My tech story at IIT Bombay and advice for juniors

Our contingent at the Inter-IIT Tech Meet, 2019 — IIT Roorkee

I graduated from IIT Bombay in August ‘20, and penned down this short piece for tech.iitb; you can find the original post at https://www.instagram.com/p/CJJPLmunn0t/

Believe it or not, I first saw H7 during my last few days as a freshie. In fact, walking from H16 to lecture halls, I had never turned right at the T-point till then. Until late in my second year, I did not attend a single event in Insti — not one orientation, talk or workshop.

And then one fateful night, I stumbled upon something interesting. WnCC’s website listed “IITB App” as an ongoing project, with someone I knew (who would eventually become one of my best friends) working on it. Maybe you can understand why this project particularly appealed to me — having been living in a bubble, I had the inevitable feeling that I did not know what was happening around me — the app tried to solve this exact problem. Nothing particular in mind, I casually asked my friend what the status of the project was. The idea was old but the implementation had stagnated, so I decided to try to revive the project. Fast-forward half a year, hundreds of discussion hours and many night-outs later with one of the best teams I have worked with, InstiApp was born — and I hope it doesn’t need introduction ;)

Over the next two years, I worked on, mentored and led collaborations on many more projects — Computer Center’s SSO, Mood Indigo’s Ferrous and AMS to name a few. I instructed a technical summer school, gave a couple of talks for WnCC, attended many more and created DevCom together with a few friends. Contrast this with my first year.

So … why?

My motivation was threefold. First, each of these gave me the chance to create real tangible impact. Let me tell you — there is no feeling better than knowing that a product you created is a part of the daily life of thousands of people around you. Second, it gave me unparalleled experience that no internship could ever have. These will probably remain some of my best projects for a very long time. Third, when you are passionate about something, you want to spread the goodness. Connect the dots.

What are the takeaways?

1. It’s never too late to start. If there is a right time to start, it is now.
2. There are people to help. I found mentors in Insti for not only technical help, but every aspect of life. Often these were the same people ;)
3. Work on things you are passionate about. Look for real problems and build real solutions for yourself and the people around you. And no problem is too big.
4. Opportunities may be hidden from plain sight. I could never have imagined I’ll get a chance to collaborate with Computer Center. If you want to do something, talk to people about it. If you don’t, then it cannot happen.
5. Work with people like yourself and spread the goodness. If you love doing something, join a club. If there’s no club, then make one. You will not regret it.

Above all, live life to the fullest. Get out of the bubble. You can take this amazing journey only once.

All the best!