People of Intel - Nishitha Ravi

​Intel Ireland's campus in Leixlip has a population of thousands - equivalent to a typical Irish town - and filled with a vibrant, diverse and dynamic collection of people. Through the People of Intel series, we share their stories.

Nishitha Ravi, 
Process Engineer

I grew up in Bangalore and have always been interested in the technology field. Both of my parents are from a commerce background, so I wanted to do something different. When I was 12, I watched an Indian movie about humanoid robots, and something just clicked in me. From that moment on I knew Electronics was the area I wanted to eventually work in.

Landing in Ireland was quite a culture shock as I’d never travelled this far before. I came to DCU to study for my masters and then was lucky enough to get hired by Intel a year ago and even secured a scholarship from Intel during my course. I’m an only child and so it was hard to leave my parents and adjust to living alone as I had to learn everything from scratch, including cooking! But I took a leap of faith, grabbed every opportunity that came my way and luckily met a really good group of friends, and they’ve become my family away from home.

From the minute I arrived I really loved Ireland with so much greenery and fresh air. Coming from somewhere as big and busy as Bangalore I found Dublin very small, but the people have been so very friendly and welcoming. 

Once I made the move however, I got to start satisfying my travelling bug. I’ve been exploring Europe and have visited five countries so far and hoping to have seen ten before the end of the year. I really loved Paris and London and I’m so excited to have this chance to travel.

I chose Ireland because of the one-year master’s program which is great for someone as an emigrant from a financial point of view, and also because Dublin is the European technology hub.

Apart from struggling with the weather, I’ve really settled at home here. My mum came to my graduation, so I really enjoyed showing her the country.

I am a traveler. I cannot stay at home, so in the evenings or over the weekend I’m out walking, catching up with friends for a movie or exploring the city. I have visited Cork, Galway, Waterford. Next on my on my bucket list is to do a solo trip, maybe to Denmark. I love art and pencil sketching and I’m also a noob guitarist and love playing music, so it’s been a joy to get exposed to so much music and art in Europe. I always sketch in pencil, using no colours as I find it more challenging to try and shade and capture depth in black and white.

I was nervous about coming to Ireland, but it’s definitely been worth taking that tough decision of moving to another country, because I’ve learned to stand on my own two feet and overcome fears. My parents have always given me huge support and encouragement in everything I’ve done, especially my mother, so that has helped me believe you should never give up. 

I feel lucky to be here at Intel. From wanting to get into robotics, I’m thrilled to be working on the core component of that which is the microprocessor. I would love to explore the design part of that process at some stage too. It feels like I’m working at the cutting edge of technology which is a dream come true. I remember that 12-year-old young girl watching that movie and sometimes I feel I could have chosen an easier path, but then I pinch myself that it’s really happening and here I am living and working my dream.

If I could go back and speak to her, I’d tell her I’m proud of you and dream big. I’d almost given up being able to pursue this dream because of Covid but I just knew I didn’t want my passport pages to be empty and so I stayed determined. And here I am - the dream came true, with lots more to dream.

Read more from of our People of Intel series.