The Next 36: Prateek Gupta

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/prateekgupta.jpg” caption=”Prateek Gupta, a second year Integrated Science Program student at McMaster, has been accepted into The Next 36, a national program designed to launch the careers of 36 of Canada’s most promising students.”]

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Gupta, in his second year of the Integrated Science Program (iSci) at McMaster, has
been accepted into The Next 36, a national
program designed to launch the careers of 36 of Canada's most promising students. The
initiative will give Gupta and three team members $50,000 and guidance from some of
Canada's top business leaders to develop an application for a mobile device as well as a
$25,000 scholarship to participate in the program's summer Entrepreneurship Institute.

“I'm really excited,” said Gupta, one of only two science students to be selected in a
nationwide search. “This is a great opportunity for me to be able to bring my passion
for science to the field of business.”

Gupta and his team, which includes students from the University of Toronto, Bishop's
University and Queen's University, have already begun work on their project, which all
agree will incorporate some form of social networking. Gupta says that because each
individual has their own ideas for the application, the group has quickly learned how to
compromise – a valuable skill in the business world.

“We're not just learning how to develop a product, we're learning how to be successful
entrepreneurs,” he said.

This is not the first time Gupta has mixed his love for science with business know-
how. He recently teamed up with Scientists in Schools, an organization dedicated to
fostering an interest in the sciences at the elementary school level, to run workshops
via video chat for students in remote areas. The program, which he hopes to begin
piloting this semester, will see trained McMaster science students engage with
youngsters who would ordinarily be too far away for Scientists in Schools to visit.

“We really want to show the kids where science can take them,” said Gupta. “We want to
get them excited and also let them know that there are great job opportunities
available in the field when they are ready to start thinking about careers.”

A student in the unique iSci program, Gupta says that having been exposed to different
ways of learning has helped to prepare him not only for his work with Scientists in
Schools but also for The Next 36.

“In iSci, we take problems and expand on them and learn to understand that everything
has multiple perspectives,” said Gupta. “It's very practical and very applicable not only
to other sciences, but the business world.”

Carolyn Eyles, a professor of geography and Earth sciences at McMaster, predicts a
bright future for Gupta.

“He's an amazing student in so many ways,” said Eyles, in whose lab Gupta worked
after receiving an undergraduate student research award from the Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council of Canada. “He's a sponge for information and he's
always thinking beyond the classroom. Being a part of The Next 36 will allow him to
develop so many new skills and expose him to things he'd otherwise not be exposed
to. I can't wait to see what he will accomplish.”

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