Leaving behind stable, lucrative careers in the United States of America to return home to the ‘greener pastures’ of Thiruvananthapuram—one would think it ludicrous. Even more so if the abandoned jobs were based on engineering and software applications—fields in which the Silicon Valley in California, for instance, is eons ahead of Technopark in several aspects.
Indian students are raring to go abroad for better opportunities, resulting in the unfortunate ‘brain drain’ trend. But things seem to be changing for the better as students who graduate to professionals and gain solid work experience abroad are increasingly shifting their attention homewards. They return with a renewed sense of confidence, a fresh perspective on what they can do to nudge the capital city forwards. Two such recent returnees are Pramod and Prashanth. One of them was settled in New Jersey and the other in California, but the two kept in touch as they slowly laid the groundwork for ambitious plans back home.
Interestingly, these two were not spurred by any sentimental notion attached to the idea of returning home for good. They did their research and found it a viable, promising option. “It does surprise quite a few people that we have decided to uproot our ‘settled-in-America’ lives and find more fulfilling work here,” said Pramod, who passed the Master of Computer Applications from the College of Engineering, Trivandrum, in 2002.
Prashanth did his B.Tech. from the same institute in Electrical Engineering, graduating a year before.
Transition phaseThe two see a side to Thiruvananthapuram that most who live here may take for granted. They see Technopark, the upcoming Technocity and the success of start-ups being incubated at the Technopark-Technology Business Incubator and consider the city to be in that exciting phase of transition, which they wish to contribute to and be a part of. The high market value of companies incubated at Technopark-TBI was evidence that there were ‘hidden gems’ here, they said.
“We think this is a good place to be in now, based on our research. We have been keeping in touch with the developments here and from what we have understood there are a lot of opportunities for the kind of projects we have in mind. In addition to Technopark, there are plenty of other institutions here that are prospective collaborators,” says Prashanth who returned only a couple of weeks ago and is still recovering from viral fever stemming from a sudden weather change.
Visible changesThey find the city to have improved in terms of infrastructure over the past decade. “It may not be evident to someone who has been living here, but I found, for instance, that the roads are far better than they used to be. There are lane markings, speed humps, cameras —all signs that there is an effort to set traffic rules at least, though the road rage has possibly worsened,” says Pramod.
The one worry they have is the difference in work culture and this is closely related to the schooling system here, they believe. In the U.S., there was more initiative and people were willing to lead rather than follow the safest path. Pramod recently enrolled his child in a school here and was shocked by the amount of homework she brings home everyday that involves so much writing and direct copying from textbooks with very little imagination at play. Practical and application-based learning was paramount in the U.S., be it in schools or colleges.
Moreover, the public are more open to technological advancements and not suspicious of it as is often the case here.
With the wealth of experience they have gained abroad, they feel that they understand the targets they should meet and the route towards them better.
Prashanth finished his postgraduation and joined work in 2008, the time the recession struck. He has witnessed first-hand a floundering economy recovering, another valuable asset to have acquired considering he wants to begin a start-up that will invariably go through its ups and downs during its setting-up phase.
