Pruthvee M – NPTEL Believer, Elite + Silver Awardee, Elite Awardee
On most days, Pruthvee Mamidikuduru could easily pass for the archetypal busy technologist, managing high‑performance computing clusters at ONGC, coordinating with Geoscientists, and leading development of in‑house applications that keep a PSU running. Yet if you look a little closer, the label he chooses for himself is much simpler – student forever. Learning, in his story, is a thread that stitches everything together.
That thread first tightened around 2013, when he was a CSE undergraduate struggling with the famously dense world of Computer Architecture. Like many students, he had exam deadlines and the looming challenge of GATE, and all he wanted was conceptual clarity.
He found it in NPTEL lectures that turned a “nightmarish” subject into mastery.
Emboldened by that clarity, he made NPTEL the backbone of his intense six-month GATE preparation, a period he credits with truly making him feel like an engineer. Those on-screen lectures filled every gap, building the foundation that secured him AIR 48 and launched his career straight at ONGC.
That habit of “going back to the lecture” never really stopped. Over the years, as he worked with scientists, built applications, and led a pioneering apprenticeship, Pruthvee kept dipping into NPTEL for roughly thirty full courses, often purely for curiosity. “I prefer gaining knowledge and implementing it practically,” he explains; understanding always comes first. Driven by that same curiosity, Pruthvee recently turned towards formal certification in cutting-edge fields. In one ambitious semester, he registered for six exams, carefully selecting courses that sat at the intersection of his work and research interests, like “Responsible and Safe AI”. Even with a decade of industry experience, he found these concepts reshaping his perspective, from neural networks to the broader digital and energy transitions shaping his field.
Along the way, NPTEL noticed his consistency, too. Pruthvee was recognised as an NPTEL ‘Star’ and ‘Believer’, and the invitation to the NPTEL Stars Meet at IIT Madras turned into an anchor of memories that will stay with him for years. For him, that auditorium revealed NPTEL’s true reach, a vibrant community spanning twenty-something students to learners in their sixties and seventies, some proudly holding dozens of domain certifications. It was both humbling and energising, leaving him quietly vowing that his next domain certification would be his own.
Despite the recognition, what stuck with Pruthvee most was how NPTEL made the journey feel human. As a visually impaired learner using a scribe for exams, logistics are never just about a hall ticket and a time slot. The support staff checks in with him as soon as he registers, helps him make plans, and makes sure he arrives at the center without incident. This level of care was especially important when the venue is far away and getting back by public transportation is a hassle. He recalls sending a follow-up email to express gratitude for their unwavering support.
When he mentors interns today, his advice comes from that same place of responsibility: prepare seriously, use NPTEL for foundational concepts, build real projects, and don’t wait for someone else to make you industry-ready. “Knowledge is available everywhere, just use it wisely,” he tells them.
His own aspirations are motivated by the same philosophy. Looking ahead, he envisions a part-time PhD, possibly at IIT Madras, blending AI, Cybersecurity, and Cognitive Neuroscience into something revolutionary. “Life becomes interesting through learning,” he chimes. Being a student forever has grown beyond a catchphrase – it’s the quiet edge that turned a B.Tech nightmare into AIR 48, thirty courses into sharper instincts, and a busy ONGC career into endless possibilities.
– written by Nehansh Kesharwani