At the recent meeting of IIT Madras, Jigisha Tailor and her son Aditya Kapadia they walked on stage together to receive their degrees. Jigisha is 45. Aditya is 21. They didn’t plan to finish at the same time, and no one expected to be invited together. Jigisha was 16 years old while studying at an engineering college in Bharuch, Gujarat, before family work forced him to go to school in 2019. After jumping three meters, he entered the classroom, at this time when he was a student, in the course his son taught him.
How an online BS program became a family decision
Aditya registered IIT Madras’s online Bachelor of Science (BS) in Data Science and Applications in 2021, at the age of 18. The Covid-19 pandemic closed schools across the country, so an online degree from IIT Madras had the same weight as any other option available at the time. Data science and artificial intelligence (AI) have caught the attention of the target audience, regardless of the pandemic. At that time, online students had to be re-enrolled in the public sector, so Aditya started studying at IIT Madras along with a diploma in a college in Ahmedabad. This changed when the IIT Madras senate announced an online BS degree equivalent to a full-time four-year course. Aditya left the diploma and went on to the program at IIT Madras. Jigisha was initially looking away. The lessons were spread over numbers and patterns, close enough to his electronic history to get a good feel, and different to get a new feel. Aditya encouraged him to enroll, and in late 2022, he enrolled, according to Indian Express.
Balancing education, homework and ten-year differences
Resuming academic life after years away from education was not immediate. Jigisha needed time to re-learn math and statistics before the things stopped working. He relied on school sessions to clear doubts, some of which took place in the middle of the night, along with a WhatsApp group formed by his friends. He kept his studies light, taking one or two subjects a semester, unlike Aditya, who usually took four at a time. The flexible nature of the program made it possible for working professionals and returning students alike. His daily routine began around 4:30 in the morning, studying to be completed by seven, followed by homework and further studies until noon. Not everyone who was close to him understood his decision. His relatives asked why he was studying again at this time of his life. However, at home, the party was different. Her husband, who is also a college professor, helped her through difficult times, including when she doubted whether continuing the course was worth it. Her mother-in-law followed her work deadlines, and her mother-in-law, who used a wheelchair, also continued to participate in the work.
From training participants to training participants
After some time, Jigisha and Aditya’s relationship changed from parent and child helping each other to being closer to their friends. They all had the same academic goals, and the interest of the competition increased by obtaining the grade ‘S’, the main distinction of the program that was given to the top 5 to 10 percent students, above the ‘A’ to be the best. Aditya, having cleared his diploma course in the past, started the chapter and supervised his mother at the end of the program, including the viva test and the online practice test.
Life after graduation
Aditya completed his BS degree in 2024. He worked as a data science intern at Syngenta before being offered a full-time position by the company. Jigisha completed her program immediately but decided to pause before looking for a job. Her youngest son is currently in 12th grade, and she wants him to be there during this time. She has not said that she will return to teaching, and her husband has told her that he will teach guests at his college, given more scholarships.
No one planned a meeting
The two did not sit together for the ceremony, as the BS and diploma students were seated in different sections. Their joint appearance on stage was planned after a bandmate brought up their story at a pre-concert dinner, and the moment wasn’t what either of them had anticipated ahead of time. For Aditya, watching his mother study these years gives a different perspective on her, which is shaped by the same discipline and effort she put into what she does. A shared educational journey brought mother and son closer, adding a new dimension to their relationship beyond just the degree.