A student of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) suffering from severe cerebral palsy has become the only student with the severe disability to complete a Ph.D from the varsity.
Akshansha Gupta, who hails from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, is suffering from 95 percent disability but managed to complete his thesis on ‘Brain and Computer interface’.
JNU Vice-Chancellor Sudhir Kumar Sopory awarded Mr. Gupta the Ph.D in a special ceremony. Cerebral Palsy affects movement and speech. A person suffering from the disorder has problem with precise motions, such as writing or buttoning a shirt. But against all odds, Mr. Gupta completed his five-year long thesis.
His Ph.D subject was “Performance Enhancement of Mental Task Classification: A Study of Combination of Feature Extraction and Selection Methods” from the School of Computer and System Sciences.
Happy that his hard work has finally paid off, Gupta is now looking forward to getting a job as a researcher. “I used to work six to eight hours daily. I am now looking forward to getting a job in academics and research field,” Gupta told The Hindu .
“I faced a lot of difficulties during my Ph.D, but my topic was very fascinating, it was a motivation and sustaining factor for me to keep working. Also, I received immense support from my supervisor, lab mates and my care giver. I enjoyed all difficulties and took all difficulties as opportunity to learn and develop better understanding,” he added.
Gupta’s friends and research scholars at JNU also lauded him. “Now that he has done academically so well, he should get a job,” said Gupta’s friend Awanish Kumar.
Gupta had contested for the post of President in JNU Student Union election in 2011. “Anybody who has the knowledge about the intensity of the JNUSU elections will salute his courage,” Kumar added.
