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Having been in Dr. Gobind's class in my second year and had him supervise my final year project at Teesside University, I am happy, for three reasons, to provide this testimonial.
First is the support I received from him when it was daunting to organize myself around my study coming into year two after a long break in my studies as a 'mature' student. He guided me on the right combination of modules and helped me to focus on what was more important.
Secondly, I found Gobind's detailed teaching notes and use of numerous tutorial sections, test practice and, mock-examination to be particularly useful. It got me to master the materials for his module and to be more involved in the learning process. Although his module was more demanding than many of the other modules I studied in year two, I, however, had my best result from his module, in my entire time at Teesside University, scoring 93%. Now in my postgraduate study, it's interesting to find many of his notes and the materials used in his classes very useful.
Thirdly, Gobind motivated me to reconsider where my strength lies and to think differently about what path to follow in my future career. Our discussions led to him becoming my research project supervisor. I have found that piece of research work to have adequately provided me the right foundation for my further study and my future career. Gobind has continued to support and offer advice on my career options even after I graduated from Teesside.
In summary, I found Gobind to be mutually respectful to me and everyone in his class. His welcoming posture was second to none, making him approachable each time I had issues. He was always available to help both within the four walls of the classroom and outside! You could get him to the lab easily to show you or explain something again even when he already did, just the same way it was easy for him to take time out of his busy schedule to critique my preparation for a job interview. Without a doubt, I think Gobind influenced me most as a student.

Johnson Animola
MSc Electrical Power Engineering
Northumbria Newcastle, 2018

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Gobind is a passionate lecturer, high on enthusiasm; who possess an enviable ability to hold the class enthralled. His lectures for our Group Design module were more of a kind of interactive sessions and he made sure to keep all the participants on the loop. The topic Gobind chose for our group design project was solar Photovoltaics, which was of interest to me and other students in the class as it is one of the hot topics in renewable energy nowadays with high employment possibilities. His lecture slides for the module are condensed and visually appealing. Gobind’s video recordings of lecture sessions were particularly of use to me as an international student when I missed the first week lecture due to a timetabling clarity issue. This is my first time studying in the UK. Our class and therefore our project group is composed of fulltime international students like me and fulltime and part time UK students. Gobind understands the diverse needs of the students and intellectually challenges them to break the barriers of the thought process. Throughout the module he kept us encouraged and motivated. He was always approachable and open to questions.

For the project as a group we had to design a Photovoltaic system for a commercial premise which is very relevant to industry. In addition to what we learned in lecture and lab sessions, we found the industrial Photovoltaic design software PVsyst Gobind chose for our project and the option to re-visit lecture concepts from video recordings was useful for everyone in our diverse group to get up to speed with our tasks quickly. Under Gobind’s guidance, our group managed to finish our tasks and complete the project to a standard suitable for a journal paper within the one week that was allotted. As part of the assessments, Gobind also gave us an opportunity to self-review our presentations by video recording them. Personally I found it very useful as presentation skills are very important for finding employment.

Overall, I can say he is more of a mentor whose lectures were immensely interesting and illustrated with superb slides. And a great lecturer with a calm and humble approach to whom the group will always be thankful to..

Curren Austin Fernandez
B Eng Tech
Electrical and Electronics , 2019

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Excellent teacher who REALLY cares about his students, that’s the 1st thing that comes to my mind when I think about Dr. Gobind Pillai. He knows how to make us understand, in his own way. He uses a blend of digital mediums and lectures in a magical way, it always works for us. We can understand the topics in depth in a very better manner. The use of digital medium has always benefited everyone in our class. The recordings that he does helps us in our revisions, which is a blessing for us all.  He really knows how to make people understand. He is a phenomenal professor and appears to care deeply about his students. He teaches with great clarity. He turns a course that could be boring into an entertaining class. He is very clear, concise, and easy to understand. He explained the material thoroughly and effectively, that makes us want to learn more. Despite the quality of the course, Gobind is an excellent instructor. His methods of teaching and explaining things are well thought out and given at a level that the students can understand. He takes the time in class and out of class to answer any questions and help the students with any problems they may have. He even uses some of his personal time to organize a tutorial for our class, which has proved very useful to understanding the material. His enthusiasm and humour in class make the lectures enjoyable, and his dedication to the course and his students is evident in his teachings. I feel very blessed to be one of his students.

Eaby Kollonoor Babu
Former Sr. Data Mining Analyst at Concentrix
Currently pursuing final year BEng Tech (Electrical & Electronics Engg.. 2019)

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Gobind’s delivery of lecture material was both unique and effective. Oftentimes, part of the lecture would involve splitting the class into two or three teams competing in a game, the theme of which was the topic of the day. The effect of this was to stir interest in the subject and make students more involved in the learning process.

Similarly, as my research project supervisor, he successfully guided me to think differently when I was stuck; by drawing analogies between the problem at hand and similar ones in unrelated fields, my perspective was improved.

In summary, Gobind has proved to be effective at guiding the learning process both in the classroom and in individual research situations.

Emmanuel Akakabota
Graduate Field Engineer
UK Power Networks Ltd.

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I have learned from Dr Gobind.Pillai on the Emerging Transmission Systems and Renewable Energy Conversion Systems modules of the Electrical Power and Energy Systems MSc programme, which was definitely beneficial to my academic capabilities and research skills. As a non-native speaker, apparently, English is my drawback. So, in the first semester, when I was required to write a lab report for Renewable Energy Conversion Systems module, although I made a lot of efforts, unfortunately, I only got mark 58 due to lack of writing skills. Then Dr Gobind gave me a lot of illustrations concerning technical writing skills, I worked hard to develop my expertise on academic writing, finally, I got marks 80 for the lab report of Emerging Transmission Systems in the second semester. I really appreciated all his help. He also inspired me to pursue a PhD degree and gave me advice on how to plan my future career.

Zhi Zhang (MSc Electrical Power and Energy Systems. 2016) currently pursuing PhD at Durham University in Electrical Engineering.

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Dr Gobind Pillai is an extremely enthusiastic and caring professor. I joined the Advanced Practice version of the MSc Electrical Power and Energy Systems course as I thought it is very helpful to students who can do industrial placement for a semester to improve their technical skills. However, owing to my international student status, I had significant difficulty in finding an internship.

Carroll and Meynell Transformers Ltd. approached Gobind for technical advice on issues they were facing with transformer deign. Gobind managed to convince them to create a Design Engineer internship position and recommended me to the company. I would never have thought I could hold that position without his encouraging me to do it. Gobind supported me through different stages of my internship and eventually I managed to get an offer from the company for me to work there after I finish my MSc.

Gobind helped me grow not only as a student, but as an individual as well.

Jyothsna.Kasulanati
(MSc Electrical Power and Energy Systems with Advanced Practice,2017) currently working with Carroll & Meynell Transformers.Ltd

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Dr Gobind. Pillai has a special interactive teaching style. He always introduces his course by a group activity or icebreaker questions, which is useful to immerse students into the subject. He is also a polyvalent lecturer and can teach a variety of technical modules.
On another hand, Dr Gobind was consistently available to help me in the process of chasing an advance practice placement within WYG and my actual role. His continuous engagement towards helping students in their professional development is noticeable.

Younes RIACHE
MSc Electrical Power and Energy Systems, 2017

Graduate Engineer at Romax Technology.