Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology Bhubaneswar: Interaction with Koustav Dutta (Alumnus)

Founded in 1992, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) is a private university located in Bhubaneswar. As per the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) KIIT University is ranked 20th in the university category in India. KIIT is recognised by UGC. KIIT University offers undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level courses in streams like engineering, management, science, computer applications, law, etc. Some of the programmes provided at the university are as follows: B.Tech, BCA, B.Sc, MBA, M.Tech, MCA. Candidates are required to meet the eligibility and go through the selection process for KIIT University admissions. The university offers scholarships to meritorious and weaker section students.

Careers360 brings you an interview with Koustav Dutta, Alumnus KIIT Bhubaneswar. Currently he is working as an Assistant General Manager (Data Analyst cum Data Scientist) at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP. He is also pursuing MBA from BITS Pilani under the sponsorship of Deloitte. In his interview to Careers360, Koustav Dutta shares his experience at KIIT Bhubaneswar. What was it like to be a part of KIIT? How did he choose this college? And other things about KIIT like admission process, placements, campus life and more. Know more about KIIT Bhubaneswar from an alumni perspective go through the complete interview of Koustav Dutta.

Careers360: Tell us about your domain and your work profile. At the professional level, did you pursue the same field you were interested in or you switched?

Koustav: I am working as an Assistant General Manager (Data Analyst cum Data Scientist) at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP at SA & MA: Analytics & Cognitive wing.

At Professional Level, I am quite satisfied with my work and I am pursuing work in the same field I was always interested in.

Careers360: Can you briefly tell us about your career path so far?

Koustav: I was selected to be part of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP from Campus Recruitment Programme of KIIT. I joined as an Executive in the company and after all the promotions for the last 3 years, I am now working as an Assistant General Manager at Deloitte. Besides, I am also an established Researcher and this journey of mine began from the R&D Lab at KIIT from my 1st Year itself. I have been associated and working with many established Researchers from all over India and I have published about 11+ Research Papers in International Journals & Conferences at USA, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, Netherlands etc. and I have been continuing the journey alongside till now. Also, I, after giving entrance exams, got selected to pursue MBA from BITS Pilani and I have been pursuing that under the sponsorship of Deloitte.

Careers360: Is the Industry work different from what you learnt at KIIT Bhubaneswar?

Koustav: I would have a mixed say on this. If I am speaking about the foundations, then obviously from the various subjects, training programmes offered to me during my college have a large part to play in my office work and they add much value to my work. Since, I work as a Data Analyst as well as a Data Scientist. The subjects of Signal Processing, Mathematics and much more play a vital role in it. Besides, the various interpersonal skills learnt by me in managing various programmes and events, clubs at college have immensely helped me to manage teams and carry out effective work as an Assistant General Manager too.

Careers360: How do you think your time in college has added value to your life, both professional and personal?

Koustav: KIIT has been pivotal behind my success both in professional as well as personal life. KIIT has provided me with all the academic knowledge, interpersonal skills development, design thinking, thought process and etiquette which has shaped me into an ambitious and successful professional in my career. Also, on a personal level, the success and failures, struggles, knowledge of identifying situations & acting accordingly etc all these have helped me a lot on a personal level to cope up in life and solve various complex situations in life.

Careers360: What was your initial thought process when you joined KIIT Bhubaneswar?

Koustav: KIIT has surprised me again and again right from the moment I joined the institution. Before joining, I did a thorough research on the university, but the small & fine details could only be experienced only when I joined it. Initially, although, I always had a positive view in my mind regarding KIIT.

Careers360: You must have spent a memorable time at KIIT Bhubaneswar. Do you miss being a part of it? Share a few good memories.

Koustav: Yes, absolutely. I miss being a part of it. The very first memory which crosses my mind is when I was introduced to a Futuristic R&D Lab of Intel in our University by one of my beloved & respected professor. That day was like heaven for me and the advanced Machines, Microcontrollers, MR based Headsets, Smart Mirrors etc were all casting a magical spell on me.

