Barukula Snehitha Naga Sai and Kamma Samhitha are two brilliant third-year Computer Science Engineering students selected for the enviable Semester Abroad Programme (SAP) at the University of California, Davis. The students received a partial scholarship from SRM University-AP to complete their final semester abroad with the global study programme at UC Davis. The selection process for the semester abroad programme generally starts at the end of the 3rd and 5th semesters when our university carries out student interviews. A minimum of 8.7 CGPA is required to be eligible for the SAP scholarship and the programme focuses on building engineering design processes along with developing behavioural and communication skills of meritorious students.

The Study Abroad Programme provided Snehitha and Samhitha with the opportunity to cooperate with industrial designers. For practical hands-on experiences, Snehitha worked for the UC Davis school of nursing. Besides that, UC Davis promotes a variety of student clubs and technical programmes that bring students from all over the world together. This opportunity also helped students to live in a new culture and travel through different cities abroad. Prof Ragunathan and Dr Priyanka from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering constantly supported the students throughout their semester abroad journey at UC Davis.

For engineering graduates, technical skills and hands-on experience with industry is inevitable. SRM University-AP ensures that every student grabs opportunities to excel in their respective disciplines.

Snehitha extended her gratitude to all her professors at SRM University-AP who guided her to this achievement. “I really appreciate the curriculum structure at SRM AP that offers us practical knowledge rather than forcing us to memorise theories. The concrete understanding of the subject aided me greatly in learning about real-world problems, and accomplish this dream of studying a semester abroad”, she said.

This programme has taught me how to be adaptable, resilient and above all, how to make the best use of resources available. I have been and am fortunate to study from the best professors, both at SRM AP and UC Davis”, said Samhitha.

For Ajay Sugandh, securing admission to one of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) is a dream come true. Clearing the Common Admission Test (CAT) with a percentile of 90, he has bagged an admission offer at IIM, Ranchi. CAT is a national-level computer-based management entrance examination to reputed IIMs. More than 2 lakh candidates appear for the test and a few with a percentile of 90-99 secure a position on one of the IIM campuses.

IIM Ranchi is a reputed business school established in the year 2009 and is the ninth IIM in the country. It holds the 10th rank in the NIRF ranking. The eligibility of the candidates is evaluated through CAT, followed by the written eligibility test (WAT) and Personal Interview (PI).

Ajay Sugandh is a CSE graduate hailing from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. After completing an MBA from IIM, Ranchi, he wishes to pursue a career in Marketing. Ajay is trained by the TIME coaching institute that helped him crack the difficult test. He had prepared for a year and worked on soft skills, aptitude etc. His hobbies include watching movies and reading books.

Speaking of the support received from SRM University-AP, Ajay acknowledged, “Firstly, I am grateful to the faculty members of the Department of CSE who have been a constant support in reaching my goals. Secondly, the tremendous support from all my peers and family has encouraged me to manage my course CAT preparation together”.