‘Good learner, challenge-seeker, and full of questions’, say Parag Agarwal's mentors in Mumbai

As the world congratulates Parag Agrawal, the new chief executive officer (CEO) of Twitter, his Mumbai alma mater remembers him to be one of the distinguished alumni. The professors from his department said they always knew he had a bright future.

Agrawal, 37, has succeeded Jack Dorsey as the chief executive officer of Twitter.

Parag Agrawal, 37, with his wife and their child. Pic/Twitter

Professor Supratim Biswas from the Computer Science and Engineering department of the IIT Bombay, where Agrawal did his B.Tech, remembers him to be one of the brightest minds. According to him, it is no wonder that Agrawal has managed to reach such great heights early in his life, as there was something extraordinarily different about him.

A topper among toppers

"We, at IIT Bombay, already have the toppers from across the country, and to top among them you really need a special calibre and Agrawal had it in him. He was extremely bright in class and focused. He was a typical topper material who was also organised," shared Prof. Biswas. Agrawal was the topper of the 2001-2005 batch.

Praveen Tyagi, Parag Agrawal's JEE coach, says India has many bright minds, but they succeed after leaving the country due to lack of a conducive ecosystem to grow

A statement shared by IIT Bombay Director Professor Subhasis Chaudhuri stated, "The significance of a university is often judged by the collective achievements of its alumni and the glory that they bring to their alma mater. Parag Agrawal is one such alumnus that IIT-B is proud of. The education and the ambiance that IIT-B provided to Parag, not too long ago, helped in bringing out the best in him. Building on top of it with hard work and dedication, Parag has reached the top. Our congratulations to him and we hope that IIT-B can continue to produce such achievers."

An enthusiastic learner

Agrawal JEE coach also had praises for his former student. Praveen Tyagi, who coached him at Atomic Energy School no. 4 for the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) for exams in 2000, said, "Parag was always enthusiastic to learn something new and always wanted a challenge in solving questions. In fact, when he returned victorious from the International Physics Olympiad, he asked me questions. This was my first batch of JEE and Olympiad coaching, and I already had a gold medallist - Parag." Agrawal's JEE rank was 77, he added.

Supratim Biswas

Tyagi shared how India has many bright minds, "but they succeed after leaving India because they do have the conducive ecosystem here to grow." "If we had offered a supportive environment where talent is given importance, India would have been a superpower with these brainy individuals," he said.

Tyagi said he connected with Agrawal again through Facebook this year, and they have been in touch since.