An Incubate-eeeeeee

Getting accepted into Incubate Nepal

Before I begin, let me ask you, “Did you know that I was accepted to the cohort of Incubate Nepal 2023?”. Most of you would say, “No!”; leaving a few who had messaged me to learn about my application status.

Everyone knows this still, I am emphasizing it, “The public does not know your achievements unless you share them.” What conclusion can you draw from this? Well, if you want to keep something private, just don’t share it on social media. That’s all!

Moral lessons apart, how would you react if your application was reviewed by a Harvard alumnus and received a mail stating that you have been shortlisted for the interview process? Awesome? Would you jump out of excitement? It’s totally normal to get overwhelmed in these situations, isn’t it? So, I consider myself abnormal. I didn’t react much to hearing the decision. Perhaps, it could be because the decision was sent in the morning and not at midnight. Had it been a midnight decision, the night owl would have danced and screamed with joy at the decision. Nonetheless, the owl remained emotionless in the morning.

Interviews were no less surprising. Two friends of mine asked, “Atith, have you received any email for the interview process?”. And, I was like, “Literally, do they send you an email before publishing the notice on their social handles?”. For the day, I was shocked. Further, the friend added, “One of my friends has already received an invite for the interview.”. “God, my chances are over.”, I said to myself. Surprisingly, I received an email from a mentor (the project I am currently in), the very next day. I take this moment to thank an interviewer who had interviewed me a month back. It was then that I learned how to tackle an interview. I still remember, “Don’t under-present yourself. When someone interviews you, don’t present your weakness, but emphasize your strengths.”. I did the same. Luckily, she loved the article I wrote in my twelfth and here I am in the cohort of Incubate Nepal 2023.

Did I receive just one invite for the Interview? No, I got two. And there’s something to share about it as well. In my interview with the previous mentor, I used the phrase “Not yet.” when she asked if I had received any more invitations for an interview before her. She loved my optimism with every answer that included the word, “YET”. Well, ‘yet’ means something has not been done by the time of speaking, doesn’t it? Moreover, it will be done in a future time. And it stood very well. I received an invitation for another interview for a project in Computer Science a few days later. Looking forward to the interview, I joined it and again drew one more conclusion: In places like Incubate Nepal, you are there to put your skills on the table. So, a project that requires programming knowledge of Python would not match my current knowledge level and skills. Therefore, I politely addressed the issue with the mentor. It could be one of the reasons I was not chosen for the Computer Science project, and I have no objection to this. In fact, I am very happy to be a part of the current team.

If I were selected for the Computer Science project, I would be looking at several geniuses. Knowing nothing about Python, I would probably have a learning phase and could not make any significant contribution. Hence, here’s an application tip: It’s not always about being there, it’s also about making the contributions. If you cannot, simply leave the place, learn the skill, and be back when you have met the requirements. Again, this is a personal thought.

Overall, I am extremely excited to be a part of the cohort of Incubate Nepal 2023.