Hello. Hi I'm. Doctor Swati. Shall I start with the interview? I've gone through the advertisement. Published and I I feel that my profile suits your requirement. As I have completed my PhD in Cyber security. My research topic was on. Uh, efficient approaches or of DDoS mitigation techniques in IoT systems, which is basically a lot of interdisciplinary. Topic and. But I know. It is it is high in demand and I feel I can handle most of the subjects related to IoT, cybersecurity and in recent years I have been taking. The classes on. Machine learning. Network security. And. Cybersecurity fundamental and. Computer networks. IoT devices these. Uh, these are all subjects I have been handling. In recent 2-3 years. And I have also. UH taken the labs and prepared syllabus for the. Lab which is more practically inclined and industry oriented. So I feel. This is. The requirement right now that whatever. Is being taught in the. Classroom. UH should make the students. More industry oriented and. They get. Hands on training on the things that are required by the industries. OK.

Okay, so you've been teaching machine learning, network security, and IoT, and you also built out practical, industry-oriented lab syllabi. Out of all the courses you've handled recently, which foundational concept do you most enjoy teaching to undergraduates, and why?

OK, uh, so. I have completed my B.Tech. Electronics and communication from RPSIT and Mtech. In control system from BIT Sindri and PSD from IIT Patna. And uh. While pursuing the PhD I was a part of. A project funded project was there in microseconds, so I was working as a project fellow for that with that company for one whole year and after the completion. Of my five years regular full time PhD degree, I joined Cambridge Institute of Technology, Bangalore. There I have. Joined the Department of Computer Science Engineering and handle some subjects like. Like, uh. Digital design and computer networks and IoT devices, these, these all subjects I have taught and along with that, I was also handling entrepreneurship cell, uh, I was the coordinator for that and uh. After uh. Cambridge Institute of Technology I joined JSPM University where I have taught several subjects on cybersecurity like Introduction to Cybersecurity, Network Security, Operating System Security. Python for cybersecurity and also establish the lab practicals and. Uh, lapse for the same? And over there, along with the academia, I was. Also handling the entreprene. Like, uh, internship. For the students. And I was the internship coordinator as well as the. Training and placement coordinator for the MCA and MSC Cybersecurity. Students and after that. January 2026. Recently I have joined MIT WPU There right now I am handling machine learning and full stack. Development. And along with these subjects, I'm also handling the semi. I'm also the seminar. Coordinator. Uh for uh, CSC. Students.

Okay, so you earned your PhD from IIT Patna and you've handled both teaching and coordination roles across different institutes, including developing labs and managing internships. Out of all the foundational concepts you've taught—like digital design, computer networks, or cybersecurity fundamentals—can you share which one you find most rewarding to teach, and maybe give an example of how you make it accessible for students?

I think from computers. Computer networks. Uh, computer networks is basically the fundamental for cybersecurity, so. Computer networks I love the most teaching with the students. If the basics are clear, it is very easy for you to make the students. Understand the cybersecurity concepts like network security. For network security you should you must understand the networks. So I feel. Before. Giving them hands. Practice you must at least. Clear the basic concept for. Any subject? And in cybersecurity, I feel. In computer networks, if the things are clear or if you are talking about operating system security first. Operating system should be. Clear to them. So I feel first we should go with the computer networks. Then network security. And then hands on for hands on practice there are. Uh, different courses like ethical hacking? Digital forensic these all things we can we can tell them very easily in the labs there are number of open source. Uh, softwares. Where you can, uh. Just show them how to go for distal forensic and ethical hacking and I feel. Practical if we. Give them as a some. Projects as a case study it will be more practical based learning will be there rather than just. Skipping it to, uh, some assignments.

You mentioned your PhD research focused on efficient approaches for DDoS mitigation techniques in IoT systems. Can you walk me through a moment when you had to simplify one of those research ideas for a group of undergraduates or non-specialists?

