1 min read
Rithwik Reddy Rudra had no idea what to expect when he joined the Structuring for Success unit at SSE. As an international student in Australia at Southern Cross University, he didn’t have much experience with either the local startup world or interacting with students from across the state.
“I was a bit shy at first, but I came with an open mind. I wanted to see how you could develop an idea and turn that into a fully-ready startup from scratch.”
After an ice-breaker or two, he found himself making unexpected friends from a diverse cohort and diving head-first into the world of entrepreneurship, discovering his own potential to be leader and innovator in the process.
“It was something I’d never been through before. It really struck a chord with me and formed a good foundation for my learning,” he says.
Adaptability has become an essential skill over the past year and Rithwik says that working with people from different backgrounds, areas of study and locations helped him to understand others’ point of view and still get his point across.
“It taught me how to brainstorm, and taught me patience with others and flexibility in the face of new ideas and approaches,” he says.
Those skills have already been put into practice this year as two university competitions he participated in moved fully online. With everyone learning how to collaborate virtually, he was able to be proactive, remain curious and take the lead in his teams.
Rithwik has now graduated and moved to Adelaide to pursue a career in management consulting. He says he’d recommend the SSE experience to anyone looking to apply what they are learning in university into a real-life context.
“Whatever industry you’re in, you will need to work with and understand diverse teams. Those are the skills that form the base of any profession and any professional,” he says. “SSE really teaches you teamwork, how to collaborate effectively and how to learn new things along the way.”
It’s a hard time to be entering the job market, but with the skills he developed at SCU and SSE, Rithwik is optimistic that his innovation journey is just beginning.