Another memorable thought which crosses my mind is when I got the opportunity to be the Coordinator in KIIT Annual Fest which was really a thrilling, challenging, exciting event and it taught as well as helped me to develop into the person I am today as it helped a lot in the development of my Management, Communication and all other Interpersonal Skills. I enjoyed it a lot and each & every moment still captures my mind space a lot.

Careers360: Briefly take us through your life at the campus, the activities you used to do and your routine life.

Koustav: My life at campus was very much enjoyable to me as it depends from person to person in the way one leads campus, his/her expectations from it and the things that makes one happy. If I speak of myself, the atmosphere of peer to peer learning, discussing various innovative ideas with one another, conducting practical experiments & projects openly along with some music, cultural activities etc. captured my attention and made me a lot happier.

I was always curious about technology, the way things work, finding out the WHATS, WHYs, HOWs behind everything that exist. So, in that aspect, my daily life routine included attending the classes everyday where the professors were more than welcoming to clear doubts, be friendly and explain everything both theoretically and making us understand practically through various Lab Experiments. Next, after class, since I was an undergraduate Researcher at that time working in various R&D Labs of the university, I was involved in those labs innovating new techs and playing with them throughout the day until night. Yeah, there were days of exception too, when various Cultural Events were organized in the University and I went to attend and enjoy my evening spending time there and sometimes participating too. And lastly after having meals, I used to enjoy my time gossiping with my friends, studying and sometimes watching movies or playing computer games as well and consequently having a tight sleep.

Careers360: Apart from academics, what were the other activities you were involved in and how did it enrich your life?

Koustav: As I already mentioned earlier, I was part of some other clubs like Fine Arts Club, Robotics Club, E-Lab, Aeronautics Club, Theatre Club too. And I was also involved in KIIT Fest too at a time. All these helped me to enrich my management skills, communication skills and other interpersonal skills. These have further helped me in my professional life and I have been able to integrate and make use of these experiences to lead my personal as well as professional life fruitfully.

Careers360: How did you keep updated with the industrial requirements and what was the role of the institute in it?

Koustav: As, I already mentioned, there are world class research & development labs at KIIT sponsored by big MNC firms like Intel, Cypress Semiconductors, Microchip, Samsung, Texas Instruments, National Instruments etc. and these labs are equipped with advanced microcontrollers, devices, system on chips and various other equipments which are being used in industry and these are at par with the standards of leading foreign universities too. Moreover, almost every month, executives and industry experts from various MNCs, training Centres etc. visit the University and conduct seminars, trainings, conferences, workshops etc and in this way the young minds at the university are trained & kept updated with various technologies used in Industry and they are taught to work on those too. This is a huge boost for any student studying at KIIT.

Careers360: You are a proud alumnus of this top College. What was the best part of KIIT from a student's perspective?

Koustav: The best parts of the university are:

• Excellent learning atmosphere.

• Extremely talented, qualified , friendly & cooperative faculties.

• World class infrastructure (classrooms, libraries, buildings, labs, gardens, and all)

• 24x7 access to free internet and all kinds of national as well as international learning resources.

• Huge scope for extra curricular activities and the best part is one can make a career out of KIIT itself by being involved whole heartedly in these clubs and societies.

• World class level sports infrastructure and coaching facilities (Olympians & World champions train at KIIT and various World Championships as well as National Championships happen here).

• Great food & lodging facility at hostels.

Careers360: What is your suggestion/guidance for the aspirants?

Koustav: Enjoy whatever you do. Do it with passion. Do it wholeheartedly so that it does not seem like any work you do but you feel like doing it forever with a bright smile. Don’t ever get distracted from your goal. There will be many distractions coming your way. Learn to tackle these and reach your ultimate goal.

Disclaimer: This content was distributed by KIIT Deemed to be University and has been published as part of Careers360’s marketing initiative.

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