Prof Sofi urges students to listen to inner call while choosing careers

Srinagar: The National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar’s social start-up Move Beyond-A Career Counselling School, held a live interview with a renowned Kashmiri Mathematician, Professor M.A. Sofi as part of its online educational series- Career Chat.
Director NIT Srinagar, Prof. (Dr.) Rakesh Sehgal is the Chief Patron of the International Youth Outreach and Employability Program (IYOEP) under which all these programs are being organized. While Head IIEDC Prof Saad Parvez is patron and Director Move Beyond, Sheikh Inayat Ullah is Program Director respectively; Career Chat is a part of IYOEP.
Professor M F Wani, who is In-charge Director of NIT Srinagar, said effective career counseling and guidance is the need of the hour. Our institution will conduct such interactive sessions with the experts so that the students will get befitted, he said.
Registrar NIT Srinagar, Prof. Kaiser Bukhari said career counseling and guidance will help students in a larger way in choosing the right careers. It will help in boosting the confidence and morale of the student and the professional, he said.
“Career counseling helps them analyze their strengths and weaknesses and helps in finding the perfect career path,” Prof Bukhari said.
Prof. M.A. Sofi shared his journey and experience in-depth with the audience and talked about the struggles he had gone through to embark on his journey of becoming an expert in mathematics.
He urged students to have faith in their capabilities without getting affected by any kind of external pressure. They should listen to their inner call.
Prof. Sofi discussed career opportunities for students available in the field of mathematics including teaching, research, and actuarial mathematics. Students can find scope in interesting areas such as insurance companies, financial institutions, climatology, data science, psychology, etc.
“A student can land into several demanding and fascinating fields through mathematics. It has a great scope,” he said.
Prof. Sofi dispelled the societal assumption that girls can’t be good at mathematics.
“Girls excel and perform equally well in mathematics as their male counterparts. There are numerous girls who have made their mark in this field,” he said.
He wisely addressed the questions asked by the live audience at the end of the interview.
Prof. Sofi is currently a visiting Professor at National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM). He has been a recipient of the DAAD Fellowship and Ramanujan Prize (2009) respectively. He was a Professor Emeritus at the Department of Mathematics, University of Kashmir, up to 2019.
He has also served as Adjunct Faculty, Central University of Kashmir. Besides, he is a Life Member of the Indian Mathematical Society and Ramanujan Mathematical Society respectively.
The interview was streamed live on the Facebook page of Move Beyond. It was hosted by Dr. Muslim Jan, Senior Media Consultant, Move Beyond.
Career Chat is an exclusive educational series started by Move Beyond with an aim to connect the eminent career achievers with the aspiring students of Jammu and Kashmir to inspire and provide direction and help them in the process of making their careers.

KR Desk