Hi, I'm Heena! I completed my M.Sc. in Computational Engineering and Technical Physics at LUT back in 2018, and that experience still shapes a lot of how I think about my career today moving to Finland from India after having master's in mathematics and 5 years of teaching mathematics, learning to navigate a completely new academic system and culture, and figuring out, step by step, what kind of researcher I wanted to become.
After LUT, I did my internship at Brandenburg Technical University with ERASMUS+ internship program on reduce order modeling in Jet Engines. After that I did a PhD in numerical methods for geosciences at Universität Hamburg for climate excellence cluster project , followed by postdoctoral research in Hydromechanics group at Helmut Schmidt University for coastal modelling project. I completed a Data Science Bootcamp in May 2026 at neue fische GmbH, where I developed a capstone project focused on forecasting and optimizing the transition to renewable energy, SelfPower · Streamlit. As a PhD Community Ambassador at neue fische GmbH, I support researchers exploring career opportunities beyond academia. I also work as an AI Research Evaluator with Aligned Labs, USA, where I test and evaluate large language models as a freelance consultant. In addition, I work as a freelance lecturer in Data Science and AI at Berlin School of Business and Innovation GmbH in Hamburg.
I wanted to become a mentor because I remember very clearly what it felt like to be a student far from home. In 2025, I had a nice experience to mentor a doctoral student and it taught me patience and resilience. I don't believe in one "correct" career path, and I try to help my mentees find their own, rather than pushing my own experience onto them.
As a mentor, I'd love to be paired with someone who's curious and open to honest conversations including about doubts, setbacks, or the messier parts of building a career, not just the polished version. I'm happy to talk about anything from technical topics (Python, machine learning, research methods) to softer things like work-life balance, imposter syndrome, or adjusting to life in a new country. Outside of work, I enjoy cooking, singing, photography, and networking.
- Studies at LUT: Computational engineering, Technomathematics, 2018
- Mentoring language: English
- Number of mentee spots: 1-2 students
