Nitish Shrimal, a Space Engineer at ISRO, is an inspirational figure who overcame all the hurdles life threw at him. Hailing from a remote part of Rajasthan, Shrimal did not qualify for IIT-JEE and had to overcome language barriers to learn in college. Yet, he achieved his goal of learning about space and landed his dream job.
India has no shortage of brilliant minds, especially in the rural parts where every individual is filled with determination and understands the value of hard work. One such hard working and determined boy from a remote area of Rajasthan is Nitish Shrimal, who paved his own way through his passion for learning and perseverance. Shrimal, a space engineer in ISRO, has contributed to numerous ISRO projects like Chandryaan 3 and others.
Talking about his journey in an interview with The Wire, Shrimal talked about his struggles throughout his professional life and his journey to ISRO. He finished his schooling in Renwal Manji, a small town in Rajasthan. Shrimal opened up about his childhood, he said, "I grew up in a village in a remote part of Rajasthan. My family didn’t have many resources and, even in 2007, electricity wasn’t always available. Recognising these challenges, I knew I had to step up to improve my family’s life."
Shrimal talked about drawing inspiration from prestigious scientists like APJ Abdul Kalam and the father of Indian space programme, Vikram Sarabhai. After reading about the Colombia space shuttle disaster and death of Kalpana Chawla, Shrimal got curious about space which led to him learning about Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Talking about his hurdles in his academic years, Shrimal revealed that he missed qualifying IIT-JEE by a single point. After which he joined the only college in India dedicated to space studies, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology.
He said, "When I was in college, I faced a challenge because my primary language was Hindi, which is mostly spoken in the northern part of India. But B.Tech and bachelor’s degrees in Engineering are usually taught in English, so I had to learn and interpret engineering concepts in English and that was a significant challenge."
He added, "I overcame that challenge and am fluent in it now. That was a personal achievement for me at that time, being able to learn a foreign language and excel at it."
Currently, Space Engineer ISRO, Nitish Shrimal is planning to gain the right knowledge and experience in the Eurpean and UK space sector and also a master's degree in business. He also aims to start his own company and work more on the sustainable side of space engineering with green propulsion technology.
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