Voices @ InStep

Brianna was an intern with the InStep Global Internship Program in 2005. She graduated cum laude from Smith College with B.A. in sociology, anthropology and international relations. Brianna enjoys traveling globally and is working on her Hindi.

Donna is pursuing her master’s in Business Administration. She is an InStep intern at Diversity Office working on a Globalization Index.

Donna will blog on life as an InStep Intern.

Ilangovan is currently doing his master’s in Business Admininstration. He is an InStep intern with Manufacturing - ‘Apply Lean Concepts’ team.

Ilanagovan will blog on Indian culture, tourism and business.

Kimberly is finishing her Bachelor of the Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Claremont McKenna College in the United States. She enjoys traveling and has interned in Washington DC, Mexico City and Bangalore. Prior to interning at Infosys, Kimberly worked with the social sector organization Ashoka to identify social entrepreneurs in Latin America. In her free time, she enjoys reading historical-themed thrillers and books about current events.

Mike Burrell is currently pursuing his master’s degree in business administration and has extensive experience working for outsourcing companies in the field of employee benefits administration. His career interests include business design, consulting and human resources.

Nyain has over 3 years of work experience. She is currently an Intern in Consumer Packaged Goods and Logistics in Infosys, Bangalore.

She is an Intern from the University of Cape Town (2011 MBA Graduate).

Nyain will blog on travel and social media.

Pankaj Sharma holds a Ph.D. in physics and a master’s degree in solid-state physics. He has an MBA from Purdue University and an Advanced Certificate in Applied Computer and Information Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology. Dr. Sharma is Associate Director for Operations and International Affairs at Discovery Park, Purdue's $400 million home to the university's large-scale interdisciplinary research efforts. He also currently holds a courtesy associate professor appointment in Industrial Technology. Recently, Pankaj has been selected ‘Fulbright New Century Scholar.’

He joined Discovery Park in 2002 at its inception. His key responsibilities there include strategic planning, coordination, communication, and integration of synergistic research among the Discovery Park centers. In addition, he promotes scientific, technological, and entrepreneurial culture; develops guidelines, and provides general management. He engages stakeholders in developing strategic plans. He facilitates collaboration among management, engineering, and science researchers/faculty, and entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and other funding agencies. He identifies and cultivates new large-scale interdisciplinary research projects. He has been instrumental in developing strategic international research partnerships in science and technology. He also serves as a key liaison between Discovery Park and research institutions including corporations in India. Prior to joining Discovery Park, Dr. Sharma was an Associate Director of Purdue’s Rare Isotope Measurement Laboratory at Purdue. He has worked on the application of accelerator mass spectrometry in geological and biomedical tracing. An experimental nuclear physicist with expertise in applications of radioactivity in dating and tracing in geological and biological systems, he has extensively collaborated with scientists from more than 10 countries and published over 90 research papers in national and international journals. His current interests include research administration and strategic planning of interdisciplinary research enterprise in nanotechnology; biosciences; entrepreneurship; healthcare engineering; cyber infrastructure; energy; environment; climate change; global competitiveness; and science, technology, and policy.

Before coming to Purdue in 1993, Dr. Sharma was a researcher at the University of South Carolina, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Rochester.

Olateju has over 4 years of work experience. She is currently an Accounting and Financial Reporting intern with Enterprise Solutions at Infosys, Hyderabad.

Olateju will blog on India from a tourist’s perspective.

Sanket holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from Nirma University. He was a Gold Medalist and won the Best Student Award for all four years. He is currently pursuing his master’s in Computer Science. Sanket is an InStep global intern with Finacle Software Performance Engineering.

Sanket will blog on university education in North America and research as a career.

Teddy is a full-time MBA student at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, with a focus on strategy and marketing. He has been actively involved in many research and consulting opportunities at Anderson ranging from social media to non-profit education. Prior to graduate school, Teddy spent over five years in various roles with the Canadian offices of HSBC Bank, most recently as a Product Manager with the Internet Banking group. Having collaborated with colleagues across the globe from India to the United Kingdom, he truly enjoys exploring global cultures. Teddy spends his free time staying active while playing sports and experimenting with new recipes.

Thomas is pursuing his MBA at the University of Mannheim in Germany. Having completed his exchange semester in 2008 in Singapore, he has interned in Germany, India and Poland. He enjoys action sports, experiencing new cultures and travelling. Having developed a keen interest in Asia-Pacific, Thomas is exploring the option of building his career with a focus on this region.