BS (Data Science)
In Sanskrit, there is a word “jijñāsā” , which lives on in Hindi and Bengali as “jigyāsā” and “jiggāśā” : a restless desire to know, a curiosity so deep that English has no perfect equivalent. Priyangshu Bala might not have used that word to describe himself when he enrolled in the IIT Madras BS Degree in Data Science & Applications in 2021, but four years on, it’s the only word that fits his description. Priyangshu, a student from Santragachi who once labelled himself “average”, enrolled in one of India’s most demanding online degree programmes, and four years later, found himself mentoring others through the very crucibles he once struggled to endure alone.
Like many, Priyangshu was initially drawn by the undeniable gravity of an IIT degree. What began as an ambitious pursuit quietly turned into something far more personal: a “growth mindset” he subconsciously cultivated.
By his own admission, Priyangshu was never the student at the top of the class. School was average, the scores were decent, and the path ahead was uncertain. What the BS Degree gave him wasn’t a shortcut – it gave him a philosophy. “Try, fail, build again, fail again”, he said. That loop, unglamorous as it sounds, became the engine of everything.
Nowhere is this more evident than in his role as a BDM Project Mentor, one of the degree’s most grounding experiences, where students engage with real businesses, real data, and real stakes. Priyangshu has analysed a plethora of businesses ranging from a powder coating factory to a local pharmacy. Each dataset told a different story; each client presented a different problem. For someone who once measured himself against classroom averages, the breadth and rigour of that real-world exposure speaks for itself – he didn’t merely find his footing, he outgrew the label entirely.
His experience through Paradox, the degree’s flagship fest, added yet another dimension. From absorbing the electric energy of workshops, networking over coffee, to catching films at movie nights; for him, this experience proved that this degree is always more than a mere qualification.
What strikes the most, though, is his lucidity on what the degree genuinely does well. He speaks about it not as a student enumerating benefits, but as someone who has inhabited them. The self-paced learning, the industry-aligned projects, the Software Engineering presentations where a peer’s ingenuity ignites your own. Watching batchmates reimagine the same problem in a dozen different ways left Priyangshu with something no lecture could have delivered.
“IITM BS has done beautifully in creating a growth mindset, in compelling us to think out of the box”, he states.
He also speaks, with quiet gratitude, about the fee waiver he received and what it represents for students from financially weaker backgrounds across India. Every student quietly carries the dream of one day easing their parents’ sacrifices and making them proud. With the fee waiver, Priyangshu did both before even stepping into the workforce.
The degree didn’t just invest in his future; it honoured his family’s faith in him.
As he prepares for placements and keeps the door open for a Master’s degree, Priyangshu’s message to future students is as unadorned as his journey and perhaps more powerful.
“Never doubt yourself. If I could have done this, everyone can.” From a self-described average student to a mentor shaping the next cohort. That, right there, is the degree doing exactly what it promised.
– written by Shambhavi Shekhar
