Walking down the hallowed hallways of the CSIS department, one will probably have to wait outside room 6121-N to have a chat with Professor Jagat Sesh Challa, as he is most likely to be engaged with his students. As a man who is highly passionate about teaching, Professor Jagat stated that he cherishes the relationships he has fostered with his students. Although Professor Jagat acknowledged that he may come across as strict at times, he explained that he behaves this way only in cases of extreme necessity. Professor Jagat has a different bond with his students than other professors. This is because he stood in those students’ shoes a few years ago as a student at BITS Pilani. 

Professor Jagat Sesh Challa’s association with BITS started back in 2006 and continues to date. However, his journey began in Visakhapatnam. Raised in Visakhapatnam, Professor Jagat stated that his passion for technology, the industry, and teaching comes from his father. Talking about his journey to BITS Pilani, Professor Jagat claims that his coming to BITS Pilani was a happy accident. He modestly stated that he was not expecting a high score on his BITSAT. He argued that due to his preparation for his board examinations and the AIEEE examination, his fundamental concepts were quite clear, which helped him achieve a high BITSAT score. This led him to his first degree, ‘Masters in Information Systems’. When asked how his love for Computer Science began, he recalled the days of his 11th and 12th grades, when he had a course called ‘Informatics Practices’. He remembered having a great teacher who taught the subject extensively, which he practised daily for at least an hour. He recognised his natural talent for coding in the 12th grade and worked on this talent by reading textbooks and coding in the computer lab. He stated that he was adept at coding and got good grades in most courses. However, he humorously noted the irony of getting a ‘C’ grade in the course he now teaches, ‘Data Structures and Algorithms’.

When asked about his initial reaction to reaching BITS Pilani, Professor Jagat claimed it was overwhelmingly positive. He mentioned that back in 2006, the mess food was delicious, and he gained 10 Kgs of weight in his first year. When asked about any difficulties he faced in acclimatising himself to the remote location of Pilani, he said that 2006 was almost two decades ago, and there is a generation gap of nearly two decades. He mentioned that in his time, students were typically from the lower and upper middle classes. They were accustomed to austere environments. He added that in their generation, they neither had the impulse to complain nor the restlessness to grumble against anything, being content with what they had. Talking about the college during his days as a student, Professor Jagat said that the fees were much lower– their hostel fees amounted to only 500 rupees per semester. Talking about his friends and academic pursuits while in college, Profesor Jagat stated that he and his group of friends came from modest backgrounds and were quite studious. They would go to sleep by 10 PM and always ensured to attend the 8 AM classes. Talking about his pastimes, Professor Jagat mentioned that he and his friends used to love cycling on campus. Additionally, they would engage in meaningful discussions, take cycling trips, and sometimes plan a trip to the IPC. Professor Jagat mentioned that he earned all three of his degrees from BITS Pilani, and his transcript was six to eight pages long. Another fact about Professor Jagat that might come as quite a surprise was that he was a member of the ‘Department of Firewallz’; however, he took ‘lite’ on it after his first year.

When asked about the college’s academic environment changes over the years, Professor Jagat states there was a shift in culture around 2010 when BITS became more research-oriented. He observed that earlier Professors were able to dedicate more time to teaching. However, with the added research pressure, it was challenging to maintain the same dedication towards teaching as before.

When asked about a memorable incident from his college days, Professor Jagat fondly recalled how his lecturer reprimanded him in his first year in front of 400 students. He remembered sitting on the first bench of his workshop class and yawning slightly, leading to the lecturer admonishing him in front of the entire classroom and waking everyone up. Professor Jagat also recalled working on the legacy admissions website for the college during his college days. Finally, when asked about his own ‘Campus Lore’, the Professor described the ‘paranormal experience’ of living in the infamous ‘Gandhi-137’ for his second year. He recalled how other students visited his room and how he never knew the purpose of their visits and attributed it to the easy access his room offered to the mess. With just a month left to the year’s end, he probed one of his friends and learned the story of Gandhi-137. While bemused by the story, he did not spend the last month of his second year living in fear, as almost a year had passed and no ‘unnatural events’ had occurred.

Moving on to his career as a professor at the college, Professor Jagat remarked that teaching is his true calling and that he is very passionate about it. He believes that choosing to teach at the college he graduated from has influenced his teaching style and allowed him to relate to his students on a personal level. He remarked that hailing from the same college permitted him to make concepts more understandable for his students as he is familiar with the curriculum, teaching style, examination process, and student life. With a smile, he said he sometimes advises students on what to do in the hostels. Discussing the courses he is well known for teaching, Professor Jagat acknowledged that his students appreciate his teaching of ‘Data Structures’, regardless of the course’s reputed difficulty. He also talked about another course he is renowned for teaching, ‘Logic in Computer Science’, or LICS. Surprisingly, Profesor Jagat had not taken this course himself, as it was not offered back then. He was first introduced to the course when he worked as a teaching assistant to Professor Shan Balasubramanian, a professor renowned for his remarkable teaching skills and ability to capture the audience. While working under Professor Shan, Professor Jagat developed a passion for the LICS course, and today he teaches the course himself. He explained that he loves the course due to its importance in understanding computer science’s core fundamentals and theory. 

