Planning the future

“It was one of the best experiences that I ever had — studying, tutoring, and working,” says Deeksha Nathani

I studied Architecture in Mumbai University. It used to take me around two hours to reach college, thanks to the Mumbai traffic. The serious lack of planning in Mumbai made me realise that I wanted to pursue a career in planning, to be able to transform and improve the conditions that people live in.

I chose the country, Australia, first before choosing the university. The Australian policies and strategic planning inspired me to want to go there and study. University of New South Wales (UNSW) is the best university there that offers a course on Master of City Planning.

Another thing that inspired me to go there was that I was selected for the Future of Change scholarship. I had to submit a two minute video on how a scholarship at UNSW will help me achieve my aspirations. I think that pretty much summed up the start of my journey to the campus there.

The master of city planning course is well structured and helps you develop your planning knowledge alongside choosing from the various specialisations that the university has to offer. Apart from studying, I also work as an architectural graduate at an urban planning consultancy in Sydney, alongside tutoring a bachelor of planning course at the university.

Living on campus

UNSW has a really great campus. It is very different than what it was in Mumbai. Living on campus has made me manage my time well, and I think I’ve become more independent. Tutoring has also helped me improve my communication skills, and it makes me realise that trying matters. And that it’s not just about learning, but being able to teach others what you’ve learnt.

The main difference that I found in Australia is that there is no hierarchy in the educational institutions. We don’t address the professors as “Sir” or “Ma’am” there. We can call them by their names, and it’s not rude!

So far, it has been a great experience. The programme is flexible which allows me to explore the city, tutor and work as well. I even had the opportunity to meet the Australian Prime Minister, which was one of the greatest experience that I had.

I plan on working in Sydney to gain exposure before returning to Mumbai and implement what I’ve studied at UNSW and contribute towards the infrastructural planning in the city.

As told to Astha Nahar