The Careers Series 1 – Prof. Bhargava
In our all-new Careers series, we bring you the experiences of IITB alumni who’ve been highly successful in their chosen careers, and try to find out how they did it
Prof. Parag Bhargava is an eminent professor of the MEMS department and an IITB alumnus. He passed out as a BTech in 1991 and completed his PhD from the University of Alabama in the USA. Counting his awards would take up the whole page, hence it would suffice to say that for a professor of his age it is an incredible achievement to win so many awards; foremost among them the coveted excellence in teaching award in 2008. He also won the first prize at the PAN-IIT conference in Mumbai on the topic “New environments for learning, teaching, research, creation, use and preservation of digital resources.”
Why PhD?
The question which many an IITian has even today: why pursue a PhD degree instead of accepting lucrative job offers? – “I wanted to be my own boss and did not want to do as I was told.” He was enthusiastic about entrepreneurship (which is still one of his interests; he is technical advisor toa startup); but his enthusiasm for technology and research drove him to pursue a PhD. Having already decided to come back to India, feeling a responsibility to give something back, Prof. Bhargava joined the MEMS department of IIT Kharagpur and served there for 7 years before shifting to IIT Bombay. He is quite passionate himself about this idea. He says “Ask a random average person about how IIT has impacted you. His answer will definitely motivate you to ask yourself whether you are making a difference through whatever you are doing.”
How to succeed
Why would anyone want to pursue a PhD as it means at least 3 more years of studying? – “The best part of being a PhD is that there is very little coursework; there’s lots of freedom to do what you want to. You gain immense knowledge about your field of interest. A PhD programme offers close interaction with faculty members. It trains you to think creatively, which nothing else can really provide. In hindsight, I think that such training is quite indispensable in any field.” The three cornerstones for a successful PhD are:
- A keen sense of observation
- The ability to understand that failure is more important than success
- A tendency to ask loads of questions
The system
Prof. Bhargava enjoyed his life as a student in IIT Bombay. “IIT is a great place to spend your student days. I enjoyed going on hiking expeditions with friends. My only regret is that I should have struck a correct balance between time for myself and time I spent with friends. It is something I learnt from my PhD days – that devoting time to oneself is a very rewarding tool that helps you improve.” As there were no computers and internet at the time, students used to spend more time discussing topics of interest. It was these discussions that went a long way in cultivating the inquisitive spirit that stood him in good stead.
We ask him how he felt when he first stepped into the hallowed portals of IITB as a Professor. “It took me a while to get adjusted to the system here.” According to him, the main reason why the majority of students here are disinterested in their courses is because they have lost their passion for science cultivated during their high school years. Also, IIT fails to offer a hands-on approach to courses. The labs are quite demotivating as they destroy the very essence of experiment. “An experiment is a process in which the results are unexpected, but we already know what the result is and hence it’s just a formality to do lab sessions. Students never feel challenged here, nor are they forced to think on problems.”
The IITian
We ask him about the difference between an IITian and someone from another college and why companies prefer IITians over others even though the others may have more sincerity and a better grasp of their subjects. He says: “IITians are unconventional in their methods. Even though they may not know something they have the confidence to look up a reference and do the job. In a sense, IITians are definitely smarter in the way they go about things. There is something about the education here that instills this into students.”
He compares the IITs to MIT and highlights the fact that we have a highly theoretical approach to studies. The learning lacks passion and due to the increasingly large size of classes, teachers find it difficult to manage research and teaching.Conclusion
We requested Prof. Bhargava to give a few tips to students on career choices. He says, “You should be able to do things you want to do even if it means taking a high paying job, saving money and then quitting to do what you really love. You should have the capacity to take risks and make decisions at the right time.”
We thank Sir for taking time off from his busy schedule to talk to us.(Chinmay Nivargi and Karthik Ramesh are respectively fourth year and third year students of the MEMS Department. They can be contacted at chinmayn@iitb.ac.in and rkarthik@iitb.ac.in)