2013
Yearbook
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Dear Readers, You are holding in your hands what represents the best and brightest of Carnegie Mellon University Australia (CMUA). As you flip through every page, you will meet the 40 graduates of batch August 2013 and December 2013 – with stories about what they hold dearest in life and how CMUA helped shape it. They are our friends, sisters, brothers, road trip mates, the girl who shared with us those late nights on campus, the guy who balances our imbalance sheets, the jokey gangs who we turn to when deadlines are in excess and laughters are in scarcity. Their uniqueness is our pride. Their achievements are our inspiration. Their memories are our legacy. And most important of all, their friendships stay with us for life. Please join us in congratulating them on their graduation! Hard work does not only pay off - it does so handsomely. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors, and have not even a single modicum of doubt in their continued success. Please join us also in thanking Zicky Aggarwal (MSIT graduate of batch December 2013) and Thien-Huong Do (MSPPM graduate of batch August 2013) for making this yearbook possible. Without their relentless efforts and due diligence in collecting stories and beautifying them with the possibly best design, we would not have this chance to relive our memories together. So thank you, our beloved memory keepers! At this point, words have been too lengthy and introduction too redundant. Let us stop here so you can turn immediately to the next page. To our world. To the culmination of CMUA spirit. To our pride - the successful graduates! Student Yearbook Committee.
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Photo: Huong Eva
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Foreword
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Message from the Dean
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Message from the Executive Director
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Message from the Deputy Executive Director
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The Staff
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The Falcuty
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The Students
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Welcome to Adelaide
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Around the campus
and Our best moments
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Graduation
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Backlog of the Yearbook commitee
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Ramayya Krishnan
Dean of the Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh
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I extend my warmest congratulations to the graduates of Carnegie Mellon University Australia’s Heinz College in Adelaide. Since establishing in South Australia in 2006, we have focused on bringing all the elements of Carnegie Mellon’s interdisciplinary, problem-solving approach and advanced technology to the study of critical societal and organizational issues. Our Adelaide campus has provided us with a uniquely diverse student cohort and an ability to combine the study of information technology and public policy. This has laid a strong foundation for training future leaders throughout this region, and the world. The graduates you see today have succeeded in a rigorous and valuable program of study and we are honored to count them among our many other graduates around the world. The students presented here are now Heinz College Alumni. My charge to them is to become-in the words of our founder--“men and women of intelligent action who can change the world”. I thank all family, friends, faculty and administrators who have helped our graduates reach this day, and I congratulate these new alumni and wish them the very best in the years to come.
Every year, Carnegie Mellon University Australia welcomes new batches of students representing the very best and brightest the world has to offer. After a few weeks on campus, many question whether they will survive our demanding programs and all that comes with earning a degree from Carnegie Mellon University. Many doubt their abilities despite qualifications, experience and outstanding achievements. Yet as the studies progress, a miraculous transformation occurs –not only do the students survive, but they excel as capable, confident and competitive individuals. They become well-rounded global leaders ready to face anything and everything that comes their way. The University would of course like to take credit for the transformation, but this would not only be presumptuous, but unfounded. Your degree is your accomplishment, your triumph and your choice for the future. At best CMUA was the supporting cast of a play in which you were the star. The knowledge you acquired from us will soon be replaced by new learning and experiences as you excel in your chosen fields, with a renewed confidence to conquer challenges, and an intrinsic, invaluable understanding of your limits and the ability to transcend them.
Carnegie Mellon University Australia Executive Director
So I leave you with this thought: Use your newly acquired knowledge, abilities and confidence to do great things, but never forget where you came from. A large part of being the best is being humble.
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Carnegie Mellon University Australia Deputy Executive Director
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An American Degree. An Australian Experience. Carnegie Mellon University is an internationally renowned university with campuses in Pittsburgh, Washington D.C., and Silicon Valley in the United States, Doha in Qatar and Adelaide in Australia. The university consistently ranks among the top 50 universities worldwide and boasts a significant number of highly-ranked and internationally recognised degree programs. Carnegie Mellon University is the first American university to establish a campus in Australia.
