Paranjayee's interest in undertaking a PhD in PVD coating began when she was working on dry machining of steels using metal nitride coated inserts during her master's project. Having read Professor Papken Hovsepian's papers during her master's degree, she was inspired to gain knowledge in HIPIMS, an advanced PVD technique. Whilst searching for opportunities to widen her knowledge of advanced coatings and their applications, she received a PhD offer from the Materials and Engineering Research Institute at Sheffield Hallam University, fully funded by Hauzer Techno Coating BV. Herein she worked on developing low friction and high temperature wear resistant coatings in enriching her knowledge of advanced coatings and surface engineering techniques.

Paranjayee says that her time in MERI has taught her various things which were not only limited to her study but offered her a platform in which she could improve her soft-skills. She says that her favourite event was the MERI symposium. She articulates that it truly helped her in improving her presentation skills as it offered new students like her, a platform to present their work to a friendly audience.

Paranjayee admits that being in a new environment with new people was challenging at first especially as an international student. However she says that she overcame the challenge and soon made friends with her colleagues whom she will miss when she returns home.