Ashik Abdul Hameed, a 4th year B.Tech. student of the Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology, Calicut, (NIT-C), has been chosen for Google’s prestigious Venkat Panchapakesan Memorial Scholarship given to six young scholars who made progress in society with the help of computer science.
The scholarship includes a cash prize of $750 and covers an all-expense paid trip to the YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, California, Google headquarters and Stanford University. The winners will also get an opportunity to interact with YouTube chief executive officer Susan Wojcicki.
Google has instituted the scholarship in memory of Venkat, whose career took him to YouTube, Google, and Yahoo, among other notable companies. He died young, after a battle with cancer.
Ashik, who felt elated at bagging the award, told The Hindu on Friday that generally students studying computer science were chosen for the award. “But my interest and researches in augmented reality and virtual reality, though I am a biotechnology student, helped me win this achievement,” he said.
K.A. Abdul Nazeer, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, NIT-C, said that Ashik’s remarkable contributions in bringing a technological ecosystem in Malabar through events like Interface Start-up Summit, and Techathlon Hackathons were considered for Google’s recognition.
Ashik, who is possibly the first one to be selected for this scholarship from Malabar, had published his first research paper when he was in his second year and presented a paper at IIT, Delhi. Using Virtual and Augmented reality, he was able to find solutions to help children affected by autism and differently abled people.
At present Ashik is also undergoing a six-month training on Virtual Reality at the Facebook School of Innovation.
“Certainly my achievement is a recognition for the studious students of north Kerala and the NIT-C who normally have to depend on big IT events either at Kochi or Bengaluru,” he said.
Already Ashik is moulding junior students to bring technology to society and securing funds for many innovative projects. Some of the concepts include converting waste plastic to paint, smart pens for physicians and digital door-locking system.
