Exploring the Future – Praveen Nair Mathavan

A lot has happened since the Oxford Scholastica Academy!

I graduated from high school, receiving my IB Diploma and then decided to take a gap year before starting university. During that year, I interned in a forensic medical technology company in Malaysia in business development. Somehow, I managed to land myself in a position being the project manager of a six-month long task to launch an educative tool in a science and technology center that was being built at the time.

The company that I was working for were the pioneers of Digital Autopsy which allows non-invasive post mortem examinations to be done. The project that I led took this software, and made it more user friendly, which allowed children and adults who did not have any medical training to explore and manipulate actual bodies virtually.

The exhibit was successfully launched and all parties were happy with how it turned out. It was then where I realised I really enjoyed the business side of the company and decided to further my education in economics and finance instead of the initial plan, computer science.

I decided that I would go to university in The Netherlands so that I could pursue my degree and also continue showjumping. I am now based in Maastricht, a city in the south of The Netherlands, doing a degree in Economics and Business Economics and also riding in the professional circuit. It’s been a really busy past six months as I am trying to qualify for the upcoming South East Asian Games in August. With schooling commitments as well, I seem to always be running around and rushing to everything!

Life at university is a bit different having to do everything myself. I find myself having to make decisions all the time on things that I would have never thought about before, but I guess that’s all part of developing myself. It took some time to adjust but now I have a routine which I stick to so that I manage my time effectively.

Some of my other targets include qualifying for the Asian Games next year and I am also in the midst of looking for a sponsor to help me qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games!

In addition to that, I recently came up with an idea for a social media app. I decided to take on the challenge, get it made and published. I’m working with a friend of mine now to get it developed and have arranged to meet up with some potential investors when I go on holiday to Malaysia in April. It’s another thing to make my schedule busier but I never could resist a good challenge! Hopefully it will be a success and people appreciate the thought process behind it.