Debugging Life: My UPES Story

Finding My Path

Just like every other student, I was also confused regarding choosing the right stream after completing my Class 10. My lack of knowledge about other domains, little interest in Physics and peer pressure landed me in PCM. Later, I realised that this is not what I really love studying. 

All the Mathematics equations and Chemistry reactions gave me a headache every day. Each day, I used to seek help from my parents and teachers to develop an interest in my subjects. But soon, I realised that no one else can help me except myself. 

After this, I joined a coaching centre for JEE Main preparation, but I did not get the result I was expecting. At last, I left that coaching centre and started preparing for my Board exams instead of focussing on JEE preparation. I started practising Coding in C, C++, learnt HTML, CSS, and a bit of JavaScript. Finally, I passed my Class 12 as a merit holder. 

Admission Process at UPES 

Without JEE Main, I was unable to get into any government or semi-government colleges. In the end, I had to choose a private university. The best option for me was UPES Dehradun as it is well-known and near to where I reside. 

The university offered a lot of extracurricular activities and organised the best fests. The admission process for BTech CSE programme was quite simple. I was selected in UPES on the basis of my Class 12 aggregate, and even managed to grab a scholarship there. 

For admission, I just had to fill the form and pay the admission fee to confirm my admission. Apart from this, students are also selected on the basis of JEE Main scores. 

Life at UPES 

During my initial days at the institute, I was both excited and nervous. For the first time in my life, I was going to step out of my home which made me a bit nervous. But, soon I realised that some of my friends had also joined the university, which helped me easing up the stress and anxiety. 

Soon, I got very comfortable in college under the guidance of all my teachers and friends. I experienced the best Freshers at the university including all the other fests. Some of them were, Sports Fests and Technical Fests. These all felt like a rewarding experience, the rewards of getting admission into UPES. 

At UPES, we have different batches with a strength of 60 students in each batch which makes one-on-one interaction with the teachers easier. The well-equipped labs at the university help us gain more practical experience. One of the aspects that makes this university stand out is that they make the students study the subjects only related to their domain. While many other colleges and universities have a common first year pattern for all the branches. 

At UPES, we also get opportunities to showcase our projects and knowledge during the industry visits with the help of our mentors. During my first year at the university, I was a part of the CSA Student Chapter (Cloud Security Alliance), where I was a core member of the Public Relations Committee. The Student Chapter conducted various events throughout the year such as Hackathons, Treasure Hunts and Game Jams, where I got professional experience by interacting with HRs, chief guests and other renowned people from the industry. 

Currently, I am in my second year, learning and building new things and stacking up my success. So far, I have learnt to keep patience, stay persistent and give everything my best, regardless of what the output might be.

About the author: Surbhi Singla is currently pursuing BTech in Computer Science and Engineering at UPES Dehradun. She enjoys participating in sports and technical activities. Since school, she has had a huge interest in Quantum Mechanics and other fields of Physics, but gradually she has inclined more toward Computer Science and Web Development.

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha.