Welcome To CoLab, Abhishek

Tell us a little about yourself, Abhishek

Hey everyone! I grew up in a small town called Bharuch on the western coast of India and moved to Newfoundland and Labrador in 2018 to pursue a masters degree in Computer Engineering from Memorial University. Aside from work, a few things I enjoy are cooking, board games, occasional hikes, good music, and conversations about soccer and cricket (if not technology)! On my days off, you’ll definitely find me playing pool or binge-watching random Netflix series.

How did you first get into  development?

I won’t say this is how I first got into software development, but it all started when MSW Logo was introduced to us during middle school computer classes. Making the turtle run around with basic commands in a console (FD 100, RT 90) was something I thought was really cool. Soon after that I was making HTML pages and learning basic CSS alongside MS-DOS commands, at my highschool—where I was also first introduced to C programming language. After high school it was clear to me that I wanted a career in computer science, as it was what I had the most fun learning in school, so I started my bachelor in engineering with a concentration in Information Technology (IT). Those were the initial steps that eventually led me to software development.

Why did you first join CoLab and what are you most excited about?

I was introduced to some of the legacy PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) software and tools dominating the mechanical industry in my early days of software development. During my time at Infosys, I worked on these tools and built custom features on top of them to manage product workflows. I was constantly noticing that there’s so much room for improvement in these old/outdated tools and thinking about the need to build something totally cool that would disrupt the entire design review process—where one doesn't have to read through tons of manuals or handbooks just to understand the tool and how to use it for their product management. Then I left my old job in 2018 to start a new chapter of my life in Canada.

Fast forward to early 2021, my last semester at MUNL, I found out that the very same topic I’d been debating with myself had been put into action by a local startup (no kidding! Adam and Jeremy were building something really incredible to help mechanical engineers focus on the design review rather than micromanaging raw data and information). After learning more about CoLab, I had no doubt that this was the perfect place for me to contribute to building software that could break the wheel and start a new trend for reviewing mechanical designs.

If you had to be shipwrecked on a deserted island, but all your human needs—such as food and water—were taken care of, what two items would you want to have with you?

A supply of good fictional books and a dirt bike to explore the island.