By James Smith | 11 August 2020
It is not often people literally see the building blocks falling into place for the next chapter of their lives, but this was exactly the case for ATMC student Kunjan Barot.
About to finish his Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology through ATMC Kunjan takes great pride in his academic achievements so far, especially those which haven’t come easy.
“During my IT degree, I did a subject called ‘Game Development’,” he recalls. “I have to say, it was one of the most challenging of my degree, but also one of the most helpful.”
“There were a lot of practical applications, especially from a game-building perspective. I had to make an actual game, which was kind of fun. I just made a simple blocks game; you had to move the blocks around the obstacles and get from point A to B. I really enjoyed the unit. It included 3D gaming and things like that.”
“Anand Mandala was my teacher. He really helped me through it. I think it was his style of teaching which appealed to me. He was very easy-going. He motivated me to actually develop a working game! I really didn’t think I could do it.”
Originally from Mumbai, Kunjan attended Vidya Vikasini High School, Vasai back home, with family members presenting an enticing option for his next big life choice.
“My sister was already living here,” he shares. She got married 15 or 20 years ago and moved here. She would say, ‘Australia has a really good education system, why don’t you give it a shot?’ And I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll finish my HSC and maybe I’ll give it a try after that.’”
“Australia had always been at the top of my list of places I wanted to see. Having family here, it was always my first preference.”
“Also, I’d read about the education system here for myself from articles online. After doing a lot of research, I thought, ‘Yeah, it does look like a great country to study in.’”
At the time of writing, Kunjan has just one unit left to complete in his IT degree. He should be finished in November. His achievements have him looking back on his decision to study through ATMC as the right choice.
“I’d heard a lot about ATMC. I heard that they offer really good opportunities for students after they complete their studies. People who come out of the other side of an ATMC degree are seen as a good option by employers.
“The face-to-face lectures, the lecturers themselves, the study materials … they are all top-class and all on-point. I have had no difficulties along the way. If you have even the most basic question or the slightest doubt, you are always able to email your lecturers, who are really responsive. I love that about ATMC.”
Kunjan, who lives in the Sydney suburb of Westmead, knows the importance of looking forward, too. “My long-term goal would be finding a job in IT, of course. I have a few plans in mind. Maybe I’ll apply to Apple after my degree. I think they’re hiring at the moment, which could be promising.
“In the meantime, I work at McDonald’s as a part-time crew member. I have been working there for about two years. I really enjoy it there … I love food.”
Kunjan recently had the opportunity to showcase some of his other talents. Having performed some part-time modelling for clothing companies back in India, he is also pretty handy with the guitar and has a fantastic singing voice, which the ATMC network well and truly found out.
“Earlier this year, I entered a talent show run by ATMC,” Kunjan shares. “Contestants had to post videos of their talents. Mine was a musical act. You had to include ‘#ATMCtalent’ in your video to enter the competition. It was like a normal talent show, except it was all online.
“I played Humnava Mere, by Jubin Nautiyal. It’s one of the recent classics from Bollywood. The judges liked it and I was announced as the winner.”
Kunjan loves a challenge, which explains why he was brave enough to move from India to the other side of the world to pursue his studies. He has some very valuable tips for those looking to follow in his footsteps as far as studying abroad is concerned.
“My advice would be to decide and organise everything beforehand. You can’t rely on stuff to magically just happen when you arrive here. You have to decide upon and finalise everything before you leave home.”
“For example, your accommodation; if you don’t have anyone to live with, you will need to organise this before you head over here.”
“You can do it, but you can’t sit around waiting for things to happen. You have to take action.”