Omar Farooq Wani’s fascination with science made him to qualify the IITJEE exam in 2008. Now, in his 6th semester of study at IIT Roorkee, he gives valuable advice to students. Ikhlaq Qadri reports.
Omar Farooq Wani was always fascinated by science. So much so that it became his passion. “I just love science,” says Omar. The passion to pursue Science, made him to aim for the IIT. “If you want to excel in science, IIT is the best place you can go to,” he says.
Between him and the IIT stood the IITJEE exam given by lakhs of students every year, and considered among the toughest in the world.
When he appeared for the IITJEE exam in 2008, around 3.5 lakh top notch students from all over India formed his competition. He cleared the exam and secured the 2836th rank.
His rank was enough to take him to the prestigious IIT Roorkee – ranked among the best engineering colleges in India. There he landed the coveted civil engineering stream. Presently, he is in the 6th semester of his engineering programme.
To qualify for the IIT, Omar studied hard. “I left many of my hobbies like sports and poetry. I never wanted to be a jack of all trades and master of none,” he says.
“Fixing priorities and being focussed are important attributes for any kind of serious study, particularly if you are preparing for an entrance exam like IITJEE. Never ever lose focus,” says Omar. “Among the most important things is time management. You should manage your study hours and never let your time go waste,” he adds.
Omar feels that Kashmiri students lack awareness regarding exams like IITJEE. “I only came to know of the exam when I was in class 11th. Till that time I had no idea of the exam,” he says. This stands in stark contrast to students elsewhere. “They start preparing for the exam quite early,” he says.
“Kashmiri students are the most intelligent,” he says, “but their talent is unharnessed.” This according to him is a due to lack of awareness and exposure and becomes a major cause for their under representation in quality educational institutions like IIT.
“Even if I would not have been able to make it to the IIT, I would not have been depressed,” says Omar. “I want to learn science for the sake of science. If not IIT then I would have gone to some other institution,” he says.
“Herein I must not forget that I made it to the IIT only because of the support and the inspiration I received from my parents,” adds Omar, who is especially thankful to his school teachers.
Omar had done his schooling form Burn Hall School, from where he passed the class 12th examination in 2007. “My school teachers always had faith in me, and they gave me inspiration,” he says.
About the experience of studying at the IIT, Omar says that everything has its Pros and Cons. The biggest positive of studying at IIT for him is the study atmosphere. “They make you to work very hard. There is hardly any rest,” he says. “Another good thing about IIT is that you have lot of scope for improvement and learn significantly from other students.”
But Omar feel the biggest negative is the aim of the students to pursue study just for monetary purposes. “Guys there just see how much they are going to earn after degree completion. They see everything in terms of money and placements. Most of the people want to be selected to the IIT just to get a good pay package,” he says.
After completing his engineering degree Omar plans to go for further studies and research. “I will go for research and pursue science in its various forms. Like other students at IIT I am not driven by money. I want to contribute to science,” he says.
Even today Omar is doing research in ‘Hydropower’ and has already published a research paper. “Kashmir has a huge hydro power potential. This is one of the reasons of my interest in the field. I hope to contribute here,” he says.
