Born and raised in India, Shobitha has always had a passion for technology and a thirst for knowledge.

This drive and ambition helped her engage in a diverse range of activities and excel in all of them. In Grade 9, she was awarded a scholarship by the Singaporean Government to pursue the 4 year Integrated Programme in Singapore’s top Junior College. As a pampered 14 year old studying in India, it was a huge opportunity and challenge for her. Being a conservative society, she received more discouragement than support from everyone around her as it did not make sense to send a female overseas. While she did have her own doubts and fears too, she took up the challenge to follow her dreams. And she absolutely does not regret it as she broke all the odds to emerge successful and make everyone proud.

Shobitha then decided to follow her dreams of pursuing her University studies in the UK. She studied MEng Computer Science and Software Engineering (First Class Honours) at the University of Birmingham, during which she also did a technology placement at IBM. She also completed her MBA – Masters in Business Administration (Distinction) at Cardiff University and is now back as a Cyber Security Consultant on the IBM Graduate scheme. Her experiences as an International student thus far have made her an independent person and enriched her time-management and decision-making skills. It made her a stronger person and has given her the confidence to thrive in any kind of situation. It also gave her a more universal outlook towards life. The different kinds of education and the global exposure that she received has made her better prepared for a global career.

CAREER

Placement Year – Cognos Technical Support Analyst, IBM

Shobitha had a fantastic placement year, where she seized every opportunity available, made significant achievements, and showed extraordinary potential to emerge as a top intern and was also IBM’s only nominee for Women in IT Awards. She worked as a Technical Support Analyst for the Cognos UK support team, providing technical application and software support to Cognos Analytics clients across EMEA and NA. Despite having no knowledge of the product initially, she obtained 2 certifications in the product and emerged as one of the top 10 Analysts in Europe. She also had the highest client satisfaction score in the UK. This illustrates that she is unfazed by challenges and can embrace change to emerge victorious. Working in a team with six other interns, her natural leadership skills came to the fore, acting as the figurehead, championing solutions and direction. Alongside her demanding day job, Shobitha was a great ambassador teaching school children Lego Programming, Mentoring, being a Barclays Digital Eagle, videoing her story for Tech Partnership and encouraging Women in STEM at events like the Skills Show London and at several Universities.

Current – Cyber Security Consultant, IBM Graduate Scheme

Shobitha joined IBM literally days before lockdown in March 2020. Despite joining during lockdown, she didn’t let the restrictions caused by remote working hinder her progress and ability to network. As a returning intern along with a recent MBA, Shobitha added a lot more value than many, and showed herself to be highly active in all areas of IBM. She worked across different Cyber Security competencies for several large clients. She proactively took on additional responsibilities in diverse client projects and received positive feedback for her high-quality deliverables. She received the UKI Collaboration for Business Award from the IBM-UKI General Manager and wide recognition for her team’s security transformational work for a large client. She achieved the Champion Learner (Gold) status amongst top 5% of global IBM-ers for 2 continuous years for completing 600 hours of diverse learning. She was the only early professional chosen to lead the finances for 8 high value projects that helped the leadership team maintain healthy profits. She is also an inspiration to others by being an ally and standing upto inappropriate behaviour at the workplace. She has also very proactively participated in several Diversity and Inclusion initiatives such as publishing videos, creating a community for early professional excellence and ethnic minorities, mentoring and speaking at events to support early professionals and underprivileged students. She earned the Be-Equal Ally position through her actions to create a supportive and inclusive culture. She was also awarded a merit pay rise within 6 months of joining for performing beyond expectations and adding value to her team and wider IBM across several fronts. Shobitha is well liked for having a positive attitude and conscientious manner which makes her popular on all teams. She is truly an asset to IBM and would certainly build a high professional profile with this growth rate.