Asia-Pacific, U.S.A, Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, creating wide-reaching networks of contemporaries, global experts and alumni.
Carnegie Mellon University Australia which opened in 2006 is a truly global university campus, with students, faculty and staff representing more than 25 countries throughout the
Carnegie Mellon University Australia is guided by an Advisory Board of worldclass influential leaders from around Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.
The campus is situated in the heart of the city's central business district. It is collocated with the University College London's School of Energy and Resources (Australia), and world-class research and policy institutes including the Torrens Resilience Institute, and the Australian Centre for Social Innovation.
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MARK Charnley
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CHRISTINE McLeod
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From the Classroom to the World Carnegie Mellon University is helping to shape the world through education, research and outreach. The campus atmosphere offers opportunities to engage in groundbreaking research. And it’s not just graduate students. Undergrads often work alongside professors who are leaders in their fields, with a student-faculty ratio of 10:1. Approximately 96 percent of faculty members have a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in their field. 99 percent of all undergraduate classes are taught by faculty, who often teach both undergraduate and graduate courses. And it shows. Our alumni have gone on to become Nobel Prize winners, tech company founders, inventors, orchestra conductors, Oscar-winning producers, and more.
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Terry F. Buss, PhD, is Executive Director and Distinguished Professor of Public Policy. Terry earned his doctorate in political science and mathematics at Ohio State University. Over the past 30 years, Terry has built his career in both academe and governement.
Paul is a 5th generation Adelaidean. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Adelaide and he has three decades experience working as an economist in the public and private sectors. As well as teaching at CMUA, Paul is principal of consulting firm Chapman & King which provides information and advisory services for regional South Australia. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Hawke Research Institute for Sustainable Communities.
David Boyd is an adjunct professor in the Masters of Information Systems Management Program at Carnegie Mellon University where he teaches IT project management and advanced IT project management. Mr. Boyd received his Masters of Business Administration Degree from Tulane University and has pursued a long and successful career as a project manager and executive with major strategy and IT consulting firms. He founded and heads David Boyd & Associates, a successful strategy, IT, and operations consulting practice that serves large government agencies, software vendors, and systems integrators. He is a frequent speaker at government IT and operations focused conferences.
Linda Chaousis, Creative Director Linda Chaousis International, Adjunct Faculty, Carnegie Mellon University Australia, has held a number of senior management roles. In addition to several years consulting experience in a range of industries and sectors in Australia, the Middle East and the United States, she has authored several books, videos and management resources.
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Emil Bolongaita’s career has been driven by twin commitments to advance international development and international education. Prior to his CMU appointment, Emil was the Unit Head of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Before joining ADB, Emil worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development as the director of its Enhancing Government Effectiveness project. He also managed the World Bank’s distance learning program on governance and anti-corruption in Southeast Asia. Emil previously taught at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, and the Asian Institute of Management. He received his Ph.D. in Government and International Studies and M.A. in International Peace Studies from the University of Notre Dame.
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HUONG Do aka “Eva� One of the greatest things about CMUA is that we have friends from all around the world. Being here and knowing them is a precious chance and I always exciting to know about about the cultures and philosophies. After the first few weeks in CMUA, I started to realize how special every person here is, and how lucky I am to meet each and every one of them. Anywhere in CMUA, we can see the incredibles! That quiet girl might be with a surprisingly strong will that helps her to overcome all the challenges. That lively guy may be great at time management... Life at CMUA had been a journey to learn about each and every one who is and has been part of this family, and this experience had been very delightful and rewarding. The time spent at CMUA is one of the most important times of my life.
LACOLE Foots
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LAILA Catherine Q. Deles
RONNILL Enriquez
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I’d like to think that I’m fun-loving even though tha fact mayhave been lost on the many wonderful folks I had the rare privilege to meet at CMU-A. Others have also said that I’m a ‘workaholic’ and I tend to agree with them. But then who at CMU-A is not? My experience at CMU-A was LIFECHANGING. I have been changed to the extent that even I cannot stop myself from getting better. Every single second I spent there counted immensely to my development both as a person as a professional equipped with the requisite knowledge, skills, attitude and experience to be relevant wherever I find myself on the globe. I also made some wonderful friends who have and continued to enrich my life in big and varied ways. They are going to be in my courtiers for the rest of my life.
