Born in Kerala in southern India, Nakul Nambiar moved to Pune in western India with his family as a baby. His father is a mechanical engineer and needed to find work to support his family. And it turned out to be a fortunate move for him as Pune is renowned as the education capital of India.

At school, Nakul loved maths but remembers sneaking into his dad’s office in the evening to use Windows XP on the company’s computer. So, at the end of high school, Nakul undertook multiple entrance exams for different universities in India, hoping to undertake a computing degree.

“I gained a ranking score under 10,000, so I was part of a group of students in India with access to the first-round university offers. But there are only a certain number of placements for each stream of courses, and unfortunately, I missed out on a computing course. So I decided to do a civil engineering course instead, thinking that at the end of my degree, I might be able to get a job with my Dad as a backup.”

Nakul started his degree at the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), a 16-hour drive from his home in Pune. But after only two weeks, he did another entrance test and was accepted into a Bachelor of Computer Engineering course at the Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT), also in Pune.

“I was so happy to get that offer as it allowed me to live at home with my family. It also gave me the learning foundations I would need for the future. In the third year of my four-year course, I was offered an internship at a start-up software company called DemandFarm. They work on customer relationship management tools that help account managers increase their sales and customer base. A family friend knew the company’s CEO, so I went for an interview and worked with them for two months. It gave me lots of experience in the working world.”

After students finish their degrees in India, businesses generally approach the universities and make offers to students they deem fit to join their organisation. When graduating in 2019, Nakul received two offers from employers.

“Initially, I got an offer from a big multinational technology company called Amdocs. But then the CEO of DemandFarm offered me a job. He outlined the benefits: it’s a smaller company that I was familiar with, so I would know what I was working on and the people I was working with, and I would have the flexibility to work on what I wanted. So I said yes and ended up working with them for over two years. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

After graduating in 2019, Nakul was keen to do a master’s degree, but COVID hit, so he put his plans on hold as he wanted an on-campus experience rather than just learning online. He moved back to Kerala to support his grandmother and then in 2021, he decided Australia would be the ideal place to do his master's.

“One of my relatives had studied at ANU and I knew it was one of the top universities in Australia. I also loved Australia’s friendly, relaxed culture. So I applied for and was accepted into the Master of Computing and offered a Chancellor’s International Scholarship, available to students from India and other countries around the world.

“I received a 50% discount on my tuition fees and my deposit was also much less than the standard deposit. University can be expensive, and I couldn’t study here without it. The scholarship helps with the tuition fees and cost of living expenses, as I live here on campus. But one of the biggest benefits is that I don’t have to worry so much about money; I can focus more on my studies.”

But the scholarship also gifted Nakul so much more, he says.

“It has changed my life. I have made new friends who come from India and also have a scholarship. We have had similar experiences which has helped me settle into a different culture. I am learning a lot of new things. I would call myself an introvert, so I spend a lot of time in my room. But making new friends has also made me realise that talking to people is important."

“The friends I have made here are there for me when my family is not around. Building connections can also be valuable in the business world and, hopefully, will help me find a job when I graduate. One of my friends I made at ANU is in Germany at the moment and I will visit him later in the year. So, coming to ANU and meeting new people has also enabled me to travel the world. I never thought I’d do that.”

And the future?

“I will graduate in December. But I also work as a research assistant at Swinburne University. The supervisor I worked with offered me the role when I did my internship. So I might be offered a full-time job after that. Whatever happens, I know there will be many opportunities here in Australia. If I work hard and continue making connections, the future will look great.”