Work starts... Now! (Newsletter#1)
Joining TKS, Writing a paper now?, Integrating the TKS Velocity program, Starting my focus on space technologies, My health and Wellness
Hi, my name is Abhilash Mohapatra, and first, let’s start with a quick introduction. I’m a 15-year-old student at Lycée International (a unique school) near Paris, France. and a first-year innovator at TKS (The Knowledge Society). I am passionate about Space and biotechnology and the potential applications of ideas merging both realms. I am also heavily invested in DeFi (the world of cryptos and NFTs).
These past two months have been transformative. I’ve learned more about myself in these two months than ever. That sounds very clickbaity and false, but I genuinely believe these past two months were cathartic. As the saying goes, “diamonds are created under pressure.” And man, have these past months been challenging. So what created that “pressure”? That would be the new environment I have been exposed to—one where I have had to constantly be “high standards” to succeed.
Joining TKS
The Knowledge Society is a company headquartered in Toronto, Canada. They have in-person programs in Vancouver, Toronto, and Ottawa, as well as an entirely virtual global program. Living in France, I chose the virtual program (cohort 6). It is not an ordinary coding boot camp. The goal is to guide the next “leaders, CEOs, and innovators to impact billions” in 10 months. To do so, they try to cultivate our “T.” The wide part of the “T” represents a wide breadth of knowledge in many fields. Then the vertical represents a “focus” in one area.
Coupled with technical knowledge, we learn soft skills. Indeed we are encouraged to collaborate in short sprint sessions, researching a topic in a group and presenting our results. This has taught me how to work efficiently and create impactful slide decks. It is only through these continuous reps that we are constantly encouraged to improve. Of course, there is still room for significant improvements in effective communication and concise presentation, for example.
Writing a paper now?
TKS encourages students to complete braindates (meetings with other TKS students). One braindate I had with Joy Agrawal led to an incredible project: writing a research paper. Joy and I are space buffs, and he had an exciting idea to remove debris in space. Now Joy, Manuja, a friend of his studying law, and I are working on writing a research paper. If you want to stay up to date with future updates about this paper, please subscribe to my newsletter. This goes to show the incredible network inside of TKS.
Integrating the TKS Velocity program
Inside TKS, there is another program for those willing to put in extra time and effort to become even better. Velocity started this week, and it is intense. Many days my parents come into my room and say, “Abhilash, stop working you seem to work more than us.” After hours of pouring over research papers, I’ve completed and published my learn article (about 3D bioprinting in space). In Velocity, we must look into a person of the week (Naval Ravikant). For those who do not know Naval Ravikant, I highly recommend listening to the Knowledge Project Podcast with Naval Ravikant.
Starting my focus on space technologies
In TKS, the “focus” is a structured system in which the student has to produce four pieces of content focusing on topics like AI, blockchain, or nanotechnology.
I chose Space Technology as my Focus.
In my first piece of content (an article on Medium called the “learn article”), I discussed 3D bioprinting in space. If you are wondering why we are attempting o print organs, let alone in space, please read my article: “Printing organs? In space?”
Follow me on Medium and subscribe to my newsletter if you want to continue this journey on space technologies with me.
My health and Wellness
With all these commitments, I’ve been clocking in many hours. In cases like this, mental and physical health can often become a severe issue. Fortunately, I play competitive basketball, so my physical health is one of my priorities. Playing basketball also helps me deal with all the mental load.
I am also very grateful to have such supportive parents who help me stay stress-free. Velocity also emphasizes working out and meditation to promote psychological and physical well-being. My lifestyle is demanding. I am almost always constantly working on basketball, TKS, or school, but I now appreciate the “grinding phase.”
Quote of the month:
Pain doesn't tell you when you ought to stop. Pain is the little voice in your head that tries to hold you back because it knows if you continue you will change
Kobe Bryant (R.I.P.)
Upcoming events 🚀 :
TKS Explore Hackathon
My “apply” piece from my focus
Meeting Jules Padova