SRM provided me platform and infrastructure to go beyond academics and be an all-rounder, says Anushka Bhargava

I have attended four different schools. First 10 years of my life and six years of schooling was in Lagos, Nigeria. I owe my strong basics and a keen interest in learning and growing to this place. Further, I studied in Goa and Kutch for short durations after which we moved to Bhavnagar, Gujarat, where I spent the last five years of schooling at Silver Bells Public School. This is the place that gave me perspective and shaped me as a person.

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After I got over with my Class 12 exams, the challenge was to choose a stream I would like to make a career into. I was fascinated by computers since I was a child. Hence, it was not a tough choice. I was eager to take up Computer Science and Engineering and not any other branch. I had heard about SRMIST - SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai being a good place to learn with a lot of opportunities and so decided to appear for SRMJEEE. My experience was quite good, and I was pretty confident of securing a good rank which would help me secure a seat in CSE. Counselling was organised and I was glad to pursue exactly what I desired.

I have lived in the hostel for all four years of college life and I can’t stress on it enough that the memories you make in the hostel are simply the best. The infrastructure of the newly built M Block is quite good in addition to all facilities available in the hostel campus itself. If you are lucky to find great friends in the hostel, there is nothing like it. Apart from the hostel, the infrastructure offers a world-class library and auditorium

The University also encourages students to drive social and cultural events in the university campus. I have been the Vice-Chairman of SRM IET On Campus, Committee Head in Aaruush and volunteered for SRM MUN. All these experiences have added to my confidence, ability to solve problems and think out of the box to tackle situations. We have a lot of teams in our college which focus on technical work and others which focus on events. I would encourage everyone to pursue their technical interests but also have some experience in organisation and management as it adds to a lot of skills such as teamwork, leadership, time management which play a great role in placements as well as life ahead.

Talking of the placements, it was a challenge more than fear. I did not choose to attend the placement sessions as I was already offered a pre-placement offer from Microsoft. But, I do have some tips for engineering students who are yet to face interviews:

• First and foremost, be thorough with basic aptitude and verbal concepts. The syllabus taught in our course is enough, but practice everything well
• Do the aptitude course not for the grade but for your learning. Do not take it lightly
• I cannot stress enough on the importance of data structures and algorithms. But before that have your basic coding and OOP concepts clear (for software jobs)
• Always remember, the panel is not here to scare you but to help you get the job you aspire for. Be thorough with all you have in your resume
• It is totally fine to not know things, accept it instead of cooking up answers or guessing. Be confident, be humble and you can sail through every interview

Generally, the companies ask engineering students to appear for coding based rounds which are not to tough. I was asked the same. There were three questions in total. I could easily solve two of them in the first 10 minutes and the last one took some time. The questions tested our basics. Selected students were further called for interview rounds. Over 150 students qualified this round. We all were called for a pen and a paper coding round which was to be followed by three interview rounds. I was amongst 25 students who qualified that round. That was scary. There were two technical rounds and one HR round and the interviewers were very helpful and would provide hints on getting stuck. I finally made it. All this was possible because of the experienced faculty and their efforts in those four years.

Its been more than six months in Microsoft. Though this is not new as I have already interned here but I feel happy to contribute to such a large product as Microsoft Excel. Apart from work, we had an intern learning week, where we painted, had fireside chats, a talent show and a lot more activities. At Microsoft, you are encouraged to do everything that interests you, have a balanced work-life and work as per your comfort. Being a six-month intern now and working from home, the support the company provided is commendable.

SRM provides a platform and infrastructure to go beyond academics and be an all-rounder. It encourages students to nurture their interest and grooms them to excel in that field. The 4 years at SRM have not only made me industry ready but have also helped me enhance my soft skills to grow personally and professionally. 

About the author

Anushka Bhargava is an alumnus of SRMIST - SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai. She was a student BTech CSE and currently, she is working with Microsoft.

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