Pankaj Sood
Entrepreneur and MEEI Graduate

MEEI Enterprise Development Project:
McMaster RFID Applications Lab (MRAL)

They practically had to push Pankaj Sood out of the program.

“They” are the faculty of McMaster University’s Master of Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation (MEEI) program. Pankaj, a recent graduate, has benefited from the program’s unique training to such an extent he admitted to mixed feelings about reaching the end of his formal education and training.

“It really surpassed my expectations from a personal growth standpoint,” says Pankaj, adding if he’d taken the route of a traditional MBA program, he believes he would not have progressed as an engineer, entrepreneur, and individual at such a rapid rate.

Pankaj has an impressive CV, having worked for and with companies like Research in Motion, IBM, and Deloitte before even entering the MEEI program. “I had some great working experience but the program taught me how to analyze and recognize an opportunity and take calculated risks. I started my own business before, but basically I just jumped in head first.” Now, Pankaj has the skills and tools to properly plan and manage his projects and his business, with a disciplined approach he feels confident using.

He is quick to note that the average entrepreneur becomes accustomed very quickly to extreme highs and low – it’s a reality of working for yourself. “When things are good, people are all for you. But when everything takes a dive for the worst, others may jump ship.” And who can blame them – unless you have Pankaj’s passion and ambition, and now, his expertise as a result of completing the program.

Even Pankaj’s parents have noticed positive differences in their son since graduating from the MEEI program. His new-found confidence in himself allows him to take initiative in ways he might not have considered before, utilizing new relationships he’s gained through the program’s mentors and instructors.

“In an MBA program, everything is very clearly defined,” explains Pankaj. “Here, things are much more fluid. You set your own expectations, as opposed to having those expectations set out for you.” He adds, though, that this resourceful characteristic can seem uncomfortable to some. But Pankaj has an ingenuity that made him a strong fit in MEEI.

“We all make mistakes,” he smiles, “but in the program, we made them together, and learned from them together.”