{"id":11679,"date":"2026-08-04T14:12:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T14:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/?p=11679"},"modified":"2026-08-05T12:22:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T12:22:26","slug":"for-these-two-purdue-university-graduates-an-online-degree-was-the-key-to-innovation-discovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/for-these-two-purdue-university-graduates-an-online-degree-was-the-key-to-innovation-discovery\/","title":{"rendered":"For these two Purdue University graduates, an online degree was the key to innovation, discovery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Earning a graduate degree from Purdue University is no easy feat \u2014 especially for graduates Aakash Gupta and Adrien Ibarra, who both earned Purdue graduate degrees online while working full time and balancing families, hobbies and passions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout their graduate school journeys, both men dreamed of the day they\u2019d be able to celebrate their accomplishments on Purdue\u2019s campus during commencement. This past May, that day finally came. Gupta and Ibarra both traveled to campus from their homes in Columbus, Indiana and Dallas, Texas, respectively, to celebrate with their families and don graduation robes. They also sat down with Purdue to speak about their online student experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How a great-grandmother’s wisdom inspired Aakash Gupta to earn his doctorate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Aakash Gupta grew up in Agra, India, and it was there that he first developed a passion for challenging himself. At just 14 years old, he earned a spot in the Guinness Book of Records<\/a> for playing guitar for 53 consecutive hours<\/a>. After this record was challenged, he broke it again and again \u2014 upping his playing time to 73 hours and then 113 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He credits his great-grandmother with inspiring him to take on new challenges. Growing up, she always emphasized two pieces of advice: focus on your education and be kind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gupta has taken both of those aphorisms to heart by focusing on schoolwork and trying to give back to his community. He is a 2026 graduate of Purdue University\u2019s online Doctor of Engineering<\/a> program, a systems validation leader at Cummins, and the engineering department chair at Ivy Tech Community College, Columbus. At Cummins, he seeks to use his engineering expertise to reduce the automotive industry\u2019s carbon footprint by building more efficient engines; and at Ivy Tech, he works with Indiana students to ensure they have the skills and confidence they need to be successful at universities like Purdue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Explore Purdue University’s 100% online Doctor of Engineering program<\/strong><\/p>\n

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In his doctoral program, Gupta got to conduct research that related back to his goal of improving efficiency at Cummins. He also got to work with distinguished faculty who had experience in different areas of engineering, including his advisor, a mechanical engineering expert who had connections to Purdue in Indianapolis\u2019 motorsports engineering program<\/a>. Conducting research in these areas expanded Gupta\u2019s technical expertise and gave him the skills and confidence he needed to spearhead innovation at Cummins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gupta also helps support Ivy Tech\u2019s Green2Gold <\/a>program, a partnership between Ivy Tech and Purdue that helps community college students transfer into Purdue\u2019s bachelor\u2019s programs in engineering. This summer, he launched a paid research experience for students in the Green2Gold pathway. Through this program, he hopes to show students how exciting research can be and, in the process, give them the skills they need to excel as Purdue students. The research program has produced amazing results so far, and Gupta and his students will be presenting their findings at an upcoming conference.<\/p>\n\n\n

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I want to use my research to push the boundaries at Cummins and give back to Purdue. I\u2019d love to help future graduate students who want to pursue research in my research area.<\/p>\n\n <\/blockquote>\n

Aakash gupta<\/p>\n

Doctor of Engineering graduate<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

How taking a risk put Adrien Ibarra on the bleeding edge of technological innovation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Adrien Ibarra would not describe himself as a risk taker, but he took a risk when he decided to apply to Purdue University\u2019s online Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence<\/a> (AI). At the time, generative AI was still a new technology, and Purdue\u2019s AI master\u2019s program was also new. But, as Ibarra saw the world around him changed by AI, he realized he wanted to be on the \u201cbleeding edge\u201d of the emerging technology. He knew Purdue could help him get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, Ibarra took a leap of faith and landed back in graduate school. He chose to major in the Master of Science in AI\u2019s technical track: AI and machine learning. In this track, he developed coding expertise and learned what it was like to build AI technology firsthand. He figured these skills would be indispensable in his career as a cybersecurity professional. The work was difficult, but the program made it possible for Ibarra to balance schoolwork with his job and other responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Explore Purdue University’s 100% online Master of Science in AI program<\/strong><\/p>\n

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In addition to being a corporate professional, Ibarra competes in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which brings him to competitions all over the country. The program\u2019s flexible online format gave Ibarra the wiggle room he needed to do assignments on the road or between tasks. His professors were always understanding, and while his busy schedule sometimes felt overwhelming, he took the business in stride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Ibarra was finally cleared for graduation, he wasn\u2019t sure if he\u2019d be able to make it to campus for commencement. His girlfriend ultimately gave him the push he needed to make the trek from Dallas, Texas to West Lafayette, Indiana. Now, he says the trip was more than worth it \u2014 he loved seeing Purdue\u2019s campus and getting to don his \u201cfirst generation\u201d graduation sash, an honor that commemorates the journey Ibarra took from being the first in his family to complete a college degree to earning his master\u2019s from this trailblazing program.<\/p>\n\n\n

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To be on campus is surreal. But I know I\u2019m meant to be here.<\/p>\n\n <\/blockquote>\n

Adrien ibarra<\/p>\n

Master of Science in AI graduate<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Earning a graduate degree from Purdue University is no easy feat \u2014 especially for graduates Aakash Gupta and Adrien Ibarra.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":11680,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[],"area-of-study":[38,11],"person":[73,74],"class_list":["post-11679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-success","area-of-study-data-information","area-of-study-engineering","person-alumni","person-students"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t