Shikhar Agrawal

at Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, we were allowed to “CHEAT” during exams [legally] 😳 well... sort of. so in 2017.. each student was allowed to carry one blank sheet of paper during exams where we could write anything we wanted (front & back).. formulas, diagrams, shortcuts.. (even full derivations if we had space😂) we used to write so tiny, to fit them well that it looked like an art piece by the end 🎨 honestly, when i think about it now.. it wasn’t a cheat sheet, but it was how we were trained at IIT..not to memorize, but to think & prioritize. because truth is.. anyone can copy formulas. but only a few know what IMPORTANT elements to write in exams😉 i still remember .. before the exam, instead of discussing what might come, we’d discuss: “bro, did you add the turbulent flow formula? “wait… you’re skipping boundary layer theory? and during our exam’s last 30 minutes of panic.. that one page taught us how to filter noise & pick what matters.. I’d say that this was our version of chatgpt in 2012. everything in one place. but the real skill was knowing how to use it.. and today, when people ask "will AI ruin the way we learn?" i think of that sheet. Because today, formulas are one click away… students may not need to memorise them anymore & formula-based AI tools might be available soon.. But.. knowing when to use them, and why, will surely need a sharp & curious mind🧠 Thoughts?

6 years ago, i went to Sushant Singh Rajput’s home & it still brings tears to my eyes remembering what he said. at the time, we were building HelpNow. The dream was to make ambulances as accessible as an Uber cab. during the same time, sushant came to IIT Bombay for the shoot of chhichhore. We pitched him the idea. He loved it. He said, “come over. tell me everything properly.” so we went to his house. he listened like very few people do. he asked questions about tech, dispatch, scale, everything. and then said something i didn’t expect: “i don’t actively invest… but i want to be the face of this. you’re solving something real. i want to help.” we couldn't believe what Sushant said... just like that... he agreed to do such a big thing for 2nd year students... because he had that kind of heart. ❤️ i still think about that day. about his eyes when he talked about science, startups, space, helping people. about how much he wanted to give. and then i think about how someone like that,so full of wonder, just didn’t make it. 💔 today, june 14 marks 5 years since sushant went away. and i just want to say this: sometimes, you really don’t see the light you bring to the world. but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. If you ever forget it — don’t quit. don’t disappear. just hold on. because the world needs more of that light. not less. 💙

Just heard Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi is allowing ChatGPT in exams... but students have to submit their PROMPTS too 🤔 And it reminded me of our "cheat sheet" exams back in 2017 where we could write anything on 1 sheet because the real skill was knowing WHICH formulas actually mattered 📝 Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay taught us that how you solve matters more than what you solve  And looks like that's exactly what IIIT Delhi has figured out. Because in 2025, anyone can ask AI: "write this code for me". But the engineers who'll actually succeed will think about how problems should be approached, what constraints matter, which trade-offs are acceptable, and why certain methodologies work better than others. And all of that will start only when they how to think through problems systematically. Maybe it's time more institutions realized: you can't ban the future, but you can teach students how to shape it. Hats off to IIIT Delhi is preparing students for the future 🎓 Funny how we thought AI would replace us, instead it's replacing cheating 😂