Broadcom Inc. Volunteers – Debabrata Sharma

Inspiring Young Minds to Innovate & Lead in Tech to Improve Lives

Broadcom Foundation is proud to sponsor the San Jose-based Synopsys Science & Technology Championship for several years with over 1,000 students participating in the weeklong event that inspires judges and students alike.

In 2022, judges were needed in science fairs across the country, especially in engineering categories, and Broadcom Foundation’s Special Award, Broadcom Coding with Commitment® that recognizes students in grades 5-8 who combine STEAM learning with coding to solve a community problem they care about that aligns with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Broadcom employees including Debabrata Sharma, Principal Software Engineer for Broadcom Software, answered the call to volunteer at the Synopsys Science & Technology Championship in San Jose, California.

Broadcom Software engineer, Debabrata was a judge at the Synopsys Science & Technology Championship in San Jose, California.

Read about Debabrata’s experience here:

How did you become interested in STEAM?

From childhood, I was very much interested in STEAM; even my favorite subjects were Physics and Mathematics. My science teacher was my mentor for all my projects. When I reached middle school, I started building science models and participated in different state level science fairs representing my school.

Why did you volunteer?

My interest in STEAM encouraged me to volunteer, so that I can inspire young minds to become the next generation technology experts and continue to lead innovation for helping and improving everyone’s life.

Can you describe the experience?

Overall, it was a great experience for me to be part of the Judging panel. I was amazed to see how diverse and innovative these young minds are. It’s so exciting to see how these students came up with a new idea, do the research, work on the model and present it in front of the judges. I was astonished to see their perseverance, and how committed and confident they were about their project.

Most of the students were excited to answer my questions and present their ideas. One thing that was commendable was their thoroughness and comfortableness to present their ideas and some of them were very innovative. Also, I would like to mention that there were minimal technical glitches during the whole process.

What was the best part?

The energy and passion of each student for STEAM, relating to the research and innovation of their projects.

What did you learn?

I learned how talented and innovative these kids are nowadays. These young students seem to do things that are well beyond their age. Their understanding in science and technology is better than many adults. As a technology expert, if we can guide and encourage them now, in future, they will be a greater asset for the community as well as for the country.

How did you choose the Broadcom Coding with Commitment prize?

It was really hard to select one student, and I must say, all of them are equally deserving. We choose the winner based on STEAM, technology, and coding knowledge and the passion for science to build future generation technologies for helping and improving the community. We also considered how with little availability of resources that the participant worked hard to complete the project.

Will you volunteer next year and why/ why not?

I would love to volunteer next year as it was such a wonderful way to be a part of what I am always passionate about and encourage others, as well. I am thankful to the Broadcom Foundation for giving me this opportunity to be a part of this community.

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