SP Jain: How have your professional experiences shaped your current competencies (feel free to elaborate)

I believe my professional experiences have significantly shaped my competencies of analytical skills, communication skills and adaptability.

My work involves the research, design and development of algorithms based on mathematics and physics. This requires analytical evaluation of prior work already available, and adapting them to our particular application. For instance, when asked to work on a project for motion tracking, evaluating the suitability of prior work showed that the assumptions underlying them did not always hold true in our context. However, using this prior work as a foundation helped me develop a modified method which was suitable to our product. Further, verifying the integrity of the results required me to perform extensive data analysis and mathematical modeling. In general, since most of my projects involve this analyse-modify-verify process, I have become comfortable with my analytical skills.

Although much of my work involves sitting behind a desk, I do sometimes take the opportunity to step outside and meet the customers (dentists) who use the product. These interactions not only help me gain satisfaction from seeing my work in action, but also give me the opportunity to explain advanced techniques that improve their user experience. Most importantly, since the dentists are non-engineers and are not familiar with the technology, interacting with them has shown me the importance of conveying my thoughts clearly, rationally and in a simple and comprehensible manner. It has also helped me develop the tendency to respect differing opinions, and to understand the other person’s perspective. As such, I believe these interactions have significantly helped me improve my communication skills.

The multiplicity of ideas required to develop a novel product can only come from a collaborative effort. Further, these ideas are not always guaranteed to work, and flexibility is required for continuous evaluation and course-correction. This was particular evident while trying come up with a new technique for comparing teeth structures. Although I had made significant progress I had got stuck on a problem that I couldn’t solve by myself. Taking my supervisor’s advice, I called a meeting of interested employees to brainstorm over the issue. Much to my surprise, I received enthusiastic constructive suggestions that showed me the flaws in my approach and set me in the right direction. This valuable feedback from unexpected quarters showed me the importance of consultation, collaboration and adaptability, and I have followed this principle ever since.