B.Sc (Data Science and Applications)
Should you ever encounter Anirudh Penumatcha, you’ll quickly realize he’s someone who simply doesn’t believe in slowing down. Hailing from Hyderabad, Anirudh’s youth was a whirlwind of competitive sports — swimming, cricket, tennis, golf, and football — all pursued at the state level, not merely as hobbies. However, a football injury necessitated a halt to his athletic endeavors. Far from decelerating, Anirudh merely shifted his focus to a new playing field.
In 2021, Anirudh was among the pioneering cohort to enroll in the IITM BS Degree in Data Science and Applications. After completing the foundation level in just two terms, he moved to the U.S.A. to pursue further academics. When unforeseen circumstances necessitated discontinuing his degree there, Anirudh, handling the setback with composure, returned to India in 2023 and recommenced his IITM BS degree as his sole academic pursuit. He has been fully committed to the program ever since, sharing, “Since then, it’s been my only academic focus.”
Anirudh had always been drawn to technology, but it was the BS Degree that truly ignited his interest in Data Science. He found the program’s flexibility and structure particularly appealing, noting, “It felt like a good fit for where AI is heading.” Yet, he candidly admits his initial lack of full investment, chuckling, “I just wanted to play golf.” The turning point came, however, when he started connecting with his peers and tackling projects—that’s when the topics began to click, and his excitement truly took hold.
Anirudh’s breakthrough came at a Hackathon at IIT Hyderabad, organised by Honeywell Aerospace Technologies. “It was more of an ideathon for me,” he recalls, as he was still refining his coding skills. His project, which talked about using LiDAR sensors integrated with AI to clear taxiways, runways, and airports, won him second place.
That moment lit a fire. With a newfound energy, Anirudh undertook projects of his own, Kaggle competitions, and coursework.
Anirudh was fully committed by the time he wrapped up his Diploma, having become smitten by the MLP and BDM projects. Leveraging a dataset provided by the owner, Anirudh’s BDM project revealed actionable insights that helped a local café cut ₹80,000 in inventory costs in just three months. Today, Anirudh has led his SE and SPG project groups, won Kaggle competitions, and has started working as a freelancing Data Engineer.
While he humbly states he hasn’t accomplished much, his actions tell a different story. For instance, he developed his own web-scraping project capable of extracting all information from the Telangana RERA website and building machine learning models to forecast land and project development trends.
When asked about his transformation, Anirudh consistently emphasizes the degree’s structure, crediting it with instilling discipline. “This degree teaches you to put in rigorous effort,” he explains. “You have to show up to the live sessions, watch the lectures, and do the assignments on time.” He also values the unique flexibility of learning from home, which allows him to spend time with family while learning from top-tier educators.
He happily remembers his time at Paradox ’23, where he discovered his place and forged a tight-knit group of like-minded friends within the BS community. He played football again, and thoroughly enjoyed the stalls, movie night, and the prom.
Today, Anirudh is focused on securing a well-paying job. He’s diligently working through LeetCode and Kaggle challenges and also considering higher studies. For now, his priority is honing his skills to land that dream job.
Anirudh’s straightforward advice to future students is to “Translate what you learn into projects. Network more.” With the wisdom of a senior who has excelled in sports, transitioned into data, and overcome obstacles, he acknowledges, “Yes, it is an IIT degree, so it is bound to be hard. But trust me, it’s worth every bit!”
