I sat down with Sohil Nagpal, a recent Software Engineering (Honours) graduate from Deakin University, whose path spans IoT, AI, robotics, and real-world industry projects. From working in research labs to writing backend code for cloud deployments, Sohil’s story is about curiosity, courage, and the kind of independence that only comes from stepping far outside your comfort zone.
📍Q: You started your academic journey in India at Chitkara University and transitioned to Deakin through a mentorship program. What was that experience like, and how did it shape who you are today?
Sohil: “Honestly, I never thought I’d end up in Australia. The idea was new to me and even to the people around me. But once I started studying virtually with Deakin through the mentorship program, I noticed how different the education system was. That difference pulled me in. I went with the flow for the first two years, and eventually, it led me here. Living by myself has made me more independent, professionally and financially, and that’s probably the biggest transformation I’ve gone through.”
📍Q: You’ve worked both in a research lab and in industry placements, from robotics at Deakin to cloud/backend at VDOIT. What’s been the biggest shift in mindset between the two?
Sohil: “I’ve been drawn to tech and electronics since I was a kid in India, taking things apart, figuring out how they work. That curiosity led me to IoT. There’s something incredibly satisfying about solving a problem through hardware. But I soon realised that hardware alone isn’t enough, you need software to complete the loop. That’s when I started diving into backend, cloud, and APIs. Research gives you time to explore and think, while industry demands delivery and structure. You learn to think in both ways.”
📍Q: If you could give one piece of advice to a first-year software engineering student trying to break into IoT or AI, what would it be?
Sohil: “Start experimenting before you’re ‘ready.’ Don’t wait. The sooner you start exploring, the more clearly you’ll understand what excites you. You’ll learn to break things down and see the full picture and from there, you can decide if it’s truly for you.”
📍Q: One message for the world?
Sohil: “Consistency and discipline are everything. Be kind, and be nice to each other. That goes further than most things.”
✨Key Takeaway:
Sohil’s journey is a quiet reminder that progress isn’t always loud, it’s layered, deliberate, and built one experiment at a time. Whether solving with sensors or scaling cloud solutions, his approach reflects a mindset of growth, curiosity, and care. In a world racing for speed, Sohil shows the value of staying grounded in patience and purpose.
