About Me

Builder by Curiosity, Engineer by Practice

Hi, I’m Shashank, a student, builder, and systems thinker currently studying at NIT Calicut, Kerala, originally from Hyderabad, Telangana.

I enjoy working on problems that don’t look hard at first glance—but turn out to be complex once you care about correctness, edge cases, and real users. I’m drawn to projects where design, engineering, and human behavior intersect, and where the goal isn’t just to “make it work,” but to make it reliable, understandable, and worth using.

My Academic Journey

I’m pursuing a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering at NIT Calicut. While my degree is rooted in core engineering, much of my learning happens outside formal coursework. Being in a demanding academic environment has taught me how systems break under real constraints—and how important it is to design with those constraints in mind.

Many of my projects are born directly from campus life. Attendrix, for example, came from watching students constantly guess their attendance status and panic near exams. I enjoy observing friction in everyday systems and asking a simple question: “Why does this feel harder than it should?”

Communities & Clubs

I’m an active member of GDSC NITC, where I enjoy being part of a culture that encourages building, learning, and experimentation beyond syllabi. I value environments where ideas are discussed critically, prototypes are encouraged, and learning happens in public.

I’m also part of the Esports Division, where I contribute as a Web Developer. Working with student communities around gaming and esports has given me hands-on experience with fast-paced collaboration, real users, and systems that need to work reliably under pressure—not just look good on paper.

These communities have shaped how I approach teamwork: ownership over titles, clarity over noise, and execution over overthinking.

What I Like Building

Technically, I’m most comfortable in frontend-heavy full-stack development, but I care deeply about backend fundamentals, data modeling, and system architecture. I enjoy thinking about:

• How data should be structured before writing code,

• How systems behave when users do unexpected things,

• How to design features that remain correct even when edited retroactively,

• And how to reduce cognitive load for users.

I’m especially interested in practical, grounded uses of AI—systems that assist decision-making without hallucinating or over-automating. I prefer AI as a tool that supports clarity, not one that replaces thinking.

Creative Side (Very Real, Not a Hobby Footnote)

Outside of pure engineering, I work with multiple creative mediums.

I do 3D modelling, video editing, and photo design, and I genuinely enjoy photography—not just as aesthetics, but as a way of observing detail, light, and timing. These skills influence how I think about UI, motion, hierarchy, and storytelling in software.

I believe good products feel intentional, and that intuition often comes from creative exploration, not just technical skill.

The Human Stuff

I love reading books, and yes—I’m completely obsessed with Harry Potter. I’ve read all the books, revisit them often, and genuinely enjoy how richly structured that world is. If you think about it, Hogwarts itself is a complex system with rules, edge cases, and hidden logic… which probably explains a lot about me.

I almost always listen to music while working—it helps me stay in flow—and I enjoy video games, not just as entertainment, but as systems. Games taught me early on how feedback loops, progression, difficulty scaling, and motivation actually work when done right.

A lot of my interest in streaks, gamification, and user motivation comes from this background.

How I Think About Work

I don’t enjoy building things just to check boxes.

I care about:

• correctness over clever hacks

• clarity over overengineering,

• systems that can evolve without breaking trust,

• and learning deeply rather than quickly.

I’m not afraid of complexity—but I believe it should live inside the system, not in the user’s head.

Open to Work

I’m currently open to opportunities, including:

• internships

• project-based roles

• research or development collaborations

• early-stage or student-led initiatives

I’m especially interested in roles where:

• I can build real, user-facing systems

• I’m trusted with ownership and responsibility

• learning is encouraged through doing, not just instruction

If you’re working on something meaningful and need someone who enjoys thinking carefully, building patiently, and improving continuously, I’d love to talk.

Contact

If anything here resonated, feel free to reach out. I’m always open to conversations, feedback, and collaboration.

Email
shashankmergu@gmail.com

GitHub
https://github.com/SH1SHANK

LinkedIn
https://linkedin.com/in/shashankmergu

Telegram
https://t.me/sh1shank

Thanks for reading this far.
I care deeply about the things I build—and I enjoy meeting people who do too.