Public Exposure and Global Reach (Width and depth in the global market through publication, journal, presentation, awards and leaderships)

Public Exposure and Global Reach (Width and depth in the global market through publication, journal, presentation, awards and leaderships)

I won ICT award in the year 2020 from private sector

I won ICT award in the year 2023 from Nepal Government

Lifelong Achievement award in ICT sector from NAST

My involvement in CeBIT, Hannover Germany, ‘ 96, ‘97 and ‘99 and High Tech center, Yokohama, Japan, international program in Vietnam, Philips Holland has contributed in boosting the IT industry in Nepal. My academic program of the leader of Computer science, IIT Kanpur, De Montfort University, Leicestershire, UK and Philips Holland have greatly benefitted Nepal in developing the IT industry.

My program on "We have talents' ' in Nepal has worked well through various international programs. I am connected internationally to new start-up youth schemes. My expert service at a multinational giant organization like Huawei is helping grow ICT talents in the international and local market. As a member of Senior Professional Engineers, CIDC, India, I have contributed in bringing benefits to professional development of Engineers of Nepal. I have served as Senior Professional Engineers, CIDC India, Research Associate IIT Kanpur, High Tech Centre, Yoko Hama, Japan, South Korea, UNIDO. My effort at CBI Netherlands in the years ‘ 96, ‘97 and ’99 and Philips Holland has given me a rich background for developing programs on IT industries, innovation and talent generations in Nepal.

I have also shared my experiences with policy makers of ministries from High Tech Centre, Yokohama, Japan. My contributions from APO, Japan and South Korea under UNIDO have impacted the IT industry in Nepal. Presentations in CBI Netherlands ‘ 96, ‘97 and ’99 had opened up new horizons in Nepal for the first time. I have made an impact through large numbers of ICT related articles published in various media, magazines, YouTube channels, TV interviews, Blog site articles, and articles in LinkedIn. These media are helping me reach out to policy makers, the rural ends of Nepal and abroad. My ICT related articles have benefited policymakers, researchers and Digital Framework Nepal implementers. My ICT related technical presentations at Vietnam, Japan, India, South Korea etc have benefited concerned stakeholders locally and globally. https://www.timilayamithapa.com/blog-category/4

My technical presentation at national and international level IAS Bangalore, IIT Kanpur has contributed bringing in regional and international experiences.
I led workshops in the area of Creative storytelling and filmmaking.

More details are available in the following link : https://www.timilayamithapa.com/blogs/view/146.html

The Senior Engineering community of Nepal had arranged a two hour interview (Engineer KO Katha ) of mine. The community who interacted in the comment box in this interview are already launching activities with people of rural communities, communities in urban areas and global communities.

I worked for three years in a research project at IIT Kanpur on simulation projects 1976 to 1979.

In the year 1980 I led the software technical team in the power System Planning Group of Canadian Water and Power Resources development Project, Canadian International Water and Energy Consultants in Kathmandu Nepal.

In 1981 I initiated a new innovative software project at Nepal Rastra Bank. The hardware was supplied through Bhaju Ratna Engineering and sales. The work was very challenging as clients were not familiar with automation then.

These programs helped me in providing policy decisions in the ministries.

Very complex software solutions for large scale organizations like Nepal Telecom, Nepal Electricity authority, Nepal Water supply Corporations Himal cement etc under a very scarce resources challenging environment. Product details are provided in my CV and company profile of my IT company (1991 till date) along with a list of certificates from clients.

I have also enclosed the letters from the ministry regarding my active involvement in the development of the IT industry in Nepal. I have made an impact in the policy decision places through my published articles and presentations. I had done elaborate studies of ten top industries of Nepal in 1999 for submitting to the Ministry of Industry and presenting in an international program which was later published in international proceedings of Asian Productivity Organization (APO) Japan 1998 details of which are provided in a list of documents in google drive for reference.

This document provided good guidelines for the Nepal government through the lenses of policies of private sectors for ICT policy interventions in 1998.

I also worked on a software project for Aeroquip, Germany in 1996.

I have contributed for three years to the Rural Telecom Fund Board (RTDF) of Nepal Telecom Authority (NTA) in the preparation of policy documents of ICT for urban as well as remote locations of Nepal for the first time in the history of Nepal. I have also worked in the IT council under the leadership of the PM of Nepal.

Seeing the IT Future Before Nepal Was Ready

In 1996, after participating in CeBIT in Hannover, Germany, I returned to Nepal deeply transformed by what I had witnessed. CeBIT was then one of the world’s largest technology fairs, and it gave me a direct glimpse into the rapidly emerging global information technology revolution. I could clearly see that electronics, computing, software, and digital communication were going to reshape economies, industries, education systems, and societies across the world.

