Choice, Chance, Change. You have to make a Choice to take a Chance and the Change the world.

A rainy afternoon in Panaji, the students of STD XI, Mushtifund Aryaan H.S. School, got the opportunity to meet the dynamic Mr. Utpal Parrikar. Mr. Utpal made the choice of Padre Conceicao College of Engineering ( PCCE) to study Computer Science, a subject he was passionate about rather than go to BITS Pilani, and join some other branch.

‘Nothing risked is nothing gained’ is what he truly believes and his career is marked by the various risks he took to achieve success. He said that the biggest risk he took was leaving his home to go to Michigan State University for further studies , as it was his first visit abroad. On a lighter note, he remarked how big a risk it had been to be deprived of Goan food during his stay there!

He realised that life in the U.S. was not as easy as he had imagined it to be and he had to spend long hours working in the laboratory as a Research Assistant in addition to his regular classes.After completing his education, continued in the U.S. to work in Foundary Networks in the Silicon Valley, a place where I.T. dreams are fulfilled.

The turning point in his life was quitting his job in the U.S. to relocate to Goa, his alma mater and set up his own company ‘Ayuron’, a company which manufactures orthopaedic implants and instruments. When a keen student asked him about the motivation behind starting Ayuron, he answered saying that setting up this company was important to respond to the needs of the people and the market , hence, he took up the viable business opportunity.

Mr. Utpal had taken a chance to bring about a change. When asked about the atmosphere in American Universities, he proclaimed that there were more foreign students, most of them Indian as compared to American students on the campus as he felt that higher education was highly encouraged in Indian homes.

The Director, Mr. Vyankatesh Prabhudesai, conducted the entire question and answer session. The interaction with Mr. Parrikar was so interesting that it continued to be a topic of discussion during the lunch break that followed his talk!

– Prepared By Sakshi Wagle ( Student of STD XI)