Manu (pictured above) was born and brought up in the city of Ahmedabad, the largest city in the state of Gujarat in western India.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Information Technology (with a specialisation in Software Design and Development) in the Charles Sturt School of Computing, Mathematics and Engineering in November 2022.

“I grew up with my older brother Jagvir who later came to Australia for studies and he loved the experience, which became one of the main reasons I chose to come to Australia for my studies as well,” Manu said.

“My family always supported me in my decisions and guided me whenever I was going through tough times, and they supported me when I planned to come to Australia and encouraged me at every point in my journey.”

Manu explained his interest in information technology (IT) and computing developed during his school days.

“When I was in school, I received a prize for my computer subject,” he said. “My elders appreciated me and encouraged me to keep up the good work, so this sparked my interest in technology and I started to learn more about it outside of school as well.

“However, the computer science subject wasn’t considered one of the ‘main’ subjects. Instead, the ‘main’ subjects were considered to be mathematics, science, and language. Computer science was looked upon as a side subject that students didn’t really focus much on and just studied before exams.

“But I kept a focus on computer science and continued to learn more about it along with the other subjects. When I finished Grade 12, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do for my further studies.  As I had scored well in computer science and had an interest and fascination with how information technology worked, I decided to study IT for my bachelor’s degree.”

Manu said as an international student he chose Charles Sturt University after doing his research and considering various factors like the course structure, content, guidance and support, fees etc.

“Charles Sturt University had a good mix of the things I was looking for in a university and so I decided to proceed with the University for my studies,” he said.

Besides graduating with a distinction, Manu also received a few awards during his studies, including two Faculty Executive Dean’s awards, an academic achievement award, and a Devro project management award.

“I was influenced by a lot of people from the field,” Manu said. “These include highly qualified professors who taught us like Dr David Tien and Dr Jason Howarth, people from IBM like Ms Julie Fairley, and numerous people in the field who have achieved a lot in their roles and have been really successful.”

When asked how he came to be working with IBM in Bathurst, Manu explained that to further his knowledge and gain experience during his university study, he looked out for events and any volunteering opportunities with the University.

“This saw me become a part of various events like the Cybercheck.me program, president of the University Student Council, representing the University on Open Day etc.

“When IBM started offering internships to students, I saw a Uni staff email about the paid Internship program and applied, was selected, interned with IBM for eight months, and was offered a full-time role with IBM upon graduation.”

Manu now works as a Maximo developer at IBM. Maximo is an IBM asset management and optimisation software that helps organisations manage their assets and keep them working in an optimal condition.

“My role includes working in a team to implement Maximo for companies with tasks around making configurations and development in Maximo,” Manu said.

“There are a lot of opportunities within IBM that I can apply for upon the completion of my graduate program. My focus is on getting to know as much about Maximo at present and then taking up some leadership roles in the future.”

Manu said for anyone interested in IT, Charles Sturt University is a great place to study information technology while being in a regional area.

“There are also opportunities as I previously noted; Cybercheck.me, Open Day representation, and internship opportunities such as the IBM internship,” he said.

Ms Julie Fairley, Client Innovation Centre Leader at IBM in Bathurst, said, “Charles Sturt University and IBM have collaborated since 2021 to build a pipeline of future-ready, skilled technology talent.

“The partnership also gives students the unique opportunity to gain direct real-life insights and experience from industry and tech experts through paid internships,” she said.