At that time, Nepal was still looking at technology in a very limited way. Most policymakers and institutions had not yet understood the scale of transformation that the IT industry would bring. But to me, the direction was already obvious: countries that could produce large numbers of technically skilled engineers and IT professionals would dominate the future global economy.

After returning, I met senior officials and industry leaders, including Fulanath Chalisey and Padma Jyoti Kansakar, who was then associated with the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry. I told them very clearly that Nepal needed to urgently prepare for the coming IT era.

I argued that the government should encourage the establishment of private engineering and technical colleges. Nepal needed mass production of engineers and IT graduates if it wanted to participate in the global knowledge economy. I had already observed that India was strategically positioning itself in this direction by rapidly expanding technical education capacity.

At the Institute of Engineering, the intake capacity in electronic engineering was extremely small—only about 24 students. I felt this was far too inadequate for the future that was approaching. I even suggested to the Dean that the institute should introduce both morning and evening shifts to maximize existing infrastructure and produce more engineers without waiting for massive new investments.

But these ideas were difficult for many people to understand at the time.

Some found my proposals unrealistic. Others considered them unnecessary or even absurd. Nepal’s institutions were still functioning within a traditional mindset, while I was speaking about an emerging digital future that most people had not yet seen.

What frustrated me was not resistance itself, but the inability of institutions to anticipate change before it became unavoidable. I had seen firsthand how rapidly the world was moving. The technology revolution was not a distant possibility—it had already begun.

Years later, when the IT industry expanded globally and countries like India emerged as major technology powers through large-scale engineering education and software talent development, I often remembered those conversations. What seemed “too early” in Nepal in the 1990s later became accepted reality.

That experience taught me an important lesson:

visionary thinking is often dismissed not because it is wrong, but because society is not yet prepared to imagine the future it describes.

It also strengthened my lifelong belief that nations must build institutions capable not only of responding to present needs, but of preparing for the future before it arrives.

Early Signals of the Digital Future In Nepal

During my years in electronic engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in the early 1970s, I had the privilege of learning from some extraordinary professors whose vision extended far beyond the realities of that time.

One of the most influential among them was V. Rajaraman, widely regarded as one of the fathers of computer science education in India. Long before computer science became mainstream in South Asia, Professor Rajaraman spoke to us about the coming technological revolution with remarkable clarity and confidence.

In his classes, he repeatedly emphasized that India was already preparing itself for the computer age and that IIT Kanpur had been chosen as a leading institution to advance computer science education and research in the academic sector. At a time when computers were still inaccessible and unfamiliar to most people in the region, he was already discussing the future of computing, software systems, information processing, and the transformative role technology would play in society.

For us, the students of electronic engineering, these discussions were deeply inspiring. Professor Rajaraman did not simply teach technical subjects; he was preparing a generation to become future leaders in emerging technological fields. He encouraged independent thinking, curiosity, and the confidence to imagine possibilities beyond existing limitations.

Those classroom experiences left a lasting impact on me.

When I returned to Nepal, I often shared these ideas and experiences with Kul Ratna Tuladhar, the first Dean of the Institute of Engineering at Pulchowk. Dean Tuladhar was a visionary educator who deeply understood the untapped potential of Nepal’s technical institutions.

I still remember him telling me:

“There is so much potential in the Institute of Engineering, but we lack the law, we lack the vision. Timila, you should take it up.”

His words stayed with me for decades.

At that time, Nepal’s engineering education system was still very limited in scale and scope. Institutional structures were rigid, resources were scarce, and there was little policy understanding of emerging technologies. Yet leaders like Dean Tuladhar recognized that Nepal could not remain isolated from the scientific and technological transformations taking place globally.

Those conversations strengthened my own determination to contribute toward building Nepal’s technological future. I increasingly felt that education was not only about producing graduates—it was about preparing a nation to participate confidently in the future.

Looking back today, I realize how fortunate I was to witness two powerful forces at the same time:

visionary academic leadership at IIT Kanpur, and
the early aspirations of Nepal’s engineering pioneers.

Both shaped my lifelong commitment to technology education, institutional reform, and national capacity building in Nepal.

Building Nepal’s IT Future Against the Odds

My participation in CeBIT in Germany became one of the defining turning points of my professional life. CeBIT was then among the largest international technology exhibitions in the world. More than one million visitors attended, and the event brought together leading global technology companies, innovators, policymakers, and software industries from across the world.

For me, attending the event was not easy financially. The trip cost me heavily from my personal resources, and I endured significant financial hardship to participate. But I believed that Nepal could not afford to remain isolated from the rapidly emerging global IT revolution.

At CeBIT, I witnessed something that deeply affected me.

There were nearly twenty major companies from India actively participating, networking, and signing international software and technology contracts. India had already begun positioning itself strategically as a global technology and software outsourcing destination. It was clear that they were preparing technical manpower at a scale far beyond what Nepal had even begun to imagine.

