The loss of her father during an examination period did not stop Teerti Ganapathi Rao from pursuing her dreams. Instead, she turned his encouragement into motivation, earning top honours at the 2026 Northern Zone Polytechnic and Community College Convocation Ceremony.
The Diploma in Digital Technology graduate from the Department of Information and Communication Technology (JTMK) at Politeknik Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin (PTSS) receive both the Director-General’s Award and the Academic and Co-Curricular Excellence Award after graduating with a CGPA of 3.61.
Teerti said the achievement is meaningful to her as her father passed away while she was sitting for her Semester Two examination in 2023.
“I thought I would not be fortunate enough to receive this award, so when I was informed that I had been selected, I was truly surprised and grateful,” she said after the convocation ceremony held at Dewan Harumanis, PTSS.
The convocation, officiated by the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail is being held from 3rd August to 9th August and involves 6,104 graduates from polytechnics and community colleges in Perlis, Kedah, and Penang.
Inspired by her Father’s Encouragement
The youngest of 4 siblings, Teerti shared that she had once considered pursuing a foundation programme instead of a diploma. However, her late father encouraged her to complete her diploma, advice she carried with her until graduation.
During the three years of PTSS, she received the Head of Department’s Award for Semester One, Three, and Four. she was also an active member of the Student Representative Council (MPP), where she developed her leadership, communication and teamwork skills.
Teerti also represented PTSS at a collaborative programme and seminar paper presentation at University Putra Indonesia. For her final-year project, she developed the Koop Printing System which was designed to improve the management of cooperative printing services.
Teerti was born in Perlis, and is fluent in Bahasa Melayu, English, Mandarin, Tamil, and Telugu. She also has a basic understanding of French, Japanese, and Korean.
She is now waiting for the results of her application to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology with Universiti Malaya as her first choice. Her long term goal is to continue her studies up until PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) level.
Teerti said her interest in IT started when she was 16 after learning about computers and coding from friends she met through video games. She believes that although the field can be challenging, learning step by step makes it easier to understand and master.
Sources: Bernama
