UPES provided opportunities for holistic development; proud to join the Indian Army

Secured an All India Rank – 2 in in the order of merit in Computer Science Engineering for Technical Graduate Course -132 entry of Indian Army

I joined UPES School of Computer Science in the year 2016 to pursue under graduation in B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering with specialisation in Business Analytics and Optimization. The specialisation I chose imparted core knowledge about data analysis for business applications. The course curriculum equipped me in areas of data mining technology to identify various patterns useful in predicting different business outcomes. The specialisation gave an insight into the technique to sync an organisation’s operations with industry demands and benefit from the upcoming opportunities.

While I was in UPES, I became a part of various student chapters and clubs and started participating in several competitions. With constant efforts and motivation and support from UPES faculty and fellow members, I was appointed at different positions and became the Chairman of Computing Machinery Student Chapter in my fourth year.

Participating in these extracurricular activities gave me a lot of exposure and prepared me for future challenges. 

UPES faculty members are experts in their subject and provide students with a multi-disciplinary, holistic, and a unique framework of learning. I was fortunate enough to work with them in various research-related projects.  

Year 2018 sparked my journey to explore the Defence Services. Officials from ‘Drishti’ of the Indian Air Force came to our campus to share offers from the Services and their experiences. Being the grandson of an Army Brigadier and motivational talk by Drishti officials, helped in my decision making to join the Defence Services.

Extensive research during undergraduation on how to prepare oneself to succeed in written examinations and SSB (Service Selection Board) helped me in clearing and achieving my goals. During SSB interview, I was judged on my analytical skills, intelligence, and personality. There was a psychological and a personal interview as well. 

In September 2020, I got a call to appear for SSB (INET) for the Indian Navy, Bengaluru. In November 2020, I got a call to appear for TGC entry for Indian Army, Kapurthala, and for Indian Air Force (AFCAT), Gandhinagar. My happiness knew no bounds when I was recommended by all three Services Selection.

The merit list for TGC entry to Indian Army prestigious training institution viz., India Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, was declared and in the order of merit in Computer Science and Engineering I secured All India Rank – 2. It was a dream come true.

I would like to advice my juniors to set goals for themselves and then start preparing to achieve the same. It may be Services or any other domain, but to fulfil their passion and dreams, they have to stay updated on current affairs, general knowledge, basic engineering, mathematical and logical reasoning skills. They should also work on themselves to enhance their personality with good communication skills which are extremely important to clear any competitive exams. 

(The writer is an alumnus of UPES School of Computer Science)