Not too long ago, our world thought of technology as something with no pragmatic utility rather than as a revolutionary tool of creation. Luckily, the opinion of world has evolved, with technology now being thought of as a tool to help to earn a living, a platform to influence anyone, and a chance to revolutionise the world. An article in The Verge called today’s youth ‘The Startup Generation’. Why? Is it easy to succeed and become rich with a self-run business? Is it really true that everyone can succeed at what they do, that their company will be the next tech giant? No one really believes that.

Of the hundreds of startups, 99% believe that their idea stands out – that in no time they will make billions. But most startups struggle just to get an initial investment. All that matters to them is their idea. Many startup CEOs fallaciously believe that investors look for just an idea. However, there are many more factors – a business plan, projected growth, burn rate, estimated stock value etc – that investors look at before putting up money in new companies – after all they also want to make money for themselves. Without having plans for the future and a proper , they can’t possibly get an investment, or turn their company into a profit – let alone be productive.

The world out there is a battlefield and not everyone survives. People shouldn’t think of a startup until they have a plan of action – not just technologically, but economically as well. After all, it is a business that they’re trying to run.

-Sameer Chadha

The great startup bubble has finally burst. The number of billion dollar startups – called ‘unicorns’ – are at an all time high: currently more than 180. But the question is, why do so tech startups hesitate from going public?

One possible answer is that many people in the tech world are introverts and see the process of going public as a distraction from their work. The other reason being their sky high valuations, which backfire as these tech companies have sought valuations above what public investors are willing to pay. So far this year, only 14% of IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) in the US were made by tech companies, the smallest percentage since at least the mid 1990s according to reports. The data suggest that even some of the most promising startups in Silicon Valley might be worth far less in the eyes of the rest of the investment world. The risk is that the lackluster reception for tech startups in the stock market could ricochet through companies that are still private. We saw this in the case of Square Inc in 2015, a mobile payments company co-founded by and still run by Twitter’s Chief Executive, Jack Dorsey. Square Inc.’s IPO price was steeply discounted at less than 60 percent of the company’s last private evaluation.

Last year Dropbox had no trouble in boosting its evaluation from $4 billion to $10 billion but investment bankers caution that the San Francisco based company might be unable to go public at $10 billion and might not deliver a big pop to recent investors and employees who had hoped to strike it rich. Nick Woodman, CEO of action camera maker GoPro doesn’t regret taking his company public in 2014 despite the many stock troubles it has faced. Japanese messaging company Line raised $1.1 billion in an offering on July 11 and has been the biggest tech IPO of the year, while other newly public tech companies stocks are up 90% on average, signifying that winter may finally be over for tech IPOs. What happens in the future remains to be seen as startups such as Snapchat, Airbnb and Uber might go public in the near future and they may offer fresh hope for tech related startups. The question still stands, should tech startups go public or not?

It is our opinion that they should. As in the experience of Facebook, going public was nothing but an excellent business decision, signifying an uncommon conflation of both technological genius as well as business acumen on the part of the creators. Not only did it make Bono the richest musician at the time, it signalled to several smaller companies that this was the way forward. Facebook sits atop a pyramid of the world’s biggest and richest tech giants, and made a killing by going public. Not just this, going public provided a face for the company to bank on, and heightened their public presence like never before.

The only question that remains, thus, is can you pull it off like Mark?

-Aveneel Waadhwa

How often do you use the Internet for entertainment purposes and how?
Internet is the preferred medium for entertainment purposes for me. YouTube, Hotstar, Netflix and Spotify are some of the prevalent platforms used by me.

In what ways do you think can we fight torrenting?
Torrenting is a two sided sword. On one side, many people prefer to download open source softwares via torrenting as not everyone has a 24×7 reliable connection in this world but on the other side, it has become a hub of pirating, costing the world billions of dollars annually. The battle to curb piracy is to be done on multiple fronts. While cyber laws and crackdown on pirates is important, encouraging ethical behaviour and work is equally important.

What are your views on cashless transactions through mediums like PayPal?
Cashless transactions are the way to go. Cashless transactions not only make payment easy but also help in reducing pure cash transactions, which means more transparent transactions.

What would you prefer- a DSLR Camera or a Smartphone Camera?

Preference depends on the task at hand. Nowadays, for most of the purposes the Smartphone Camera does serve the purpose well though.

-Shalini Harisukh

1) What are your thoughts on completely digitizing education in India?

Ans- India is one of the fastest growing tech-hubs in the world, companies are flocking to us at a breakneck pace for the brilliant minds we offer for hire. To keep up with these continuously growing demands we have to make education something more than textbooks and notes, we must truly revamp and digitize our education system, ensuring that every man, woman & child can fully take advantage of the myriad of wonders that technology has to offer.

2) How can we increase student’s participation in class with the help of technology?

Ans- I believe that interactive classrooms are the future of education, with students following the teacher on the journey that he/she chooses to lead. An increase in already prevalent technologies and proper adaptation is the key to ensuring that every child unlocks the hidden potential they have.

3)What do you think of ‘computers are the best teachers’?

Ans-Every child in their own best teacher, with an introduction to computers they can find guidance in the comfort of their own homes, with crowd sourced forums and expert opinions, acquiring knowledge goes from a task to something akin to a hobby.

-Sangeeta Rana

With the central government’s efforts to digitise the country in full swing, it is indeed the right time for us to pause and reflect on the pros and cons of the digital revolution that is soon to follow. Digitisation on one hand will be lights of hope to millions of people all across the nation. People in the rural parts of India will have better access to essential information and will be able to escape from misinformation and exploitation due to lack of knowledge. On the downside, it is unexpected to what extent this might lead to a dependency on gadgets all across India making people less hardworking and ‘cellphone addicts’.

