Pranay Banerjee (left) & Hrithik Bhadauria (right)

Guiding Emerging Mobility Leaders Through Mentorship: Pranay Banerjee & Hrithik Bhadauria

Posted: January 16, 2024

Join SAE as we celebrate Mentor Month throughout January with stories of seasoned professionals giving their time to develop the next generation of engineering innovators.

Did you know the SAE Mentor Program can benefit the mentee and the mentor?

Pranay Banerjee, Senior Technical Specialist in Engine Control at Cummins Inc., joined SAE seven years ago as a graduate student at Purdue University when he submitted his first conference paper for SAE’s WCX. Since then, he’s gotten involved in many areas of SAE, notably being an active participant in SAE’s Mentoring Program.

Pranay has been fortunate to have mentors throughout his academic and early professional career, so he wanted to use SAE’s Mentoring Program as an opportunity to give back to the STEM community, specifically young automotive engineers.

Pranay has successfully mentored four young professionals over the past few years, most recently connecting with Hrithik Bhadauria.

Hrithik, CAE Engineer at Maruti Suzuki India Limited, has been an SAE member for the past three years and knew that joining the SAE Mentoring Program would accelerate his career.

“Mentors from company, school, etcetera, are helpful but properly structured programs dedicated to mentoring with professionals from the different fields open up the horizon to these new relationships,” Hrithik said.

Throughout this mentoring connection, both Hrithik and Pranay learned a lot about themselves and gained valuable knowledge that will leave a lasting impact on their careers. Pranay noted, he grew greater empathy toward others and desire to help others succeed. Hrithik’s biggest takeaways included the new knowledge of the job application process and focus on setting priorities.

Pranay recalled the most significant moment during their mentorship relationship.

“When my mentee [Hrithik] reached out to me after securing his internship at National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and when he got his first job offer at Maruti Suzuki India Limited,” Pranay said. “He was very appreciative of my support with his resume building, interview prep, and career counseling. This was an acknowledgment to me that I was doing the right things.”

The SAE Mentor Program allows you to find, connect, and share experiences with mentors and mentees locally or from around the world. Learn how you can get involved here.