PrintWeek India Student of the Year: Fehmida Shaikh

Rushikesh Aravkar (RA): How does it feel to win the PrintWeek Student of the Year Award?
Fehmida Shaikh (FS): I feel elated and privileged to be chosen amongst many and feel as they say ‘hard work pays’.

RA: Do you think the print industry needs to do more to attract young designers and creative persons?
FS: Yes, as a fresher I would say the print industry needs to market it for the youngsters and take in more of them and utilise the creative and fresh ideas of the new generation. Youngsters should get a fair chance in designing and creativity as they do in production. More companies should opt for fresher and give them a fair chance to grow and help in company's growth.

RA: What were you studying?
FS: I completed my Bachelor of Engineering  in Printing and Packaging Technology from SIES Graduate School of Technology (GST), Nerul. SIES GST is the only college affiliated to Mumbai University which provides this four-year course.

RA: How did you settle on your final year project and how did you put it into action?
FS: I was one of the ten students selected by Cadbury India to carry out our final year project. After discussing with Jaswinder Dhadda, R&D manager-packaging development at Cadbury, we thought of taking up a project related to CFB boxes. Generally, deciding the parameters of CFB box which includes gsm of paper, number of plies and type of flute, is based on trial and error method and requires strong experience to predict these parameters manually. Our project was aimed at proposing a model that would predict the parameters of CFB box, given the compression strength expected from the box by determining the edge-crush and ring-crush values. At the end of the year we were able to produce a MS Excel based model which not only predicted the suitable box parameters but also reduced the consumption of paper and thereby reduced the price of the box. I must add that the valuable guidance from Jaswinder Sir and our faculty members helped us to accomplish the project.

RA: How do you view print?
FS: Printing is more of art than technology. It is there in the world for years. However, when one becomes aware of the technicalities and knowledge of how ink is transferred onto the paper and the numerous critical parameters which when controlled precisely can produce an excellent piece, it becomes much more interesting. I find myself very lucky to land up in such a creative industry.

RA: What would you like to say to people who are sceptical about the future of print?
FS: Anywhere and everywhere you see, there is print; so no reason should one be sceptical about the future of printing. Still, as a printing professional, I can see scope for developments with the emergence of digital printing and its potential in the market.

RA: What would you like to do in your future career?
FS: I would like to be more active on the creative front in printing and packaging industry. Marketing and R&D would be my preferred career choices.