WORKING at Sharp - real lives
Rakesh - Advanced Optical Devices
If you were born in the UK you may not understand how hard it is to win a place to study physics in India. I was selected from many students to study at St Columba’s College of Vinoba University in my hometown of Hazariba. The atmosphere there was very competitive, so I worked hard but enjoyed it. As well as learning physics, I began to debate national and international politics. Our studies were disrupted by the power supply crisis so I was using candles to read about the latest developments in physics!
I was delighted when I was selected for a Masters in Physics at the country’s
celebrated Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi in 1996. Here I
met interesting and smart people from all over India and I realised that
I wanted to follow a career in physics research.
During the last term I was offered a place in the department of Physics
at the University of Oxford to study D.Phil in Physics. After several rounds
of selection process I was one of the six lucky students (among >4000
applicants) to be awarded with a fully funded Felix Scholarship to pursue
a DPhil at Oxford. Interestingly, life at Oxford University was quite relaxed
compared my previous two universities! I was able to play cricket and had
an opportunity to have a much better social life!
I came to know about Sharp Laboratories of Europe (SLE) via a senior colleague
at Oxford at the end of second year of my DPhil. Being accepted for a job
allowed me to concentrate on my DPhil work.
While working at Sharp I have had an opportunity to work on three completely different projects over a period of 4 years. My process of learning has never stopped and the diversity of the work has equipped me with several other skills and knowledge that has boosted my confidence. I have travelled to California and Baltimore in USA, Japan, Germany, Switzerland to attend conferences and meetings with research collaborators. Personally, I enjoy learning via interactions and the opportunity to meet people from all over the world at such events has helped me to learn quickly.
The R&D environment here of short and long-term research allows me to have both business interaction and more sane periods establishing fundamental understanding. I feel that my efforts are appreciated and I have been given more responsibility, which fits with my career goals. I am very pleased that I chose physics and Sharp!
