Student Spotlight | Keerthana Dana Sekaran

Keerthana is currently pursuing her BEng (Honours) Mechanical Engineering Course at Curtin Dubai. Currently in her third year. In November 2020, we had nominated a few students to work as EXPO champions at the EXPO 2020.

Keerthana being one of them was asked to give feedback regarding her experience.In order for us to get to know her experience better, we have asked her a few questions: 

Start and End date

November 2020 – March 2022 

What was your role as a volunteer

Attending some Major events at Expo 2020 (Meet & Greet with Astronaut etc), Attending virtual events on Supply and Trade, Future of Education webinars hosted by Expo 2020 and its partner companies like DP World, etc. Informing students about all of these events and getting them excited about Expo 2020. Sometimes I would take a bunch of my classmates and guide them inside the expo. Promoting these events on social media. 

Positive encounters

Expo 2020 Education Program Team has Invited us for the first guided tour – which is a program that is running on peaks right now with schools and universities and lunch at Emaar Lounge. This was a great opportunity to network with other student champions and professionals from Expo 2020. 

Apart from this, I met all four UAE Astronauts, Mr. Charlie Duke – Apollo Mission Astronaut, Swedish and Russian Astronauts. It was a privilege to meet them and take their suggestions for my career. Learning outcomes

I was able to gain confidence in the professional setting and eventually got comfortable interacting with professionals over various events. New insights from Expo’s webinars. Being able to represent Expo 2020 and important tips from Education Program’s Leadership Team. 

Challenges faced and how did you overcome them.

The challenging part of taking advantage of all these events is commuting. I like to plan stuff but sometimes we would get some invitations overnight. So, planning and getting there was a challenge. However, due to the support from my faculty and university, I always got there. The other challenges were some events were happening during my exam week, so it was important to manage time well so there’s a balance between both. 

Was Curtin University of any assistance to you?

Absolutely, I had massive support from the University. Be it commute, or support in general. Keeping me informed and reminding me about these events and making sure that I get there safely. 

 

For more information, please contact [email protected]