Borrowed from SAMPADA old editions – for the 10th Anniversary Special Issue – Interviews section. This one is of Dr P Deepa Shenoy, 1983 batch.
As we headed on a breezy afternoon for a candid interview with one of the most visible, famous and activity prone faculty in UVCE, Dr. P Deepa Shenoy ( Dr. PDS ), Professor at Dept of Electrical Engineering, Branch Counsellor of IEEEUVCE, Chirperson of Woman In Engineering wing of IEEE Bangalore, Placement Officer in UVCE Placement Office, she was busy making arrangements for her journey to Egypt, the next day, for an international paper presentation contest. The associations and responsibilities speaks volumes about her achievements and contributions to UVCE. The IEEE room where we had initially taken seat was abuzz with activity plans as students hopped in and out, with enthusiasm and joy, something which has been developed over the years, under the leadership of Dr. PDS.
As she sneaked time out of her busy schedule, we got started off for a lively conversation with her. When quipped about her, early career, her eyes lit up and she said, ” I am associated with UVCE for the past 32 years, as an undergrad student during 1978-1983, a post grad student between 1983-1986, a temporary lecturer and a full time faculty with Electrical Engineering Department.”
Her quest for learning and higher and more advanced studies didn’t stop just at that. She obtained her MS in Systems and Information from the Bits Pilani and completed her PhD (Computer Science) under Dr. VKR, Principal of UVCE. As she continues, she had few words about journey so far with UVCE, “Available quality time, respected teachers and i had maintained distance with them during student life. I wanted to change the system, with firm line of difference b/w students and teachers, even though interaction/ friendly attitude has to be present. My guide VKR had tremendous influence on me imbibing toughness, dedication and meeting deadlines.”
She says UVCE carries a wave of influence in her and it is the quality of students who come here, quality of work and managing life at office and at home is the best thing this college offers. Isn’t it the perfect working environment! The students with out of the box thinking coupled with freedom to pursue whatever they want and flexibility adds up to the best things about UVCE and at the same time, she also expresses her disappointment at the speed with which processes are being implemented. As we all know, there is no perfect system and all we can do is to go in the direction of perfection.
We shifted our focus at the office we were sitting then, The IEEEUVCE office, also her personal room given to her by the department. It is a hub of activities from various fields. She says, ” IEEE was started in 2001 and was a huge success. However the registrations dwindled due to recession and other factors. Attracting students was the main challenge she encountered. She says, “Research flare is different from studies and is on the basis of student’s interest. 3rd sem UG students start the initial work with a training for an year – with basic knowledge, keywords, asked to know in depth about the area of research and come 5th sem they start implementing the ideas they’ve thought of. They work day in and day out. Guided by brilliant minds, these students with good attitude towards learning and bound by principles, set out to implement things and have shown results.”
She says IEEEUVCE offers students with variety of tasks, each of them, are knowledge bases. Impetus, the national level technical fest, KAGADA – a national level paper presentation contest, WIE to encourage research flare in girls, Ripple activities – comprising of aptitude tests, t-shirt designing and many such small, innovative activities. All these activities and events imbibe leadership skills, builds confidence and gives the students the much needed exposure into the best things of every college-goers.
Then a student and the chairperson of IEEEUVCE, Krishna speaks up to say, ” Learning apart from the normal curriculum ( from small things to organizing events) and learning applications of theory, is an amazing experience. Experience counts, and true to have edge over others. I consciously cannot say the amount of learning i have received from IEEEUVCE. It is immense.” Another voluteer, Tejus, says, ” After being with IEEEUVCE for the past 2 years, he can sense the positive between the 18 year old Tejus and the Tejus, now.! “
Research activities are one pillar of IEEEUVCE, with many students participating and working together to quench their thirst for knowledge. Various clubs are active and delivering results, such as, Robotic Clubs, Programmers Club and Ripples Club. The extensive research work results in a technical paper, most of which have been, upon presentations, are well acclaimed in international and national level paper presentation contests. Various fields under which students are brainstorming include Image processing, Data Mining, Networks etc. She says, “Future for research is always bright and in her organization, quality is given more importance than the number of students, just being part of the organization to do nothing.” She asks alumni to actively involve in research collaborations, providing support for procuring required research related equipments, knowledge sharing, infrastructure development for research” . We too sound a ringing bell to all our alumni to have a look at this and help in whatever way they can think off.
From the IEEEUVCE office, we headed towards one more, active, very important, pivotal organization in UVCE, UVCE Placement Office, which she heads too. When asked, why UVCE PO is so famous and important, she says, “No PO, No UVCE..! UVCE is recognized by placements other than low fees. Many are dependant on campus offers, which change their family life“. This indeed is true and we too were in the same frame of mind too. The UVCE PO works with a motto to place each and every student. With the heritage, history and talent base of college, companies flock to our campus.
She says, “UVCE PO is very different from other college POS, since complete maintenance is done by Placement Coordinators under the guidance from PO. Talk/Mail to the companies, Manage the office, Finance, Divide the companies among themselves – with a healthy competition. It is a unique arrangement with PCs doing most of the work without full fledged office personals. At present, the placements for the batch 2011 is in full swing, with 80 companies expected to visit our campus.”
She has full praises for the placement coordinators, saying that UVCE PO is the last office to close in college and placed right next to the Principal’s office. It makes them very tough as all the events in the college will need PC’s help right through from start to end. The college loads the PCs with maximum responsibilities, builds organizing and management skills and most importantly, their own classmates criticize them if they fail to match expectations. A PC then speaks up to say, “We’re tough since we manage the office and also their academics. Time management, dialogue between the companies, crisis management, planning and gathering crowd are some of the qualities we learn“.
As we tell her, that we would like to take leave since we’re done with the interview. We stand for a snap with the PCs and madam herself. One thing struck me and jumped back to ask her was, “You are seen as the most active faculty and a delightful persona. What has motivated you to involve in doing all these. Managing two important offices! “, for which she cleverly sums it up saying, “My zodiac sign is Leo, which means I’m a born leader! More so, I enjoy the challenge of handling administrative work. You won’t learn until you take the responsibility and work for it. I enjoy the challenges that these things throw at me. Moreover I’m learning too, heading two important bodies in UVCE, research work, guiding students, my home and the association presidency. What more can I ask for..! “
We come out after an inspiring interview with Dr. P Deepa Shenoy, an admirable personality.