Moving to Aussie away from them was a challenge for me at the start; but true to life, I had to fly and strengthen my own wings. Life has a way of making you live up to your strengths, duties and responsibilities to self and to society. The opportunities to realise your strengths and complement your weaknesses come your way, and the choice is indeed yours to rise to the occasion. I am in pursuit of ways in which I can empower myself to contribute effectively to the empowerment of the African people as I promote International Relations. I found Carnegie Mellon University a suitable destination and on 26th of April 2012 I took that
bold step towards this destination and indeed it was a destination where my life would soon be impacted in ways I had not envisioned. With God as my greatest fan, I had the right support and motivation to journey onwards towards a fulfilling end. If I could go back and choose the people I would get to walk those corridors with, share the class rooms with, as well as the challenges and the satisfaction of overcoming them in the time I would be here, … I would move right back to the future for I can confidently say I had the best in the people that I met at CMU-A in the time I was here.
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NGHIA Nguyen, HUONG Eva, HARISH Girishankar, and SONALI. (actually we were all smiling!)
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CMU life!!! Everyone had different perception over this. Some say, it was very tough while for some it was full of traveling and partying. For me, it was no life without friends. Some really close friends like Navita, Nghia, Hoa, Huyen and Ajay made CMU life an evident based memory for me. There are thousands of pics with these friends that will be with me for the rest of my life. Namaste everyone. My name is Zicky Aggarwal and I am awarded MSIT degree by CMU. Two years in Carnegie had been a journey of learning and building memories. Although the university seemed quite small when I first saw it, however soon I realized that it was sufficient enough for the small CMU-A family. Being elected as the President of the student association brought new curve to my life. It was the beginning of my career into leadership and gave my life a whole new direction. Ever since the first semester, friends like Jacqueline and Abhishek made life more cheerful by hosting weekend parties. The trip to New Zealand with Ajay had been a life time experience. Lectures with Prof. TK had always been inspirational and full of career planning tips. And those with Yanusz could not make life in CMU any more difficult. Riaz and Murli always kept the educational journey smoother. This journey would have been incomplete without Colin who always shared inspirational stories from his life, Linda who always enlightened my path into leadership and Nereshnee who always directed me into the right direction.
In my life,Friends and Family play the most important role. After all, success is worthless if there is no one to share it with.
A special thanks to Marco Salinas and Thien Huong Do (Eva) for being closest to my heart and cushioning my journey from beginning till the end.
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DANIEL E. Del Duca I am Economist by training and have also done postgraduate studies in Data mining & market research at the University of Bologna. During my training as Master in Public Policy and Management here in CMUA, I was part of the team that developed an alternative model of co investment for the Strategy and Delivery Division of Office of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Government of Australia. I have also worked in a project for Combating Drug trafficking in Argentina. My Experience at CMUA was mind Breaker. It was like a reborn. Being at university Campus allowed me to understand life from a different angle. CMUA breathes knowledge and experience. Even from a chance encounter in the student Lounge you get a story to tell and an anecdote to remember for ever. Everything in CMUA speaks about personal and professional growth. Having the chance of being a CMUA alumni is unique and unforgettable.
Most important thing in life:
Friends, family and happiness
WILSON Quan My 4 years at CMU have been a fantastic and rewarding journey. Seeing the university grow and the community that has formed around it has been inspiring. The opportunity to learn from a passionate faculty and diverse body of classmates is an experience that I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone.
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Energetic, agile, passionate and hard-working! Love to make new friends, get involved in extra-curricular activities... My experience at CMU has been simply amazing! There are unparalleled opportunities at CMU, to grow and develop yourself, and express your ideas to the universe. CMU is undoubtedly the best university in US!
