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 engineer and researcher I wanted to become. After LUT, 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 HelmutSchmidt University for coastal modelling project. More recently I've moved into applied data science and machine learning, working on projects ranging from energy-system forecasting to evaluating AI language models a shift that took some courage, since it meant stepping outside the "pure research" track I'd built for over a decade.
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 nice experience to mentor Mukesh Basnet a journey who though me to be 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
