I am Partho Pratim Kar. I am a graduate in Mechanical Engineering from Jadavpur University in 2019. I had always been good in academics with a perfect 10 CGPA in Std X, 91.2% in Std. XII and got 99.41 percentile in JEE Mains written exam in 2015. I also secured AIR 510 in WBJEE and secured my admission to Jadavpur University. There I graduated with a rank of 7/104 students with a CGPA of 8.95/10. I started working with Hero MotoCorp as a Market Quality Engineer where I was responsible for the redressal of all the manufacturing and design related issues reported from the Service Centers across the domestic market for all Hero bikes. I reduced the warranty cost incurred by HMCL every year by 50% for frame group parts and also bought down the redressal time for the reported issues from 17 days to 15 days in my 30 month stint. I believe that there is no alternate to hard work and one must persist until they persevere. I demonstrated this in 2019 when I reduced my body weight from 100 kilos to 60 kilos in 8 months by constantly working out and improving my physique. I have been maintaining that ever since.
Tell us more about your extracurricular achievements
1. I acted as a Working Committee Member for the SAE Club of Jadavpur University (Team XLR8). My achievements are as follows Initiated operations of the club by registering and maintaining 100 active members with SAE in 2016. Delivered a tech-talk to approx. 200 students for introducing and inducting them to the club on 5th Sep 2018. Signed a MOU with Team Kart IIT Kgp and organized a Solidworks workshop in 2018. Lead the Chassis team to design the Solidworks Model of the Chassis as per Supra specs in 2019.
2. I was also elected as the sponsorship head for Trajectory 2.0. Following are the achievements Elected Sponsorship head by my batchmates (104 students) for the Techno Mgmt. fest of department of Mech Engg., JU. Led a team of 10 students to raise INR 50K from Coaching Institutes, Construction and Electrical OEM. Fostered a Strategic Partnership with International Conference on Mechanical Engineering. Collaborated with 5+ verticals to achieve a total footfall of 3000 over the fest span of 3 days.
3. Volunteered with Ekastha foundation for the following activities: Prepared a pitch for automating the leaf plate making process to improve manufacturing capacity from 20/day/person to 100/day/person. Prepared a pitch for collaborating with schools to conduct eco trails in Johna, Ranchi with the local community.
4. I also assisted DC Gurugram to provide meals, Oxygens and beds during COVID 2nd wave to the needy (500+ people)
Tell us about a time when you messed up, and what you learnt from the experience?
The JU Motorsports cub was founded in 2016 with an objective to represent JU at various motorsportsevents. In my final year, as the Chassis Head, I along with Core Team Members pledged to participate in 2019 FSAEevent. It was 2 years since our inception and we hadn't yet participated in a single event. We were done with theinitial design of our frame by Oct 2018 and were on track to fabricate by Jan 2019. Come Jan 2019, we had thedesign of our Chassis, but no Engine to drive the frame with no hopes to participate in the upcoming Formula Bharatevent. My Takeaways:1. Team Work makes the dream work2. Create SMART goals and have a proper plan of action3. Managing your team without focusing on the end goal is futile4. Designing wont win you a race without the money to fabricate.
Tell us something about yourself that others may be surprised to know about you.
I lost 40 kilos of body weight in 8 months from July 19 to Mar 20. I used to weigh a 100 kgs and was unhealthily obese. Not being physically fit was one of the biggest bottlenecks I had, and I had to remove that. But, as much as the end goal is important, the ability to sustain post achieving the end goal is of equal importance. This is where the process comes in. I did not participate in crash diet courses to eliminate my bottleneck. I walked, increased my stamina, ran, and kept running. What I take from my personal weight loss journey can be extended to any field, even business. My purpose is to strive for constant excellence in all my pursuits in a sustainable way.
What have been your two biggest successes in life? What did you learn from them?
1, Graduating with a Department Rank of 7 out of 104 students. My most significant academic achievement was getting an average GPA of 8.95 and graduating with a department rank of 7 in Mechanical Engineering, Jadavpur University.I had never been one of the toppers of my class and was always in the middle of the pack. The added challenge was the entry into Jadavpur University was merit based and getting into the top 10 of the class was going to be a Herculean challenge with respect to getting to the top of the class in Primary/Secondary School. Furthermore, one had to constantly keep up the hard work over a span of 4 years. In the first few semesters I was disappointed to get 8 pointers but in the last 4 semesters I consistently outdid myself by scoring 9 pointers to finish with an average GPA of 8.95, a 7th place and an Honors Degree.
2. When I removed one of my biggest bottlenecks of life by reducing 40 kilos of body weight.In both these journeys I learnt that I can achieve anything with hard work, a diligent work ethic and a never say never attitude. I believe I can overcome any hurdle that life throws at me
Professionally, what is your ideal image of yourself five years from now? Where do you see yourself?
In the shorter run, I see myself working as a consultant solving Business Problems, gaining exposure in diverse areas, and interacting with other Problem solvers.In the longer run, I intend to leverage my experience and exposure in diverse fields to make and implement strategies and to lead a team of likeminded individuals
What is the one skill or characteristic you possess that you are most proud of, and why?
The skill that I am most proud of is my never say never attitude. From being an average kid in middle school to graduating as a rank holder from one of the most reputed Universities of the country to losing 40 kilos of body weight my attitude and my work ethic has only enhanced my self confidence
In your opinion, what skills or qualities does a successful manager possess?
Good listening skills. He/She should be a strong communicator and to communicate properly one first needs to be a good listener. He/She should not only be good at deliberating tasks but should have that openness that his team can approach him whenever they want to. He/She needs to ensure that the overall environment in which his teammates work is collaborative and accommodating. He might not be the best technically at everything but he should know who to approach to get the job done and must provide the environment for them to get the job done.
Tell us about an ethical dilemma that you may have faced, and how you resolved it.
Once a Service Engineer at HMCL was debiting more components to suppliers than what was due to manufacturing issues. The Upper mgmt. of the suppliers were accepting this because the business they got from HMCL was much higher than what the warranty debited amount was. My colleagues advised me to turn a blind eye since HMCL was benefitting but this was still unethical. I informed my manager about this, and he advised me to not make an official complaint but to talk to the Service Engineer about this. Owing to his seniority I asked him to initiate the conversation which he did. Eventually the Service Engineer accepted that all components would be credited post verification by my team, his team and the suppliers.
If you were the CEO of any company of your choosing, which company would you choose and what would your first action be as CEO?
I would become the CEO of the Tata Group.My first action as the CEO would be to create an intrapreneurial ecosystem to identify opportunities in newer segments.Tata group has been doing well in almost all the traditional businesses, from Steel to Power to Communications. Even with a diverse portfolio as theirs they still lack in certain new age areas. Although they have launched Tata Neu that consolidates all their businesses they need to identify opportunities in up and coming sectors otherwise any one can become the Railroads of the early 20th century
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