OK, so. For a layman, how I'm going to? Explain this DDoS mitigation technique in IoT systems. OK, uh. Ddo's Basically, Ddo's attacks are the attacks in which. A number of traffic packets are bombarded to a particular server. To make itself unavailable for the legitimate user, like. For example, uh. During. During uh. Takkal Tickets. When you open the IRCTC website you will find it. Very inaccessible. You are not able to open that website because a number of. A large number of data packets are being transferred to that. In that large number of data packets, there might be some. Uh, legit illegitimate data packets would be there, which is making it down or temporarily 4 to 5 minutes. They are making it unavailable for you. Uh, so that you are not, you will not get the ticket and. Another party who is? Intentionally doing so. Will get the tickets. So this is called your. DDoS attack and now to what to do it do? What are the methods to mitigate it? Mitigation means you have to find out the ways how to prevent it. Prevent. That means uh. You you have to identify. First thing is you have to identify the malicious traffic. Packets whether the traffic is. Genuine traffic or it is a malicious traffic. There we have to find out the pattern. We have to analyze the traffic. So. For analyzing the traffic there are number of ways like you can use AI, ML algorithms also but we are talking about IoT systems which is. Again, computationally, uh. Very weak. We can't, uh. Give them high. A complex model because that will be a load for that IoT system. So we have to find out, uh. Very less complicated, uh. Machine learning models. Or deep learning models which can be worked. Which can work on its devices. So, uh. There are a number of things like. This is a simple way. Where you can go for mitigation, First you have to identify the traffic, whether it is genuine or it is not genuine. Then you have to find out the way how to divert the. More data packets coming to your server making it down and for that you have again. Uh, cloud system is there. Right now your there are cloud system where they used to divert the traffic to make your server more. Available for the genuine traffic.

Okay, so you used the IRCTC ticketing scenario to explain DDoS and connected it to how IoT systems have limited resources—so complex models aren't always feasible for mitigation. When you teach this, how do you get students to engage with the trade-offs between security and computational constraints in a practical lab or assignment?

Connected to how IoT systems are limited resources. Limited resources IoT systems are basically.

Given your research on DDoS mitigation in IoT systems, Professor, where do you see the most fundable directions for the next three years? Which specific grants or external funding sources would you target to sustain and grow this line of research?

Keeps your service down for. Sometime so. Basically S devices are different if you go to healthcare industry. Where your patients data are being. Taken by the sensors and being uh. Provided on the Internet. To the through Internet it is going to the your doctor sitting somewhere else that is connected to your edge devices and the in that scenario comes your. IoT devices. And another example is your industrial IoT. Industrial IoT. Everything is connected through through Internet, the sensors and all, and your S devices is working as as a. Brain where it is. Uh, taking the inputs from the sensor. Calculating the scenario. And real time, uh, decisions are being made at the edges. Or Fox. So this. This is called your. This is. This scenario will come under your edge. Uh. IoT devices. Industrial IoT or the healthcare IoT? But IR IRCTC is not the IoT scenario, that was just only an example. To make students understand because. This website is something that. Most of the US. Use the in our daily life and we used to get trouble in. Uh, getting a ticket while. Typical period is just open.

You’ve talked about building practical labs and connecting concepts to real-world scenarios. Suppose you’re teaching a core course in network security to a large group, but you can’t use slides or traditional lectures. How would you engage all your students and make sure even the less vocal ones are actively learning?

OK, uh. Even if a large number of group of students are there, I my way of teaching is that I don't give written assignments, I give case studies. I prefer. I make. A small group of. Students, four or five students and give them case studies. To read about it. To see what that case is all about. If possible, replicate that. And if you are able to replicate that, you have to come up with a solution. For the same. Like. Real world scenario you have to take up and then so. Students will not get a chance to copy from another. Person it will increase the critical. Thinking and overall in industry itself, we have to come up with a practical solution to any problem. So if you can, you are able to identify any problem and you are able to find out the. Solution to that problem that. That will evolve your level of thinking in that, uh. Subject. So, uh. Basically to engage, make things interesting and more practical. I used to go for. The case is 30.

Right, so you use case studies and group work to build critical thinking and keep students engaged, even in big classes. How do you measure whether this approach is actually helping the quieter or less confident students develop and participate?

