How a UPES student transcended all barriers in her quest for learning

An avid traveller, a school level badminton champion and a dreamer, Shruti Srivastava bagged the prestigious IGIDR summer internship in July 2019 and went for an exchange program to the University of Alberta, Canada, in the same year

In today’s highly competitive world, knowledge is the key to success. Your success depends upon how much you know and how well you can apply your learnings in real-life situations. Shruti Srivastava, an alumna of the UPES School of Business, shares her journey of unforgettable experiences, learning and change.  

How did you bag the prestigious internship at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research?

I deem it as an honour to have gotten the opportunity to intern at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai. It is an advanced research institute established and fully funded by the Reserve Bank of India for researching development issues from a multi-disciplinary point of view.

A student’s success depends on many variables – his or her efforts are crucial but other factors like a supportive family, professors and friends as well as resources also play an important role. I hail from Sitapur, a small town in Uttar Pradesh, and it was entirely my father’s encouragement and support that motivated me to chase my dreams with full rigour. He gave me the mantra of hard work and positive thinking.

After my graduation in Mathematics, I decided to pursue UPES School of Business because not many universities offer this specialized program.

Several analytical subjects are part of the course, which helped me understand the practicality of this domain. Through continuous guidance by the accomplished professors, distinguished guest interactions and discussions with my peers, I developed an active interest in data-driven analytical work and its usage in business problems.

As a Student Placement Representative (SPR), while searching for internship opportunities for my classmates, I came across IGIDR internships. I applied for it with the help of my mentors and owing to my strong understanding of various econometric software and a strong analytical background, I got selected.

How was your experience at IGIDR?

The experience at IGIDR was incredible in terms of learning and gaining a new outlook towards life. Only ten students get selected every year for two months to work on projects with the most sought-after subject matter experts in IGIDR.

During my internship, I made a report on ‘Energy Consumption and Energy Intensity trends of the Economy using Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index Method’ deploying 12-year data. My understanding of the subject increased 10 folds in two months. Resultantly, my research capabilities improved. The exhaustive mathematical approach as well as applying that approach on datasets made my mind more analytical.

Because of my high pointers, I got the opportunity to study at the University of Alberta, Canada, in September 2019 as part of the Student Exchange Program of UPES. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There was at least one project or presentation deadline every week. We were offered separate hours for meeting the faculty to get our doubts cleared. The classroom sessions were interactive and based on real-world problems.

Everything was going well, however, unfortunately, I lost my father when I was on the verge of completing my exchange program. It devastated me completely, but I gathered myself with the help of my family, friends and mentors and went on to crack the job interview at Saigal SeaTrade, Mumbai and got placed successfully.

The internship at the University of Alberta made me realize my hidden potential and strengths. I learned that there is a solution to every problem in this world.

What is your message for the alma mater and the generation next?

I owe my success to the experiences I had at the UPES School of Business – I was the SPR of my class, member of  the ‘Urjaa’ team, participated in research and was supported by the faculty members. I would suggest all my juniors to explore all possible fields and figure out their interests. Remember to be passionate, determined and diligent in whatever you do; an appropriate reward will follow.

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