd seen outside the office on my first day. This feature proved to be true till the end.

During my years at UMIT I held the post of Vice-chairperson ACM as well as the CR and member of Student Council.

As the Class Representative and a member of Student's Council, I played the part as a bridge between the faculty and my class mates. My responsibilities included coordinating the lectures in order to ensure smooth course completion, voicing concerns of my class at the weekly council meetings with the Principal, leading and organizing teams during Arcane Illusions.

As Vice- chairperson of ACM, along with my council members, I was responsible for organizing mini-seminars, contests and workshops for the society members. One of my favourite learning experiences at ACM was organizing its annual National level inter-collegiate conference cum festival - ‘Tech Tornado’. The participants for the event came from many prestigious technical institutes located in different parts of India. Managing such an event called for considerable foresight, organizing, planning, coordination, interpersonal, conflict resolution skills and leadership acumen of a high order. The whole process went smoothly because we planned our strategy well, organized the available resources at hand, identified each critical activity and ensured that every individual responsible for a particular activity was given due importance.

The learning from both these opportunities was tremendous. What I've gained from these enriching experiences helps me contribute effectively in my current line of work and am confident it will continue to do so in my future pursuits.

The biggest change in the years at UMIT and the most conspicuous one, I would say, is the completion of the ever evolving UMIT building! Other than that, I've seen the course structure changing over the years and it makes me feel good to have been part of an academic institute that keeps itself attuned to the latest developments and needs of the industry.

Other than the course content, the professors, too, have played a key role in honing my skills - in both technical and off-classroom and the interactions I've had with them, helped me grow into a more mature and cognizant individual.

After all these years, the things I miss the most would be- the thrill of bunking a lecture, sprinting to make it to the hostel before 9 PM, midnight hostel parties, sneaking into an 8:00 lecture at 9:30 (without getting caught! - well yeah...most of the time), encounters with the hostel warden (Badi Ma'am - I'd still call them awfully frightening!), planning tech fests, the mess-ups on the day of the event and sleeping during lectures (I'd done in plenty!).