INTERVIEW WITH MR. MUHAMMAD ZULFI KHAN (INFO EDGE)

INTERVIEWED BY:- Racktim Patar AND Prakhar Shrivastav

1.  What are your opinions and views about ABV-IIITM?

Well, I would like to say that this institute has got many good students with good coding skills which is very essential for us, since we hire software engineers. Apart from coding skills,  students here have knowledge of big data architecture too which is also very important.

2. When did you join info-edge and what has been your mindset since then?

It has been two and a half years. And for me it’s all about hiring best engineers from prominent institutes like IITs NITs and IIITs. We always search for the best talents so that we can improve our websites and satisfy our customers.

3. Where do you see IIITM in the near future?

Well, I can’t predict, because it all depends on the students. Ranking of the institute can only improve if you do something different and stand apart from other institutes.

4. What are the qualities you look for in a student to be recruited?

Basic programming knowledge is essential. But more than that what is required is learning ability. If you have knowledge which is not refreshed now and then, it might not be of much use; but if you don’t know, say a language, but still can learn it, it is much better.

5. How do you rate the competitors of your company?

Considering our websites, naukri.com has no notable competitor since we have 80% of the market in our hands. Sites like monsterindia.com are lagging far behind. Our matrimonial website jeevansathi.com is running pretty good but we have competition from shaadi.com and bharatmatrimonial.com. 99acres.com is also flourishing even if in tough competition with magicbrics.com and housing.com.

6. Being the owners of prominent websites like naukri.com, shiksha.com etc., what do you believe is your success mantra?

I think our success mantra is innovation and adapting to new technology. For example, the internet traffic has shifted from desktop to mobile. So we have also introduced mobile apps of our websites which are a huge success.

7. Where do you see your company in the coming 5 years?

Indian economy is undergoing a positive change after the coming in of the Modi government. This, itself is the confidence of every Indian. As the economy booms, more job opportunities will come and it will reflect in our products also.

8. How do you think that your pressure handling capabilities have changed over time after joining the company?

Pressure handling has a direct link with work experience. Once you go up the ladder, it becomes easier to handle pressure and to come up with solutions. Being a beginner, you might ask for help from seniors and friends but once you gain experience you begin to handle things by yourself.

9. Do you prefer to have experienced employees or fresher’s?

For successful functioning of a firm, a balance of both is required. But having more experienced people can turn the pyramid of employees upside down, i.e. lots of people to handle and very less people to be handled.

10. It is often seen that students with good knowledge in information technology often get low GPA due to curriculum or other such reasons. So what do you prefer, their talent or higher GPA of another student?

About the reason of low GPA being the curriculum, I’ll say that students have to go through it before choosing their college itself. But we not only look for GPA, we also compare it with their 10th and 12th standard board marks. If all the scores are below average, there is no scope of the person being a good performer.

11. Can you share any experience of yours which always put a smile on your face, thinking of it?

During my post-graduation days, we used to collect funds from cooperatives and used it to deposit school fees of underprivileged children. I always cherish it as a wonderful experience.

12. What have you found in our institute that sets us apart, something like a tagline for our institute?

Whenever we come, we find birds and other wildlife around which cannot be found in any other place. Today itself I came to see a peahen with its ten children around it. Such kind of natural beauty is not so common in other technology institutes.

Editor-HARITHA S

Behind the camera-Komaturi Avinash

INTERVIEW OF ---- RAJEEV PRATAP SINGH

INTERVIEWED BY:- GAURAV AGARWAL AND YASH PRAJAPATI

Q) Sir, you got your degree from this institute only and now today you are here doing recruitment of the students. How does it feel?

A) I got my degree from here only in 2013. I would say that it was great to be a part of this institute which gave me the platform from where I became a part of HCL.   

Q) So according to you what are the best things here and also what are those things on which we need to work on?

A) The best thing is here we get a very good exposure to technology. The students here are technically sound. From yesterday we are doing recruitment and we found that the students have a good technical knowledge.

The things on which you need to work on are your self-confidence and communication skills because being in corporate world, you must have an optimum potential to express yourself in front of people.

Q) There are such students also who don’t know English or they are a little weak in it, so what about them?

A) Actually, I was also from state board, so the same problem was with me too but when I realised its importance, I started to work on it.