Some potential international clients and industry representatives approached me with a simple but powerful question:

“Can Nepal produce more than 100 computer engineers?”

At that moment, Nepal did not even have a sufficient base of computer engineering graduates. There were virtually no established graduates to lead the field of computer science and engineering in the country. I had to rely largely on students from electronic engineering.

Yet I confidently replied:

“I will go back and prepare.”

That commitment became a personal mission.

From the very beginning of the electronic engineering program in 1994 at the Institute of Engineering, I started encouraging and inspiring students to see themselves not merely as engineers, but as future leaders of Nepal’s IT sector. I constantly spoke to them about software development, global technology trends, digital industries, and the enormous opportunities that lay ahead.

But building this vision inside Nepal was extremely difficult.

Opening a dedicated computer engineering department required continuous struggle. The intake capacity was tiny—only about 24 students per batch. At a time when the global software industry was demanding massive technical manpower, Nepal’s system was still functioning on a very limited scale.

I repeatedly pressured ministries and policymakers to expand technical education capacity and to allow private sector participation in higher education. I strongly believed that Nepal could never produce enough skilled manpower through government institutions alone.

Later, as a Senate Member of Pokhara University, I was given significant responsibility and freedom to contribute to academic development. That became an important opportunity to translate vision into institutional action.

I played a leading role in developing curricula for:

Computer Engineering,
BE in Information Technology,
BE in Software Engineering,
and BCA programs.

At the same time, I actively encouraged private investors to establish technical colleges because I understood a fundamental reality:

software outsourcing industries require large-scale technical manpower.

Without mass technical education, Nepal would never be able to participate competitively in the global digital economy.

Those years involved constant advocacy, institutional resistance, policy battles, and personal sacrifice. Many people still did not fully understand why I was pushing so strongly for expansion in IT education. But I had already seen the future unfolding internationally.

Today, when I see thousands of Nepali students studying computer engineering, IT, software engineering, and related disciplines across public and private institutions, I feel deeply satisfied that the vision eventually materialized.

What once appeared unrealistic gradually became national necessity.

Looking back, I realize that technological transformation does not happen automatically. It requires people willing to imagine the future early, fight institutional inertia, take personal risks, and continue working even when others cannot yet see the possibilities ahead.

Mobilizing Nepal for the Software Era

In 1996, 1997 and 1999, I served as one of the Executive Members of Computer Association of Nepal during a crucial period when Nepal was only beginning to understand the significance of information technology and software industries.

At that time, I believed that Nepal’s transition into the digital age could not happen through academic institutions alone. The private sector, industries, policymakers, universities, and national planners all had to be mobilized together. Nepal needed not only technical education, but also national awareness, institutional coordination, and strategic planning.

Using the platform of the Computer Association of Nepal, I actively reached out to the leadership of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry. I requested support from the FNCCI President and industrial community so that I could gain access to industries across Nepal and conduct a broad assessment of how prepared Nepali industries were for the emerging IT and software era.

This became an important national-level research effort.

I personally visited industries and business institutions, interacted with industrialists, gathered detailed information, and conducted extensive surveys regarding technology preparedness, industrial modernization, software adoption, and future manpower needs. Based on this work, I prepared research articles and reports analyzing Nepal’s industrial readiness for the information technology age.

The findings were later published through Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships proceedings and international publications. More importantly, the research was utilized within ministries and policy circles as part of national planning discussions related to technology and industrial development.

During this period, Shankar Prasad Sharma was associated with the National Planning Commission, and I worked actively to connect multiple institutions and stakeholders around a shared technological vision for Nepal.

I mobilized, the leadership of the Institute of Engineering, the Vice Chancellor of Tribhuvan University, the National Planning Commission, industrial associations, policymakers, and private sector stakeholders.

My role within the Computer Association of Nepal specifically focused on promoting and developing Nepal’s software industry. At a time when software exports and outsourcing were still relatively new concepts in Nepal, I consistently argued that software industries could create employment, connect Nepal to the global economy, and generate opportunities for youth without requiring massive physical infrastructure.

Because of this work, I was also entrusted with responsibilities related to technical presentations and coordination during international engagements, including activities connected with Hannover, Germany. I delivered several presentations before the National Planning Commission and other national forums, emphasizing the urgent need for IT education expansion, software industry development, institutional reform, public–private collaboration, and strategic national planning for the digital economy.

Looking back today, I realize that those efforts helped lay some of the early groundwork for Nepal’s software and IT ecosystem.

At that time, many people still viewed computers as peripheral tools rather than engines of economic transformation. But I had already seen how rapidly the global economy was shifting toward knowledge industries and software-driven development.

What gave me strength during those years was the conviction that Nepal’s young people had the intelligence and capability to compete globally—if only the country could create the institutional pathways and opportunities needed to support them.

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