Madras Section
Ms. Indhumathi Gunasekaran is an Associate Software Engineer at Accenture, India. She completed her Bachelor in Engineering in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Panimalar Institute of Technology (PIT), Chennai, India. She is currently serving in the roles of Regional Student ambassador of Region 10, Publicity and Promotions Lead of IEEE WIE International Leadership Summit 2020, Member of PELS Students Sub-committee, Member of PELS Women in Engineering, Founding Chair of Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society and IEEE Brand Ambassador. She has served as the Section lead of IEEEXtreme 14.0, Student Chapter Ambassador of Power and Energy Society, Chairperson of Computer Society Chapter of IEEE Panimalar Institute of Technology Student Branch & Vice-Chairperson of IEEE PIT SB. Indhumathi was previously the IEEE Student Branch Secretary and Chairperson of Women in Engineering AG of the Student Branch.
Indhu has won the IEEE Women in Engineering Inspiring Student Member Award in 2020 for her distinguished leadership and outstanding contributions as a volunteer, at the Section and Regional levels, serving the IEEE and IEEE Women in Engineering for the benefit of its members and the engineering profession; IEEE CS Richard E Merwin Scholarship for her outstanding leadership as a Student Volunteer; IEEE CS Upsilon Pi Epsilon Scholarship and Grace Hopper Celebration India Scholarship in recognition of her outstanding academic and professional accomplishments.
Acknowledging her achievements, she has been awarded the “Outstanding Student Award 2020”, “Emerging Student Volunteer” award for the year 2018 and “The Best Student of the Year 2018” by Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE) Tamil Nadu Section level in their 18th Annual Convention. She has also proved herself in academics with outstanding performance. She secured the first rank in her department during the university examinations for several academic years. She has been an active participant, volunteer and has coordinated and organized many co-curricular and extracurricular activities. She has been and will always be a source of inspiration for upcoming minds in her alma mater. In her spare time, she founded and served as organizing secretary for She-the coder and initiated several school education programs. Her kindness, determination and courage have resulted not only in several achievements but also blossomed her into a remarkable person.
Indhumathi Gunasekaran speaks of her experience with IEEE, “My IEEE journey has been a journey full of learning and discovery. When I first stepped into IEEE, I was not completely aware that IEEE would take me here to the one who I am today. During my initial days, I wasn’t aware of the opportunities underlying for a Student Member in IEEE. But then I found ways to explore more by taking part in various programs right from my SB events to lots of global events. Attending conferences and volunteering for a greater cause expanded my network globally, resulting in gaining valuable connections of multiple eminent personalities from industries & academia.
I have started my journey as a delegate and gradually grown to be a volunteer in coordinating & organizing several international events. All through the various phases of this journey, IEEE has taught me numerous things —including dealing with uncertainties, being open-minded, developing social responsibility, cultural awareness, balancing personal and professional life, building self-esteem and giving back selflessly. Through IEEE, I was able to give back to the community by helping others in whatsoever way I can (by mentoring other students, taking part in STAR Program, reaching out to the children in need, taking initiatives in organizing technical programs, etc.). In fact, I found time to spread smiles. Every skill learned, mattered!
I could say that the important component required for the growth of any Engineers would be the knowledge of ground-breaking technologies, mentoring and networking. And IEEE gives you the best combination of all these three. The free access to IEEE publications helped me in staying current with the technology. Having the right mentors by my side helped me in achieving greatness not just in terms of work, but also in terms of life in its overall fundamentality. A special thanks to my mentor Mr. Arun M. (SBC | Assistant Professor, ECE | Panimalar Institute of Technology) for the mentorship that he has given me over the past years. Having the opportunity to learn from him has made a substantial change in my life. I never imagined I would be able to make as much progress as I have. Thanks to Mr. Arun M., for teaching me so much. I’m always grateful to him for his support and kindness.
Finally, it isn’t super easy for anyone to keep up the life curve growing. Many of us quit at times when we are faced with rejections or failures. Learning from failures and progressing hard requires lots of courage. The spirit that I gained from my co-volunteers and my mentors kept me going all through these years having this wonderful experience to share with you all!”