ENTR Student Grows from Learning Community Experience
The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Learning Community was a deciding factor that brought Akash Raju to Purdue. A first year engineering student, Raju plans to study computer engineering next semester and continue to pursue the Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Learning Community was a deciding factor that brought Akash Raju to Purdue. A first year engineering student, Raju plans to study computer engineering next semester and continue to pursue the Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Before applying to college, Raju was interested in neuroscience, which led him to focus on emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence. He wants to grow more in this area so that he can make an impact on the industry. To Raju, the best way to make this happen is to become an entrepreneur.
“During the application process I knew I wanted to attend a school with a strong engineering program,” Raju said. “I also wanted to attend a school that offered entrepreneurship to students in all majors, so I could learn and grow from students outside of my discipline. The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Learning Community brought together a group of people who have different mindsets, yet are passionate about making their ideas happen. That is exactly what I was looking for.”
Learning Communities are comprised of groups of incoming freshman who take classes together, often live in the same residence hall and participate in activities outside the classroom. Students make friends, form study groups and build their social networks through academic and co-curricular activities.
Being in the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Learning Community has been an impactful experience for Raju.
“Because I am in a learning community I have been able to branch out more than I thought I could. I developed confidence to tell employers about my passion and skills. I learned not only how to see a gap in a plan, but the steps needed to solve the problem. These skills were enhanced through the content taught in the class, but also because of the group of peers I was with in the learning community.”
Fall 2016 Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Learning Community
Mike Cassidy is the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Learning Community instructor and mentor to many students, including Raju.
“It doesn’t take long to see that students in learning communities bond very quickly,” Cassidy said. “Between working on group assignments and living in the same residence hall they are together a lot and rely on each other to move forward.”
Raju adds that Cassidy has been the most influential instructor during his first semester. “Instructor Cassidy is an expert entrepreneur, but his teaching style makes the class. He is willing to teach and makes each class dynamic. I was excited to learn from him.”
This summer Raju will participate in the Xtern Bootcamp as a hardware/software development intern. The program is a three-week internship experience that allows interns to work alongside industry leaders at some of Indianapolis’s best tech companies.
“I am excited to take on an intensive and challenging internship,” Raju said. “The experiences and connections I make will have a direct impact on my future in computer engineering and entrepreneurship.”
After Raju completes his Xtern Bootcamp internship, he will start a technical internship with Chevron at their headquarters in Houston, TX focusing on code and hardware based projects.