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Photo: Huong Eva
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Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia. The city was founded in 1836. Colonel William Light, one of Adelaide’s founding fathers designed the city in grid layouts with wide boulevards, large public squares and entirely surrounded parkland. We will tell you more about charming Adelaide in the next pages. Join us!
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“First trip in first days in Adelaide to the beautiful Hills of Adelaide, we’ve got to see by our naked eyes the abundant and amazing nature of Australia...Right after the bird area I found a tree full of ripen apricot, OMG it’s awesomely wonderful!...” Eva Huong
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And we can easily see them right here on the River Torrens in the middle of the city
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The photo of these scotties was taken by Sarah, from CMU Pittsburgh (but she studied in Adelaide). So scotties so CMU!
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Don’t tell me you have never seen the beautiful statue! (Right at the point where King William street crosses with Flinder street)
John McDouall Stuart (7 September 1815 – 5 June 1866) was a Scottish explorer and one of the most accomplished and famous of all Australia’s inland explorers. Stuart led the first successful expedition to traverse the Australian mainland from south to north and return, and the first to do so from a starting point in South Australia, achieving this despite poor backing from the Government of South Australia. His experience and the care he showed for his team ensured he never lost a man, despite the harshness of the country he encountered. (Wikipedia)
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Map from http://www.weekendnotes.com/
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Around the campus Facts: Out and about: 5% In the Campus: 95% In the Campus and studying: 90% But, look! We did have quality time!
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Our FIFA cup!
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International Night 2012 and 2013 56
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BAGPIPE
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Your Group Photo Stick it here
Graduation
December 2013
We want this Yearbook to be available for you guys by your Graduation Day and we do not have a Time Machine to fly there, taking photos and put it here. While waiting for this technology, we do this layout and you will select and pick your best moments to place it here!
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Photo with your beloved ones: Girlfriend & Boyfriend, or both Family Professor House mates Studyroom mates Bestfriend
Funny moments Hint: You also can write on the whilte space next to the photo frames
And more funny moments
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Background photo credit: FreeGreatPicture.com Thank you!
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Photo: Huyen Ngo
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CLUBS AND COMMITTEES Student Social Committee
Abhishek Easwar President Sonali Tharwani President Vivek Venkatram Secretary Zicky Aggarwal Daniel Miller Nakul Gandotra Vivek Arora Michael Kolisz Meet Thakkar Smriti Batra Richard Tim Shifang Peng Qingqing Xue Chen Zheng Aakriti Bhargava Shubham Jaiswal Dhruv Kumar Mithun Mathew Arun Mehta Shubhang Bhasin Rucha Patil Varun Puri Lacole Foots Francisco Vives Tania Dasgupta Jaksha Shah
ENACTUS Antonella Guidoccio President Mayuresh Kulkarni Oteng Karikari Syed Sajjad Ali Shah Rikio Chiba Sumit Das Siyu Pan Alfredo Veron President Francisco Vives Zicky Aggarwal Luka Romeo Chen Sha Dasom Kim (Ria) Hoa Q. Le Peng Donger (Winter) Qiulu Gong Samuel Affare Yiyie Li Zikun Xu Bahar Forghani Yang Jiang (Pallas) Linh Nguyen
Student Representative Committee The Yearbook Committee Zicky Aggarwal President
Zicky Aggarwal
Eva Thien Huong Do Secretary
Eva Thien Huong Do
Marco Salinas Secretary
Sonali Tharwani
Michael Kolisz Secretary
Nakul Gandotra
Iliya Karasev Nakul Gandotra Shubhang Bhasin Smriti Batra
