While the MHRD-run Virtual Labs initiative has been responsible for achieving greater equity in education through its remote access to lab materials and equipment, it’s the latter’s backbone, the Virtual Labs Engineering and Architecture Division (VLEAD) at IIITH that has been steadily engineering a social impact among its staffers over the years.
Tallidaṇḍrulu illu, Telugu for the ‘parental home’, or the more commonly known Hindi equivalent ‘Maika’, evokes many an emotion in Indian women. Balamma Boya is no different, except that in her case, she calls the International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad her ‘parental home’. “It gave her the much-needed sanctuary that was lacking in her own home,” explains Priya Raman, Program Manager at VLEAD who has been Balamma’s mentor, confidante, mother figure and more all rolled into one.
Built Brick By Brick
Balamma is one of many students who made an excited albeit uncertain entry into IIITH in 2007 via a Post Graduate Diploma programme in Information Technology. The programme was an experiment initiated by Prof. Raj Reddy, Chairman of the Governing Council, IIITH and the then undivided state of AP. As per the scheme, selected candidates from 6 universities of rural AP were given the opportunity to study at select institutes in Hyderabad. “I got admission into Potti Sriramulu Telugu University at its satellite campus in Srisailam and after a preparatory course that lasted 45 days came to IIITH,” recalls Balamma. Up until then, all of her academic learning had taken place in Telugu and the transition to the English medium of learning was understandably challenging. An undeterred Balamma not only completed the course but also began an internship on an online multimedia project creating content for the newly minted Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies at RK Valley, AP. From a project whose emphasis was on upping the quality of IT education in engineering colleges via appropriate teacher training, it was not long before Balamma’s work segued into VLEAD – a Ministry of Human Resource Development’s initiative headed by Prof. Venkatesh Choppella.
Hands-on Approach
A college or university is associated with higher education but for Balamma, her extended innings at VLEAD is where the ‘real’ education happened. “All through school and college, the emphasis was on learning through books, but here is where I actually experienced ‘learning by doing”, she says. Calling it a “start-up project” that was barely a year-old when she joined VLABS as an intern post her BTech, Madhavi Puliraju agrees with Balamma. “It is here that I learned everything from scratch – from installing the OS, to the way it works, and to implementing the small features,” she says. With the focus then on maintaining the projects or labs, the VLEAD team worked on implementing PoCs that were showcased to the Government. It wasn’t until a budget was allocated and formal internships kicked off that new projects were created at the VLabs. Among those such as the creation of the Outreach portal and the Users Dashboard, Madhavi recalls the development of the bootable pendrive as the most memorable. “There was a minimum of 30 labs per pen drive that students could access over LAN, thereby providing the necessary resources to those in remote areas with no internet”.
To Sir, With Love
The second of three daughters, Madhavi was smitten by Information Technology and wanted to pursue it further with an MTech. However, the financial burden of her older sister’s wedding only compounded the strain her family was already facing. “My father is a ward boy at KIMS hospital and my mother used to iron clothes for a living,” she elaborates. Setting aside her dreams of a higher education, she enrolled for an internship at VLabs. Witnessing her grit and convinced by her dedication, Prof. Venkatesh Choppella actively encouraged her to sign up for an MTech degree in parallel. “I was allowed to work for 3 days at VLEAD and attend college on the other 3 days,” she says gratefully, adding that it allowed her to support her family financially. “My father used to cycle to work. One of the first things I did with the money I earned through my VLEAD stint was to acquire a scooter so he could commute with more ease,” she narrates.
Career Launch pad
“From what I can recall, there are more than 1K students who have had similar backgrounds and have shaped their careers. There are students from this program who are working in Silicon Valley too,” says Praveen Garimella who heads the Technology Department and Research wing of the Telugu Wikipedia initiative at IIITH. “All of them are software developers,” affirms Priya, adding that Virtual Labs gave everyone the independence to upskill themselves. “At one point, we used to goad them into attending classes on campus – whatever they were interested in.” It’s a fact that Madhavi acknowledges. “Our foundation in IT is so strong now thanks to the techniques taught by Prof. Choppella that we are confident we’ll be relevant in the job market for the next 20 years too regardless of the technology that comes in,” she says, even as she deftly leads a team at a leading multinational tech company. In Balamma’s case, she proved her mettle very soon by mentoring students under a Remote Internship Programme that was designed particularly for students from tier 2 and 3 engineering colleges. Her own background that they could all relate to so well not only made her approachable but also the perfect guide.
The spell at VLEAD though was more than just a resume-building exercise. On a 45-day trip to the North East where the interns underwent training sessions at IIT Guwahati, weekends were spent exploring the towns, soaking in the culture, and experimenting with local cuisine. “It was a big thing for me then – my first “trip” in life with my friends – because we were not financially well-off to go on vacations,” recounts Madhavi.
Meaningful Support
The path that has led to where all the VLEAD alumni is currently at has been far from easy – for both the mentors as well as the mentees. Priya Raman is candid when she talks about the steep learning curve. “From teaching them email etiquette, communication in English to just about everything took time and effort. Plus, we had our own deliverables too. But that’s how VLEAD supported a lot of people. And the likes of Balamma, Madhavi and others are living proof of that.”
The head of VLEAD, Dr. Venkatesh Choppella was convinced from the start that a fundamentals-based approach to building software systems was the only way to go. It shows both the strength of that approach and its impact in the success stories of Balamma and Madhavi among others. Evocative of the well-known saying that promotes self-reliance in individuals by “teaching a man to fish”, Priya underscores the importance of the right kind of opportunities to social progress. “Money can only serve one so much, but exposure to a world that exists outside a bubble (that they’re living in) goes a long way.” In a heartfelt and well-articulated email officially announcing her resignation from the VLEAD team in pursuit of a new position at a tech company, Balamma sums up for everyone in a single line: Whatever life I am having now, (it is) because of IIIT Hyderabad and all your support, guidance and help.
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