Photo Caption: Mr Joshi is driven by a desire to explore, create and to forge personal connections, which he intends to do through technology. 

By Chelsia Tan

Young, spirited and enthusiastic, first-year National University of Singapore (NUS) student Anunaya Joshi studied theatre in secondary school and junior college, and currently plays the electric guitar in a band while majoring in computer science at NUS School of Computing. 

What may seem like a disconnect at first makes perfect sense for the 21-year-old: His pursuits all have to do with the elements of scripts, performance and composition. He is driven by a desire to explore, create and to forge personal connections, which he intends to
do through technology. 

 “People think it is a weird jump, but I do not think there are just ‘science’ or ‘arts’ people. Most of us have both interests, as do I,” he says. 

 “I like to create new things; science and art are just different mediums for me to do so. There is also creativity in computer programming and I can make a bigger impact in the world with technology.” 

 Mr Joshi likens certain aspects of programming, such as coding, to learning a new language. Anything you want to do, he says, is possible to implement in a code. 

 “It is quite liberating to consider that you can achieve whatever you want with it,” he explains. “You just have to break it down so that the code understands what your intentions are.”

 

EXPLORING A WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES     

As a NUS Merit Scholarship recipient, Mr Joshi is looking forward to a six-month Student Exchange Programme (SEP) that the scholarship guarantees.

“The best part of the scholarship is that it is not bonded, so I can explore as much as I am able to during and after university,” he says.

With SEP, students get to choose from over 300 partner universities in more than 40 countries. Mr Joshi is keen to explore life in Europe. 

He says: “There is so much the world has to offer, and I have not seen as much of it.”

The avid traveller had initially intended to go backpacking around the world after serving national service, but plans were dropped when the pandemic struck. Due to Covid-19, he also had to forego a programming internship in the US, which he had hoped to do before starting university.

Despite these setbacks, Mr Joshi says he has no regrets as things led to an internship opportunity with a Singapore start-up, where he got to run entrepreneurial challenges for aspiring entrepreneurs in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand.

“We just have to adapt to the circumstances we are given. I do not regret how things happened because I have met some amazing people [at the start-up] and I really enjoyed my time working there.”

 

CREATING AN IMPACT     

Mr Joshi thinks there is a high possibility that he might venture into the great outdoors after he graduates. Previous experiences – including spending three days alone on Pulau Ubin as part of a 21-day Outward Bound camp and interacting with locals while on a solo backpacking trip in Lombok – have shaped his love of adventure.

“I would love to work in the outdoor sector as a programmer. Perhaps I could create a platform where people could learn outdoor survival skills,” he muses. “One of my plans is to travel overseas to immerse myself in the outdoor industry.”

One thing is certain – he wants to make a difference through creating something new and innovative. 

“I would like to create something, put it out in the world and say, ‘hey, that’s me; I did that’. It can be anything: a piece of music, script or website,” he says.

Visit nus.edu/freshmenscholarship for more information.