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Murali Govindaswamy, Alumni
- Year
- 2008-2009
- From
- India
- Sector
- Rural ICT Solutions
- Location
- India
- Degree
- 2010
MBA Sloan, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program
"My own vision is to empower the millions of children in rural India to be able to pursue higher education without having to move to the cities, like my family was forced to."
I spent much of my youth in Chennai, a city in India, where my father took a factory job to provide me with a chance at higher education. As I was growing up, I saw the number of sacrifices and difficulties my parents had to endure to make it possible for me to pursue a better education, an opportunity that they never had for themselves.
My business plan is to give rural villages access to education, telemedicine, agriculture, rural cottage industry markets, and e-governance through increased Internet capabilities.
I received my first degree from the prestigious Birla Institute of Technology and Science, India in 1998. In August 1999, after a yearlong job with Samsung, I traveled to Ames, Iowa to begin my master's degree in Computer Science. In 2001, I started working with Ericsson in Boulder, Colorado.
My education in computer science and my work experience at Samsung Communications and Ericsson have given me deep exposure to wireless and network technologies. At Ericsson, I performed in a variety of roles including deploying wireless base stations in towns and villages in India, leading the development of a platform product for WiMAX, managing an Ericsson-wide global test and measurement equipment sourcing project, and engineering challenging cellular communication solutions.
During my career with Ericsson I involved myself in a number of global assignments requiring international travel, including a few to my home country India.
Besides my professional interests, I am an avid hiker and a beginner skier. Hiking with friends gives me a terrific opportunity to connect with new friends and forge deeper bonds with current friends in a relaxed and fun environment. I founded a Toastmasters company club and have been pleased with the positive impact the club has had on members.
