Don’t give up
“There was a time when I struggled to understand what was being taught in school and believed I simply wasn’t intelligent enough. Today, I am pursuing a PhD at IIT Jammu. What changed my life wasn’t suddenly becoming a brilliant student. It was meeting a teacher who made me realise that perhaps I had never been taught in the way I needed to learn.
I grew up in Odisha as an only child. I studied at a well-known school, where academic performance carried enormous expectations. Until Standard IX, I struggled to understand what was being taught. Relatives had questions about my marks, and gradually, I began seeing myself as someone who simply wasn’t capable.
Everything changed when a teacher started coming to our home. He never charged us a fee. Instead of asking me to memorise answers, he encouraged me to ask why. For the first time, someone taught me in a way I could understand. That changed how I saw education, and eventually, myself.
Get PhDs of India’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
I chose Biotechnology for my integrated Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Odisha. During college, I met children who reminded me of my younger self; these were talented people who had begun doubting their abilities because of constant comparisons and criticism. I wanted to do something for them. I started teaching them in a way which would enable them to think critically and solve problems. With their help and some of my friends, we identified a problem statement and developed an idea that received fellowship support and eventually grew into a startup. It was my first experience of turning an idea into something that could potentially help others. Later, a faculty member encouraged me to consider research. Until then, a PhD hadn’t been an obvious destination. But I decided to try.
I prepared for competitive examinations and eventually earned an opportunity to undertake my dissertation training at THSTI, Faridabad. Those six months introduced me to the everyday realities of research and the people who had chosen to build their lives around it.
I began searching for PhD opportunities, reaching out to laboratories and exploring research areas. When I received an offer from IIT Jammu, something changed at home too. I noticed that relatives who had once questioned my abilities now began including me in conversations differently. But the acceptance meant something more personal to me. I wanted to show students who struggle academically that their early performance does not have to determine their future.
I joined IIT Jammu in July 2026. My research now focuses on developing diagnostic technologies for microbial infections, particularly approaches that could help clinicians identify antibiotic resistance much faster than conventional methods. I am fortunate to have a supportive supervisor and a friendly laboratory environment. My supervisor encourages me academically and understands the emotional challenges of research. As someone who grew up without siblings, that sense of belonging matters to me. I have also built a biotechnology community of around six hundred people, where my team and I try to help students understand concepts and navigate opportunities. Perhaps that is what connects everything I have done.
I remember what it felt like to sit in a classroom and believe everyone else understood something I couldn’t. I also remember the teacher who changed that feeling simply by being patient enough to explain things differently. I am only at the beginning of my PhD, and I have much to learn. But someday, I hope to guide students the way that teacher guided me. Because sometimes, the difference between a student who gives up and one who finds their way is simply someone who believes they are capable of learning.”
-E Ansip Kumar, PhD in Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Jammu