Isaac White Varun Puri Shifang Peng
Richard
Jaksha Shah
Vivek Arora
Salfikar Abbas
Varun Puri
Srinivasan Vembuli
Isaac White
Timothy Muecke
Shifang Peng
Anna Qinyi Chen
Abhishek Easwar Vishwadhara Nanduru Navita Mittal Ivory Ndekei Le Hoa Erica Kane Kainuo Yu Luxuan Zhang Tzu-Chuang Huang Andrew Saunder
Luxuan Zhang Reaksmey Hong Shiyu Ling (Bright) Anna Qinyi Chen Venkatesh Yeluri Isaac White Project Leader Esther Ndanu Kwali Richard Shannon Lim Tiu Siyun Li Rijia (Rebecca) Hou Ruxin Han Qingqing Xue Meet Thakkar Abdulaziz Al-Ohali Aditya Padhye Nilay Panchal Brendan Carroll Project Leader Shameel Abdul Yi Zhang Yan LI Yang Cheng Zhiwei Su
Corey Sattler Rucha Patil Varun Puri Danyang Lao Shubhuam Jaiswall Leandro Digon Aakriti Bhargava Dhruv Kumar Project Leader Jelena (Yunjia) Lu Tania Dasgupta Shubham Jaiswal Ziwei Shi Manoj Ravi Nakul Gandotra Shubhang Bhasin Yan Liu Arun Mehta Nikhil Bhangale Mithun Mathew Naomi Wamahiu Varun Puri Naveen Mohan
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Backlog of the Yearbook Committee Believe or not, we have been silently collecting photos and eagerly talking now and then about a team to do the yearbook since first days at CMUA, early 2012. First documents (outline, scopes of timeframe) were set out in May, 2013.
work,
But nothing else had been done ever since as we were so busy at school, all the time. Finally, about 4 weeks before Graduation of December 2013, we started sending out forms, email and sms, asking everyone to share their “CMUA moments” and “CMUA feelings”. Forms were filled up. Photos were collected, edited, and grouped up. Stories were connected to make a flow. An elegant, clean and fresh style of layout was designed. We decided not to put countries and course of study in the self introduction because we think each of us, no matter what we studied or what culture we are with, make up a beautiful CMUA. No label needed.
Zicky Aggarwal Eva Thien Huong Do Tim Muecke Hoa Quynh Le Nakul Gandotra Isaac White Shifang Peng Sonali Tharwani Varun Puri
We decided to tell not just about our academic life, but also about charmingful Adelaide with its history and people, the Hills, River Torrens, turquoise beaches and many beautiful attractions. The team was quite modest.
ZICKY - aka the Serious and Patient Team Manager who was the key contact to all students, staff, faculty, marketing team and printing supplier.
EVA - aka the SuperKool Content Editor and Graphic Designer, an CMUA alumni, who is currently working in Adelaide.
TIM - aka Sweet Chocolate Monster, another
CMUA alumni who always offers valuable helps, sharing all the painful experiences (of previous Yearbook) and documents and even scarified his big screen so Eva can work on two screens at a time (this doubled the productivity!)
HOA - aka the Awesome Author who wrote the “Foreword” from her internship desk in Malaysia. And many other helping hands. We would like to send our Special Thanks to ANGELO, the author of our the-best-ever, shiningly beautiful ID photos, to ALICE from Citrus Photography for her stunning Graduation day photos; and to all school staff who have been so helpful and supporting to us.
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This is the dinner table where the Yearbook get designed, editted read-proofed (several times) and exported to FA for printing. And I think it’s a mistake not to mention Toby The Puppy, who stayed up late, curled up in his “croissant” pose, calmly snoring by my chair many nights and weekends. The sweet, always possitive and loyal Toby is part of the Yearbook’s spirit! Sometimes he’s joined by Connie - a true pocket rocket who likes to chase Toby around till he’s tongued out and jaw dropped breathing.
Carnegie Mellon University Australia Address Torrens Building 220 Victoria Square ADELAIDE SA 5000 Telephone +61 8 8110 9900 Facsimile +61 8 8211 9444 Website www.cmu.edu.au Email admissions@cmu.edu.au alumnigroup@cmu.edu.au CRICOS Provider Number 02696B CONNECT WITH US www.cmu.edu.au/facebook www.cmu.edu.au/twitter www.cmu.edu.au/youtube www.cmu.edu.au/flickr www.cmu.edu.au/linkedin
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ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA 72
2013