Jottings - Slice of life - 205 ( Ten intense days of tech and fun with my team )

Jottings - Slice of life - 205 ( Ten intense days of tech and fun with my team )
When I enrolled into NIIT as an ignorant and young student in the eighties, little did it cross my mind; nor in my wildest dreams has it ever occurred to me that one day I will be responsible for mentoring, channelizing and technically inspiring a group of energetic and enthusiastic teachers to lead the new wave of software education in NIIT nearly three decades later. My career as a technical evangelist has come a full circle. When I entered the meeting room today, a fairly senior mentor called me aside and asked “ Bala, How can I become like you? “. I was little taken aback by the question, but recovered quickly to answer “ you really dont have to be me; but more importantly you must be yourself and commit to mastering technology with zeal and passion. Thats all is needed”.
Over the last two weeks, at our headquarters in Delhi, we elevated the discourse on software fundamentals to new levels of understanding. Twenty odd mentors from different parts of the country were subjected to intense soul searching and intellectual cogitation. Concepts traditionally taken for granted were severely questioned, debated and freshly understood. Non-trivial problems, created during my time in flights over last two months, found it unwavering mark. It helped push our collective intellects to forge new pathways, sometimes tiring the participants to the point of frustration and indecision. Yet, each time, with undaunted persistence mentors were able to dig deep into themselves, create their own interpretation, and find an answer within its boundaries. It was joy to see flowers of wisdom blossom. What was originally slated as training program to teach a course, transformed itself into retraining oneself on how to think, how to question, how to learn and how to digest knowledge in an increasingly complex world of software development. It wasn’t an easy task given the fact that none of them have been challenged at this scale for a very long time. The good news is they responded to the challenge with great spirit and commitment. And that what matters!!
Along with large doses of tech talk, we built strong personal relationships. The very congenial atmosphere in NIIT naturally fosters such bonding. As an organization, we believe in working together towards a common goal, without sacrificing our individuality or madness. I also met with many senior leaders, our CEO - and all of them had enough time to talk, guide and advice on how we at NIIT should shape the future of IT education in India and elsewhere. It always amazes me on how much talent, experience and industry wisdom we possess in our leadership, when compared to many others in the industry. Each leader distills decades of experience into their work, and being close to them, it invariably rubs off on us too.
I attach some pics taken with my team. These are formal pics, but the spirit and warmth that pervades these pics is far beyond formality.
God bless…
Yours in mortality,
Bala








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