Student of the Fortnight – Punay Mehra

Not very often do professionals with work experience gain clarity regarding their career path from the everyday tasks they perform at work. But Punay differed from the very start. It was his first job that helped him understand as well as appreciate data and its many interpretations. It led him to take interest in data science and land a job with the world’s top research company, Nielsen.

Punay’s journey from drafting data about microscopic organisms to improving the efficiency of an entire organizational process is inspiring and for this reason, we are proud to crown him Manipal ProLearn’s Student of the Fortnight.

 

From AIIMS to aiming higher

Punay worked at the microbiology research department at AIIMS where he handled tons of data and worked with software used by World Health Organization. As he gained more experience at AIIMS, Punay felt the need to enhance his knowledge about data analysis and aim for higher roles. Punay set forth armed with a strong analytical approach towards everything big or microscopic along with his exceptional interpersonal skills.

Zooming in to find the best data science course

Having a graduate degree in MCA, Punay began his hunt for certification courses in upcoming technologies like big data analytics, AI, R and Python. With a fine eye for detail, Punay evaluated the job opportunities, salary packages and course structure offered by different data science institutes in India.

“I got to know about the Manipal data science arm, which covered most of the topics of my interest,” said Punay.  So he enrolled for the Post Graduate Diploma in Data Science program at Manipal ProLearn.

Diving in with a game plan

Punay shared that his expectations before joining ProLearn consisted of landing a job with a good salary package as well as getting advanced training in the latest tools and technologies that are in-demand across industries. He confided that though his expectations were higher than what he could achieve, he is satisfied with a job from Nielsen and looks forward to forging a strong career ahead.

Analytical approach to instrumental contribution

At Nielsen, Punay is putting all his learnings together to practice by automating and standardizing processes that were done using traditional methods before. He aims to optimize productivity by improving accuracy and reducing employee effort and time. Interestingly, at an individual level, these are the exact same qualities that can help succeed with exceptional results.

Looking back, Punay cherishes his time at Manipal and remembers his hostel life the most. He also feels proud to have participated in Manipal’s International Datathon organized by Data ScienceSociety.

Punay recalls even after he got the news of making it through Nielsen’s placement interview, he kept the news to himself and waited for two days before he received an official confirmation mail from the company. He recalls that those were the longest two days for him.

The first person Punay called after the confirmation was his grandmother. Following that he gave a pleasant surprise to his family by breaking the news of his placement to them. They were more than relieved and happy to see their son’s efforts pay off in the best possible way.

We congratulate Punay for his amazing feat and hope he goes the distance to scale new heights.