Student Profile: Rahul Goel – Passion for a better world

Rahul

Hello everyone, my name is Odo Wang. This summer I am working for ILead to showcase some of the amazing student leaders at U of T Engineering. I am so fortunate to have the chance to meet these inspiring engineering students. I would like to share their leadership development experience with all of the emerging leaders like you!

Leadership is expressed differently depending on our personalities and our strengths. I have had the chance to meet 4 student leaders this summer and each person has inspired me with their unique strengths and perspectives. For this article, I would like to introduce Rahul Goel (EngSci 1T6), the co-founder of Robotics for Space Exploration (RSX) and CEO of a company called PheedLoop. Rahul embodies tremendous passion.

During my interview with Rahul, I could feel his passion for robotics and aerospace … it was palpable. He chases his dream of becoming a space engineer by striving to always be better than he was yesterday. He started RSX and co-founded PheedLoop all while being an EngSci student. He has been learning a lot about himself and about leadership.

What does leadership mean to you?

Leadership has evolved to entail things like setting and maintaining an overarching vision, giving people opportunity and helping them grow, listening intently to feedback, and never ever giving up. I’ve grown to believe that leadership is the ultimate form of selflessness in the relative context of the organization, and really requires freeing oneself of strong personal motivations.

As an engineering student interested in robotics, what made you start PheedLoop?

I love space and also like entrepreneurship. It’s hard to start a space company right away. But the skills you learn when you lead a team are hopefully transferable. That is why I believe the skills I’ll develop through PheedLoop will help me chase my dreams.

As engineers, we are leading the world to make positive changes. How would you like to use your knowledge and skills to make those changes?

Nowadays we have excellent tools and resources. Part of my motivation is to keep pushing that frontier forward by standing on the shoulders of giants. But more so, in spite of all our advancements, there are a lot of problems in the world that affect people now and if left unchecked will affect those ahead of us – I find that frightening, irresponsible, and unfair. It’s everyone’s responsibility to consider how they can make an impact. I’m passionate to do so through engineering and science, but that’s just one approach of many. By the time you graduate, it’s not about having a well-balanced resume, it’s about becoming a well-balanced engineer.

If you were on desert island by yourself, and were only allowed to take one thing with you, what would it be?

A telescope. The view is so beautiful without light and air pollution, and buildings in the way.

Rahul had never planned to start a company when he was still an undergraduate student, but he made it through by taking small steps with passion in his heart. Everyone has a dream. Never give up until you reach it. Our dreams may seem unreachable, just begin to be your best self every day and one day your dream will come true.

-Odo Wang