Because I will. I'm going to. Ask when I give the group is to group. A group project. I give them a group project, but I evaluate individually. And for whenever they will come up with the solution. Yeah, and you talk. About that topic. You will get to know who is. Contributing how much and if someone is lacking. Like in a group if a student is more. Technically sound and is more vocal and that person is doing. Almost all the things so I'm not motivate that even the weaker student. To just contribute. A little bit and stick to that strong student and learn how he is doing. And I ask questions to that particular student, not about the. Critical thinking first. What he he has learned from that? Particular project. From that. Student or other students who are doing that because if you give this. Project to a weaker student only then he will not be able to do anything. Basically he will try to skip that, but if he he's in uh. He or she is in a. Group working together in in a project at least that person will learn something and in presentations also I I used to ask them what is. The individual contribution of each student. Accordingly, I used to evaluate on the basis of individual inputs given by that. Particular person.

Can I give them how to improve that?

Right, so you evaluate group projects by speaking to each student and probing what they've personally learned, making sure even the quieter ones are engaged by being part of a team with stronger peers. If you notice a student consistently struggling to contribute, how do you intervene to help that individual without holding back the group’s progress?

So this the student. Who is? Continuously struggling with uh.

Making any input to the project or anything I will ask them. I just asked them. You just. See what others are doing. And do it individually. After seeing what they are doing. And individually, you come and report to me what you have. Make the progress. Because replicating also makes them learn something. By sitting, ideally they are not going to learn anything so. Having something is better than nothing, so I I'm not going to hamper the overall group. Project, but I will ask that particular I will give. Uh, that particular student. The time when he can come and show me what he has done and how he has done. From. Learning from other his peers and all.

You were saying, if a student is struggling—how do you help them improve without slowing down the rest of the group?

Professor, imagine this scenario: a student files a formal complaint alleging your grading is biased, while at the same time your department head is pressuring you to improve pass rates. How would you navigate this situation, balancing fairness and institutional expectations?

OK. See my in my evaluation first I used to. Uh, keep the rubrics clear. Very clear. And. That is not. That curve for a student to achieve. Minimum passing marks or improve the overall grade average student. Can this basic below average student can also? Clear that because the rubrics is like that only at least minimum that criteria that that the student has to. Fulfill. To get passed and if that student is not able to pass in that. Particular rubrics. So there is something. Tremendously. Serious with that student, I will give that a student another chance to. Come, come up well prepared and again I will give. Uh, that is student a chance, but. Again, if he feels. 2-3 times it is very difficult to give that student. A passing mass just because of the pressure. Because that is. Injustice with the other students who are. Uh, already.

Already. They are working hard for getting. Marks I can give. For improvement but. Uh, after. 2-3 chances also that person is not. Improving. Then it is very difficult to pass that. Student and if rubrics is clear, there is no chance like that Student cannot claim that some. Favouritism is being done.

Alright, Professor, thinking about your experience as a training and placement coordinator and building labs in cybersecurity—do you have any existing industry connections or collaborations that could lead to internships or placement opportunities for your students?

Alright, Dr., thinking about your experience as a training and placement coordinator and building labs in cybersecurity—do you have any existing industry connections or collaborations that could enhance student projects or bring real-world problems into your classroom?

Till now I have not faced such scenario. Because I used to keep everything very clear, I. Tell the all the students what is the rubrics on which I'm going to evaluate you. You just keep. The things ready with you. So I don't think such scenario. Will occur in future also.

Alright, we're wrapping up. Is there anything you'd like to ask about the role or the team?

Uh, yes, I would like to ask you about. Like the department is interdisciplinary, So what is the? Basically, what is the? Basic structure of the department, what kind of subjects they're going to take up, or there is a subject. Specialization is there or something like that? I I'm not clear about that.

Thanks for raising that, Professor. The department emphasizes emerging technology specializations, so faculty often teach across areas but are encouraged to develop depth in one or two core domains. You'll likely be involved in both foundational and advanced subjects, mentoring students, and supporting interdisciplinary projects, but there's flexibility depending on your expertise and interests. Is there anything else you'd like to ask about the role or the team?

OK. So is there any scope of quantum computing over in this department?