We wholeheartedly support the government’s ‘Digital India’ initiative but with precaution that each step should be taken with proper deliberation and thought.

-Shekhar Sharma

How can you prevent misuse of internet at schools and help children utilize the time they spend on the internet?

1. While the internet is a handy tool in teaching, students are misusing the facilities provided to them. Internet access should be password protected in school computers and the internet when allowed by the teacher should be used for facilities such as Google Classroom, and online resources such as W3 schools.

What are your views on ‘Internet of Things’?

1. ‘Internet of Things’ is a very pragmatic tool. For example, it can be used to connect household appliances and systems to create an interface where all things can be centrally controlled from your phone/computer.

What is your favorite programming language and why?

 3) In a programming language, you look for flexibility and versatility of use. C++ provides this basic, broad based usefulness and is versatile. It is a very fundamental and directly applied language and is hence my favorite.

-Nandini Dasgupta

1.What are the specific fields where technology can be used for social welfare?

1) There are a variety of fields where technology can be used for social welfare. The internet can be used to connect to depressed people, discuss their problems and calm them down. This can actually help in reducing the number of suicide cases among both school students as well as other people.

2.How can artificial intelligence be useful for defense forces like drones,etc?

2) Drones and other surveillance systems employ the use of artificial intelligence to a large extent. AI is used to create autonomous machines that can perform a variety of tasks and can be controlled remotely. They have the feature to learn and store experiences and create databases corresponding to them, thus creating an integrated expert system.

3.What will be the job opportunities for those who want to pursue robotics?

3) Engineers and robotics specialists are being employed to create and control comprehensive systems that are taking over in fields such as space exploration, industrial manufacturing, defense, expert systems in medicines and many others. There is a high demand for personnel trained in robotics in these fields, and robotics is slowly taking over from their human counterparts in these fields.

-Ajit Kumar

What skills are essential for a student to be a good programmer?

Technology is always evolving and the skills and abilities a programmer has today will likely be outdated in a few years. It’s important for a student to be very logical and be of a mathematical bent of mind. A programmer must follow the latest trends and be eager to participate in any continuing education opportunities that are available.

What do you think of ethical hacking?

Hacking  is ethical if the hacker does it with the permission of the owner to show him or her the risk of being attacked by cyber criminals. But this practice becomes unethical when the hacker possessing the permission of the owner starts misusing the information and loopholes in future for material gains or with malicious intent.

Hackers are required but there should be another set of Hackers who need to monitor the activities of the hackers as a check to to avoid any potential threat of the owner or the system. Metahackers, perhaps.

How can we improve computer science education in India

Computer Science has both educational benefits and economic benefits. It can and should be part of every student’s education, just as other core subjects like physics, maths, chemistry. It should be made a compulsory subject at school from an early age. Computing education is not yet mandatory in schools in India. It is an elective subject from the 9th grade (age 14) on wards, for which the various boards have prescribed syllabi. It is often left to the school to decide when they want to start this subject, or what to teach until 8th grade. If the teachers are given proper training and an infrastructure is improved then computer science education will automatically improve in India.

-Anjana Virmani

What do you think of Quantum Computing?

Quantum Computing has the potential to revolutionize the industries.The vast increase in power could revolutionize fields such as medicine, space exploration, and artificial intelligence. Quantum computers are more human-like in their problem solving approach, and that will make them better able to complement human tasks.

How do you view Game development as a career?

Excellent career in today’s time. It helps you develop your creative and programming skills. I recommend starting with something that doesn’t involve coding, such as Scratch, or Game Maker. They both offer tutorials and ample resources to teach yourself and explore your creativity.

What do you think of the recent advancement of 3D printing industry?

The main strength of 3D printing lies in the fact that it gives you the freedom to make customized products.3D printing is already being used in making customized dental caps, prosthetic eyeballs and femur and facial reconstruction for a fraction of a cost of the traditional manufacturing components.

This technology will lead to a paradigm shift in the coming 2-3 decades in the manufacturing where design will become the key and not the manufacturing method. This is probably too futuristic, but then I am quite confident of the same.

–Aashima Nagpal

• How are Google apps useful for education?

The most interesting fact about the Google apps is if you can type, you can use, which emphasizes their ease of use. The Apps are designed to provide organisations with a safe platform for data, offering better security and reliability than most schools could achieve on their own. Moreover, the apps include dozens of security features specifically designed to keep data safe, secure and in your control. It has removed the bottlenecks and and now we can spend more time on learning and teaching, making it an ideal environment for learning. Fast and easy collaborations now help students to display their creativity in learning. Google Docs and Google Classroom are the best examples which allow users to access files via mobile phones, even the Apple iPad, and of course from desktop computers and notebooks.

• How can automation (use of robots) affect job opportunities in IT fields?

Present day automation is affecting the job markets in a big way. Many people are of the idea that it will reduce the job opportunities while others are of the view that in the near future the requirement of IT specialists will outnumber the supply. I personally believe that the use of automation in the field of IT will generate more job opportunities for skilled people in all fields, in the years to come.

• What do you feel about virtual reality?

“The world of the computer was something behind the screen, before,” but now VR gives people a way to enter it. The truth is that Virtual Reality is likely to fundamentally change how people communicate and create a social impact as big as the telephone or the internet.

-Mukesh Nagpal