SSE’s Network Engineer and resident Tech Expert, Shilpi Ma’am was interviewed by Arthniti a few months back. Over the course of the interview, Ma’am gave us an insight into her personality and work. Providing invaluable support to all of SSE’s ventures, Shilpi Ma’am is fiercely proud of the niche that she’s carved for herself in a field dominated by men. Read on to find out more about Ma’am and her work.
When asked whether she had picked up any tidbits of economics during her time at SSE, Shilpi Ma’am cheerily laughs and says, ‘No! I just know my codes and computers. But, yes if there is one thing I’ve always heard my colleagues say it’s - Models! Models! Models!
Professor Shilpi Singh is SSE’s Network Engineer and teaches IT skills to both BSc and MSc students. She uses her expertise to ensure that SSE’s tech resources are always in pristine condition, supporting the faculty and students alike. Be it skillfully leading the IT Team at SSE’s conferences or solving an Excel query of a hapless TY, Shilpi Ma’am is there through it all.
Picture courtesy Shilpi Ma'am
Arthniti met with her, a few months back, with the objective of getting to know Ma’am a bit better. Ma’am is from Lucknow and shifted to Pune post her marriage. What does she miss the most about Lucknow? “Well, my parents of course, but I also miss the food!” We were delighted to know that Ma’am was just like us - after all who doesn’t miss home food (especially if it’s the delectable kebabs of Lucknow)?
In school, Ma’am developed a liking and passion for Math and Computers. While she would score well in other subjects, she was irrevocably drawn to the logic-driven tools and techniques of those 2 subjects - “I did not like mugging up!” quips Ma’am. She was eager to take her love for the subjects further by specializing in them through her further studies. However, the BSc Mathematics program at Lucknow University did not include any subjects related to Computer Science. Determined to pursue her passion, Ma’am simultaneously enrolled for a Bachelors in Computers through IGNOU. In this way, Ma’am simultaneously completed two degrees!
Reflecting on her college days, Ma’am remarked that she would barely have any time to attend family functions for she would be tied up with her academic commitments to two degrees. “One degree’s exam would get over and then I would start studying for the other degree’s exams!” Ma’am continued juggling two degrees at the postgraduate level too - Ma’am did an MSc in Maths and Computer Science. But Shilpi Ma’am assures us (with a twinkle in her eye) that despite her hectic schedule, she too would have her share of fun (Ma’am shares that she has bunked classes with her friends!). Ma’am also adds that she was very active in extracurriculars. She regularly participated in club activities and volunteered for college events with gusto.
Shilpi Ma’am tells us that she never set out to become a teacher originally. However, she had always enjoyed teaching. Her first job was in a school where she taught Math and Computer Science to fifth graders, later moving on to UG and PG students. Her current profile at SSE combines both teaching as well as technical responsibilities, and she is very happy that she gets to do both. At this point, we were curious to know what Ma’am felt about the dearth of women taking up STEM careers. As someone in a technical field, did she perceive any bias? To this, Shilpi Ma’am believes that there does tend to be a gender bias in the tech community. She argues that it is simply wrong to think that women are not ‘suited’ for fields such as Hardware and Networking. Everyone should be allowed to pursue what they are passionate about, just as she pursued her passion for Math and Computers.
Coming to hobbies, Shilpi Ma’am tells us that she loves cricket. While she doesn’t get the time these days to watch full-fledged matches, there was a time when she would set alarms and wake up early to catch a match taking place in Australia or New Zealand. Such is her love for cricket, that she has even bunked lectures to catch a match! Apart from that Ma’am likes to unwind by listening to music. Ask her if she has any favourite programming language, Ma’am laughs and says that it is probably C++ as she has studied it extensively and used it the most. She is also happy to note that her love for numbers and IT has passed on to her daughter as well; her favourite subjects in school are Math and Computer Science as well.
When asked if there should be any change in the way Computers is introduced and taught to children, Ma’am observes that schools nowadays teach a lot of topics that she herself studied only later in college. She feels that the subject should be taught from a practical bent with a focus on imparting important skills to students that can be used in the future. This extends to programming languages as well. Java or Python should not be taught just because they are ‘there’; rather their practical applications should be emphasized.
On a parting note, Ma’am advises us to never lose sight of who we are. She cautions against doing something out of compulsion and believes that whatever one does, one should be happy and truly love the task at hand. Being true to yourself is all that matters!
We thank Ma’am for sparing her valuable time for this interview, for her kind advice and for motivating us to pull up our socks and work harder.