Manthan's Alum Talk Series Ep-1

Ep-1 Manthan kicked off their alumni talk series with an insightful, dynamic and open conversation with Mufsin Puthan Purayil, a CIS Manthan alumnus and an IMA Sociology gold medalist from the 2014 batch. He completed his MPhil from IIT Bombay in Planning and Development Alum Talk Series and is currently a PhD candidate in Public Policy Analysis at IIM Calcutta. Mufsin is a recipient of the DAAD grant from the University of Göttingen in Germany for public policy analysis. He also freelances as a policy analyst for magazines such as The Diplomat, South Asia Monitor and The Geopolitics. In this talk, Mufsin discusses his various research interests, including corporate social responsibility, the digital divide, and his current field of research regarding labour studies from an organisational perspective. He shared with the audience his experiences at CIS, the reason for choosing sociology as a major, his experiences attending conferences abroad, and the hectic coursework at his current institute. He credits the IMA programme for giving him the ability to approach topics from a multidisciplinary perspective, allowing him to explore different subjects. Furthermore, Mufsin offered suggestions on various opportunities one can pursue after graduation. He talked about research and career options for a social science graduate, clearing the JRF, internships and volunteering opportunities, and some pointers on building a CV. Discussing CGPA, his opinion is that they are essential but not life- changing and can be compensated by developing skills. In his opinion, a sharp mind and great ideas are equally important, and that a key takeaway from our college education should be the ability to communicate efficiently. Finally, he encouraged the students not to let fear hold them back from trying out new opportunities. Mufsin also talked about some initiatives that the students can undertake to connect with people to discuss more options within the university. “Read a lot, if possible write a lot” was a crucial piece of advice he gave to the audience when asked about how one could find and pursue their research interests. Towards the end of the session, Mufsin gave candid suggestions and solutions to various questions asked by the audience about figuring out research interests, doing PhDs abroad, exchange programmes, choosing among Indian universities, the scope of certain subjects in the country and outside. To connect and interact with more alumni from different fields, join the talk series conducted by Manthan! MUFSIN PUTHAN PURAYIL