Aditya made a sudden transition from science to the humanities. He has a doctorate in journalism and mass communication and has been in the teaching field for the past twelve years.

Aditya Kumar Shukla is an Associate Professor at Manipal University, where he teaches Journalism and Mass Communication to the students.

Recalling his childhood, Aditya shares that he spent his early days in a village in Uttar Pradesh. He completed his high school studies in science in 2003, followed by his Bachelor's in Physics and Electronics from the University of Lucknow. Aditya later did his MA in Mass Communication Studies.

Discussing his challenges, Aditya shares that, as someone coming from a Hindi medium background, it was difficult for him to cope with his college education. As a result of this, he failed in the Math subject in his first year. Thereafter, he managed to clear it in his second attempt, but again failed the subject in his second year. Eventually, Aditya dropped Mathematics in the third year of his graduation. With a desire to study at Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Aditya took admission in Mass Communication, which was a big career transition for him.

Speaking about his achievements, Aditya says that after getting a second division in his B.Sc., earning a gold medal in his master's was a proud and accomplished moment for him. Thereafter, Aditya became the first student in his batch to get a job and got three promotions in his tenure of eight months at the organisation. He also feels proud to have completed his doctorate. Aditya had also published a book on poetry in 2012.

Aditya’s professional journey started with Dainik Jagran, where he worked for eight months. He later realised that this field was not for him, and that was when he decided to join the academic world. Thereafter, Aditya did his PhD in journalism and mass communication and has been teaching since 2011.

Aditya has taught in various universities such as Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, APG Shimla University, Amity University, IMS Unison University, and Manav Rachna University. He is currently teaching at Manipal University.

When asked about his mistakes, Aditya says he wishes he had taken humanities in his first call rather than spending his years studying science. He also regrets not appearing for any competitive exams and trying out his luck in them.

Talking about his role models, Aditya says that he draws inspiration from his father, who struggled to give his children the education they deserved. Aditya learned time management skills from him. His other role models include A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Swami Vivekananda.

Aditya advises people to surrender themselves to God and indulge in meditation to remain calm and stress-free. He urges them to work out and socialise to feel better.

His success mantra is to focus on one thing at a time.