Kannupriya Kalra

“I worked with Kannupriya since she joined Sky in Spring 2022. From the outset, she demonstrated exceptional talent, coupled with a strong drive to excel and innovate. During her tenure at Sky, Kannupriya worked in the Sales and Service department, which later evolved into Global Streaming Technology – Global Commerce UK. This team was responsible for building and maintaining several high-profile applications, including NOW (UK Ireland, Italy), WOW (Germany), Peacock (NBCU – US), SKYSHOWTIME (Europe), and SHOWMAX (Africa). Her contributions to these projects were significant and impactful. Beyond her core responsibilities, Kannupriya showcased remarkable initiative and passion for emerging technologies, particularly in AI and Large Language Models (LLMs). She not only developed her expertise in these areas but also led Google open-source initiatives for the Scala Centre, representing them at global conferences and creating internship opportunities for university students, a commendable achievement while managing a full-time role. Her enthusiasm for Scala and AI was evident through her active participation in conferences and her thought leadership within the community. Notably, Kannupriya created the first AI toolkit for the Scala language, LLM4S, and built a thriving community of over 200 members around it. This pioneering work earned recognition from the creator of Scala, underscoring its significance in the AI ecosystem. Kannupriya is also an accomplished speaker, having delivered presentations on AI and LLMs across multiple countries. Her ability to communicate complex ideas clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences is one of her greatest strengths. Through my interactions with Kannupriya, I have found her to be highly driven, hardworking, and a natural leader. Her combination of technical expertise, community engagement, and leadership qualities makes her exceptionally well-suited for senior or leadership roles. Any organization would be fortunate to have her on their team.”

“I had the privilege of being mentored by Kannupriya Kalra ma’am during my Google Summer of Code (GSoC) 2025 internship with Scala Center on the project "Support for Compiler Plugins in Scaladex", and it was one of the most transformative learning experiences of my career. From the very beginning, Kannupriya ma’am brought clarity, structure, and direction to my journey into open source. She guided me not just in completing tasks, but in understanding how to approach challenges, breaking problems down, planning timelines, and progressing systematically. One thing she always emphasized was documenting our progress, which helped me stay organized, track my growth, and reflect on what I was learning. She also encouraged me to take the Rock the JVM courses which strengthened my understanding of Scala, functional programming, and project structure. Combined with her mentorship, they accelerated my learning far beyond what I expected when I started. Throughout the internship, I built habits that will stay with me for the rest of my career: continuous learning, writing blogs, maintaining discipline, and keeping a consistent roadmap. And her guidance to public speaking, as she helped me prepare and deliver my first talk - the Scala Center's Lightning Talk! One of the most meaningful parts of this journey were our regular conversations which helped me to deal with my imposter syndrome. Every conversation with her left me feeling positive, motivated, and supported. Her warmth, patience, and genuine encouragement made a huge difference, especially during moments when I felt stuck or overwhelmed. Her support went far beyond technical mentorship. She helped me stay mentally balanced, believe in myself, and maintain consistency even during tough phases. I learned a lot from her, not just as a developer, but as a learner and a person. I’m sincerely grateful to have had Kannupriya ma’am as my mentor. Anyone who gets the opportunity to learn from her will not only grow technically but will also develop confidence, clarity, and an inspired mindset.”