Bipin Sharma, our amazing team member and IIT intellect of FabLab Nepal, is branching out from the Impact Hub Family this month. Bipin joined us back in January 2021, amidst the hustle and bustle of the first FabLab’s arrival to Nepal! He’s been the pillar to establish and set it up with the team, making it fully functional within a month of arrival. Bipin brought life to this lab by operating multiple training programs and projects since the launch of Fab Lab in February 2021. This month, we bid farewell to this amazing member of the family as he is moving back to his hometown Chitwan to run his consultancy business.
Here’s my short conversation with Bipin on his farewell as well as his Birthday celebration at Impact Hub Kathmandu!
- Tell us about your journey with Impact Hub Kathmandu (IH KTM)?
I joined Nepal Communitere (Impact Hub Kathmandu) as Technical Associate for Fablab Nepal and it’s been exactly 1 year 1 month 18 days with this hub! Although it’s not a very long time, this space and team are very close to my heart. Right now reflecting back, what I see is only a steep learning curve for myself. When I joined the organization, there was a lot of excitement and pressure on the team preparing to bring FabLab to Nepal. I became part of that important and exciting mission and finally, our lab was launched in February 2021, coincidently my birthday. Being a technical associate at the lab, my engagement was not limited to technical duties for FabLab but I also got a lot of opportunities, exposure, and network that’s capacitated me to now take the lead for my own business. When I just returned back from IIT Bombay in 2020, I came back with my own startup idea but I felt it wasn’t the right time. Luckily, I found Nepal Communitere that was bringing FabLab Nepal which was a perfect blend of work for an engineer and aspiring entrepreneur like me. This entire year I got to work on 4 different projects and around 30+ small product design and development with individuals and startups which I feel really accomplished!
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- What will be your most memorable moment with Impact Hub Kathmandu?
The most memorable moment for me is definitely the FabLab Nepal launch event which also happened to be on my birthday on February 18th. Despite so many challenges, the entire team left no tables unturned in bringing and setting it up together. It was really motivating and a moment of awe that our entire team was doing almost everything from cleaning the space to labeling machines, installing them with the virtual TOTs from MIT! Within 15 days, the lab was ready for demo and launch. That time I realized this is the best team I have ever worked with and everyone is so capable and dedicated at IH. I personally had a chance for a lot of self-learning the whole time. When Pallab had to go to Kerala Super FabLab for training, it was most pressurizing for me and Pradita. But we enjoyed the entire process of self-learning and teaching one another what we discovered.
After a journey of an exciting and memorable stint, I have chosen to bid adieu to this fantastic organization to pursue new challenges. I would like to thank each of you for making my 1 year, 1 month, 18 days the most cherished year of my professional and social life!
Bipin Sharma
- What is the best thing about working at Impact Hub Kathmandu?
TEAM! Definitely. I felt I found a workplace that is such an open space with a cushion to speak and share everything in the team. We, as a team, worked together, celebrated together, and the BEST thing: vent out our frustrations together openly at the table. We knew we trusted each other with open communication and it always helped us solve problems and conflicts quickly. The community vibes, family-like team, flat hierarchy with an open and welcoming environment are what make it the best place to work. Additionally, the small celebrations of birthdays and accomplishments give utmost joy.
- What are you doing next?
I am heading to my consultancy business: Central college of vocational training in Chitwan as a Business Development Manager to scale up the business as it’s finding more growth opportunities. All the learnings and experience I have from the team, community, and projects will be the backbone for this avenue! I definitely look forward to future engagements and partnerships with FabLab and Impact Hub once I set up my business in Chitwan.
This is the best platform for startups, students, and businesses! We didn’t have such exposure and access to resources during my college years, even in India and I think this is such a big opportunity for current innovators! FabLab Nepal supports product design and development while Impact Hub Kathmandu is the community of support for entrepreneurs and businesses to connect and thrive! Every ideator should visit this once!
Bipin, we will definitely miss you and your witty humor at Impact Hub Kathmandu every day! Best of luck for your business endeavor and continue to shine, grow and spread knowledge as always!