Sydney trip an inspiration for winning students

A recent study tour of UTS and Sydney was an eye-opener for three high school students from India.

As winners of the UTS Creativity Meets Technology IT Competition, three students from Anand Niketan Satellite School in Ahmedabad in India were rewarded with a week-long study tour of UTS, UTS:INSEARCH and Sydney city.

Rajvi Doshi, Anamaya Garodia and Abhimanyu Tripathi beat teams from 11 states across India to win the competition, which encouraged school students to work collaboratively to develop an IT solution to an environmental sustainability issue.

Their winning entry Spot the Parking Space was to develop an app that helped people find a parking space utilising Google maps. This app would save fuel by facilitating faster parking, resulting in cleaner air.

Mr Monal Babariya, the students' teacher, said they entered the competition because of the possibility their idea could help society.

School Principal Ms Nashy Chauhan agreed that the competition offered the students something different.

"We usually send the students for debates, but this competition involved technology, and applying their brains and being creative. I thought it was good for them to try something different, not realising they would reach this point."

The students did not expect to win and were overjoyed when the winner was announced.

"We never thought that at such a level we could succeed," says Tripathi. "We were just happy we entered the finals in the competition and got to go to Delhi for the finals. It was so exciting! The best part about winning was not a trip to Sydney, but the thought that our idea is now known."

While at UTS the group toured the IT facilities and met two UTS Bachelor of Science in Games Development students, who presented their games development projects inside the UTS games studio. They visited UTS's newest student residence, Yura Mudang, and spent a day at UTS:INSEARCH.

The students also visited an Internetworking class with Dr Wayne Brookes, Senior Lecturer from the Faculty of Engineering and IT.

"The study tour has given the students the chance to experience what it's like to be an international student at UTS," said Dr Brookes. "It's been a great opportunity for the students to see our facilities and our practical approach to learning."

"We've just graduated from high school," said Tripathi, "so we have been learning about UTS and its facilities and faculties. I'm a future engineering student, so it will help me make my choices better – to compare the colleges I've applied to and UTS."

From viewing the facilities at UTS, Anamaya Garodia is now interested in studying games development. Abhimanyu Tripathi is planning to study electrical engineering at university next year, while Rajvi Doshi wants to study information technology.

Their teacher, Mr Monal Babariya, has also been inspired by what UTS has to offer.

"I enjoyed it a lot, especially the technical things. It makes me feel like I should come and study over here," he said.