Today, as part of a career-connect program, we, the students of IGCSE Year 1 to IBDP Year 2 had the honour to perceive from and interact with a highly distinguished personality, Mr. Sundararajan Thirumalai, an expert in the field of Material Sciences, who obtained his degree from Anna University before being awarded a scholarship from the European commission agency to partake in a master’s program taking place in France and Germany. His qualifications in his field are endless with a Master’s degree and PhD in Material Sciences, to being employed by Cambridge University to work on research and development.
To hear from such an inspirational persona about his experiences in Cambridge and about his passion for his field was truly an admiration and many of the students took advantage of this exceptional opportunity. His expertise in the field was very evident in his detailed and fascinating presentation. He explained to us the basics of the field, relating to what we are taught here in school, and moving on to an in-depth explanation of what he himself researches in a way that peaked our curiosity and the students who are interested in pursuing a career in Chemistry have certainly received a confidence boost now that they have seen and heard from one of the many successful people in this industry. In addition to his explanation about material sciences and polymer technology, another area that he focused on was the entertaining social life of Cambridge University. He explained how the social and open atmosphere of the college was crucial in inspiring chemical theories and how being part of an informal social group was necessary for the students to be successful in their fields. This definitely made the prospect of enrolling in a college in a foreign land much easier to deal with for our fellow students.
In all, the experience was very motivating for all of us who might feel a little directionless and we are very grateful to have an enlightening opportunity like this.
Athira Nair
IBDP Year 1