I would say that you can do simple things like when you are watching an English movie, turn the subtitles off and then try to understand and if you face problem you can again switch them on. Try speaking in front of a mirror, at first you will laugh but eventually seriousness will come. Read English novels of any author or of whichever type. These things really help.

Q) To what extent does CGPA really matter?

A) Actually, yes it matters. It’s not like you should be a 9 or 10 pointer but you must have knowledge about other subjects and other things too, then only you can be an efficient product.

Q) Do you believe ‘hire and fire rule’ of the companies is right? Does HCL also follow it?

A) No I don’t think that it’s right & HCL does not follow it. In our company it has never happened that anyone has been fired liked that only. If people leave then it is by their will like for research work etc.

Q) According to you, in what aspects do we lag behind from leading IITs?

A) As per leading IITs, they are more focussed on applied research. The work should not be done only for publishing it, you must do it with interest, thinking about their practical usages too.

PHOTOGRAPHER – RISHWANTH

EDITOR- RAMAN PRABHAKAR

INTERVIEW ---- 'VIONA QUADROS'

• INTERVIEWED BY:- GAURAV AGARWAL AND YASH PRAJAPATI  

Q) Ma’am, how does it feel to be a part of a company which is of Indian Origin, standing firmly before the foreign giants?

     A) I joined HCL only a month ago and when I entered there they gave me a great project on AI (Artificial Intelligence) and they even called foreign professors to train us in this field. So yes I feel great to be a part of such a company which focuses on emerging technologies.

Q) Will you tell us about your journey and efforts from an ordinary person to being a part of such a leading brand?

     A) Initially I started like everyone else i.e. by doing programming and all. Later on I realised that it is not just about programming, you also need to explore new technologies coming out. We should not just stick to any one language. Like if you know C, try learning JAVA, Android etc.

Q) How far do you think that the syllabus being taught in Indian colleges is sufficient?

     A) I agree that the syllabus is not just enough and that’s why I would say that you should always take part in technical fests and things like that, which I came to know are well taken care of in this institute. These things were not there in my college. They prove to very beneficial.Students can also take projects from outside to work on, this is again very helpful.

Q) Do people get a chance to explore even when they are in a job?

     A) According to me, you can explore as much as you want. When I joined, I went on learning Node JS, there a person came and told me that that’s not how you learn. It’s a research oriented job and we should know how it’s done. We should go in depth and not stick to what’s known but must think  about the different possibilities & that’s what job profile is today.

Q) Ma’am, what is more important- CGPA or Talent, as a person might be very good in coding but not so in some other subjects?

      A) Talent is of course more important but CGPA shows your overall performance. Being good in coding is just not enough. You should be sound in other subjects too like Maths which is also very important. I mean only 60% marks are enough and I don’t think it’s a great deal.

Q) How do you find our institute to be-  the campus, the students, etc?

     A) It is very nice- so clean & green and I am impressed by the technical skills of the students.

Q) Anything that you want to suggest or advice the students of IIITM?

     A) I just want say that ‘If you love what you do, you’ll be successful’.

• PHOTOGRAPHER- RISHWANTH
• EDITED BY- RAMAN PRABHAKAR

MAD – Made A Difference among IIITM

Date: September 3,2015

Organisers: Akshit Agrawal & Devansh Verma

Wow, no other introductions could strike my mind after the MAD introductory sessions. MAD – Make A Difference is an organization trying to impart education to the underprivileged. After class sessions , these events are usually a matter of reluctance for our batch mates. Though it started in a similar fashion, things turned out to  be much more different. First Mr. Nalin was introduced. He started out with, “A picture is worth a thousand words and a video is worth a thousand pictures.” The video narrated the really interesting experience they had when the first lady of USA had a visit to MAD. Then he explained the various initiatives MAD has undertook as an organization. Then we had brief and crisp experiences from two active members of MAD. Then they introduced their recent event: The Backathon. Here almost 1500 people are expected to walk backwards as a shot at spreading awareness on illiteracy. This is expected to break the world record. With some widely accepted invitations to the Backathon, we are sure that both the hosts and the audience went home happy. Finally, the old proverb says “Education is not a pail to be filled but a fire to be lit.” I am sure MAD is doing the above and will continue to light more of them.

BACKATHON

To know more about MAD work in Gwalior ; Visit : http://makeadiff.in/cities/gwalior/