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5 ‘facts’ about engineering students

25 Nov

When it comes to STEM fields, many people rely on stereotypes that don’t always match up to the reality. We take a look at 5 ‘facts’ about engineering students, and see whether they are true or false. 1. They’re nearly all men Not quite all. The number of women enrolled in engineering colleges has doubled […]

Why Are Indian Students in Pursuit of a Western Education?

22 Nov

Being one of the growing number of CBSE students opting to go abroad for higher studies, I have been questioned on the same often. Questions like ‘Why abroad?’, ‘What is so different there?’, and ‘Is it not a wasteful expense?’ are staple in such conversations. The answer, however, is not something everyone can easily understand. […]

The dilemma of switching majors from undergrad to grad school

8 Nov

Photo of journalists with cameras by UNclimatechange

As an 18-year-old, stepping into college was one of the most awaited moments of my life. I majored in the sciences in 10+2, and enrolled in an engineering school soon after. What happened since then has dramatically changed my life. Undergrad school kicked off with some intense pressure for me right from the first semester. […]

Word Nerd: Should Your Valedictions be Sincere or Faithful?

7 Nov

In this Word Nerd, we are talking valedictions, which sounds fancy; cucumber-sandwiches-and-Earl-Grey-with-the-Queen-and-Archbishop-fancy. But it’s just Latin for farewell. As Robertson Davies once said, “When John Ryder, for instance, writes I utter valediction to the author of my being, he means simply that he said goodbye to his mother.” And farewells are as important in the […]

How to Nurture Your Child’s Passion – Advice for Parents

12 Oct

Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan is Executive Vice President and Chief Research and Innovation Officer of Knowledge Enterprise Development at Arizona State University. He is also a parent. As part of a conversation with BrainGain Magazine, he discussed the unique path his daughter took while deciding what she wanted to do with her life. He also talked […]

Libraries infuse magic into studying abroad

29 Sep

When we go abroad to study, of course we do so for academic reasons. But however serious you are about studies, the rest of life does not grind to a halt. Life can enrich your studies, and your studies can enrich life. And my experience has been that libraries enrich both. I went to graduate […]

How a homeschooled Mumbai teen won a scholarship to MIT

20 Sep

A 17-year-old girl from Mumbai with no formal schooling for the last four years just started her first semester at MIT. Her credentials? A-grade programming skills and three medals at the International Olympiad in Informatics. Malvika Raj Joshi’s story is an extraordinary one. Her story is about the happy coincidence of rare talent and good […]

Meet Cornell University’s 12-year-old Student: Jeremy Shuler

9 Sep

A 12-year-old boy just started with engineering classes at Cornell University this September. He is their youngest ever student and his name is Jeremy Shuler. His story has been extensively covered because it is astonishing to most of us. But, his parents, Andy and Harrey Jeong Shuler, recognized his unusual brilliance at an early age. […]

Word Nerd: 6 Tech Terms You Can Use Without Being a Techie

8 Aug

In an earlier Word Nerd, we emphasized how English as a language begs, borrows and steals. There, we talked about how its sources have been other languages – Hindi, German, French, Latin and so on. But, of late, it is the jargon of technology – articulated through the internet, science, and media, which is becoming […]

KWHS Global Young Leaders Academy – An Incredible Experience

21 Jul

So yesterday someone asked me to describe my experience in the KWHS Wharton Summer School. My reply was “extraordinary”, but now contemplating my reply, I realize that it cannot possibly be summarized in one word. Yes, the experience of staying in University of Pennsylvania and studying in the Jon Huntsman Wharton Building would be overwhelmingly […]