Ex-IIT prof exhorts IHSE +2 students of Odisha to emulate Ajit Jain, Satya Nadella

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Aug 25: Youngsters raised in small places should dream big because nothing is impossible, eminent educationist and former director of IIT, Kharagpur, Prof Damodar Acharya said on Monday.

Think of Satya Nadella, presently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Microsoft, and Ajit Jain, who works with Warren Buffet, who had humble beginnings.

Jain, in fact, belonged to Sundargarh in Odisha and studied at IIT, Kharagpur, before moving to Harvard University, he said while addressing students of the Institute of Higher Secondary Education (IHSE), a Plus Two college run by the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) Trust.

“Even if you are from a small place, you can reach the pinnacle of success with hard work and sincerity,” Acharya, presently, the chairman of the Advisory Board of SOA University, said.

Prof Acharya said the IHSE should aim to help large number of students to study in the IITs as several schools were doing over the last few years.

“At least five of the students should get admission into world class institutions like the MIT or Stanford University,” he said.

Acharya said students who had studied in regional languages should not feel that those coming from public schools with English as the medium were more knowledgeable or smarter than them.

They should also prepare for the Tuffel test as it was accepted worldwide if they had to improve their chances of a better career, he said adding “don’t think that a career in engineering or medicine is the only option. There are very good options available in basic sciences, mathematics and law.”

The function was presided over by Dr RN Panda, principal of IHSE.