Talking about his career as a researcher, Professor Jagat stated that it may seem fascinating that despite his poor grades in Data Structures and Data Mining, he chose to do his PhD in the intersection of these two fields under Professor Poonam Goyal. When asked about his research papers, he said that he has published over 20 papers, most in international conferences and journals. He humbly stated that although he prides himself on being a good teacher, he sees himself as a mediocre researcher. He mentioned that he has set a quality bar for himself, choosing not to publish anything below a core B rating or anything not in Q1 or Q2 for journals. His research has primarily focused on big data analytics. Specifically, he has delved into stream analytics. However, he stated that he was branching into multiple areas, such as materials informatics, federated learning, computer vision, human-computer interaction, and metadata management. With the assistance of his many students, he can explore multiple areas, predominantly focusing on AI. Professor Jagat gives an example that essentially emphasises that professors can become entrepreneurs too, hence relying on his students to help bring worthwhile ideas to life and secure some funding. However, Profesor Jagat joyfully mentions that regardless of this fact, he prefers teaching and interacting with his students instead. He mentions that he is a founding member and Faculty-in-Charge of the Postman Innovation Lab, situated at the Rakesh Kapoor Innovation Centre, which students can use for application development, project work, research, and skill upgrading. He strongly affirms that this lab has positively impacted the college’s reputation.

When asked about his deep and long-standing connection to the small town of Pilani, Professor Jagat mentioned that he considered it his hometown. He stated that it has been his place of residence for seventeen out of his 35 years of age. He recounted that his first impressions of Pilani city were as expected. He was already familiar with Rajasthan from growing up in Chittorgarh, so he was aware of the climate. Even in his childhood, he lived in quiet places devoid of city disturbances while residing in Visakhapatnam. When asked about his thoughts on metropolitan cities, he mentioned dismissively that the appeal of high-rise buildings in bustling cities like Gurgaon is enjoyable, but more so for a vacation and not as an ideal living place. Adding to this, he said that the neighbourhood where he was raised was tranquil. All the employees of his father’s company and their families resided just outside the city. According to him, life was good, simple, and uncomplicated. Perhaps that’s why he feels comfortable in places like Pilani, as they remind him of his modest upbringing. Given a choice between Pilani and his hometown of Visakhapatnam, he would always choose Pilani, as Visakhapatnam has grown into a city and no longer possesses the peacefulness it used to. When asked what makes coming to BITS Pilani worth it, he proudly stated that the Birla Institute of Technology and Science is among the best universities in the world, having an excellent alumni network, surpassing many other Indian institutions, and competing closely with the IITs in quality undergraduate education. He boldly claimed that while it may not rank highly at the moment, the quality of teaching, research, and student development is unparalleled. He remarked that students who value quality are attracted to the range of education and extracurricular activities BITS offers. He mentioned that it is one of the best places for overall student growth.

Given his knowledge, skillset, and experience, he mentioned that money isn’t his primary concern when asked about better financial remuneration in other industries. He said it doesn’t discourage him even when his students earn three times his salary. He highlighted that teaching is his passion, and it makes him happy. When asked to share his goals and ambitions for the future, he mentioned that his path and goal are the same, which is what he’s pursuing right now. He said that he doesn’t desire fame and just wants to find happiness in his job. He mentioned that he simply wants to enjoy his life and be content with who he is. His main ambition is a peaceful life. When asked the question about the changes he would like to see in BITS in the upcoming years, he mentioned that he would like to see the tuition fees be reduced, improvements in student intake quality, and the creation of more labs on campus to provide students and professors with more opportunities to excel. 

Finally, when asked about his advice for BITSians, he concluded that alongside taking academics seriously, students should remember to join clubs, play sports, and learn beyond textbooks. He advised students to choose a specific area of interest and work hard on it, regardless of whether it aligned with their career goal, as he believes that this would better prepare them for life and teach resilience. He stressed that teamwork, good English, outspokenness, and communication skills are as important as technical skills. He emphasised that while AI tools can be helpful, students should not be overly reliant on them as they can stunt creativity. Professor Jagat Sesh Challa concluded with a quote, ‘You can take me out of BITS Pilani; however, you cannot take BITS Pilani out of me.’