Reinventing life and career with a supply chain course

In particular, he was drawn to UTS’s practical approach to business education, which combines fundamental theory with hands-on practice and extensive industry connections. He was impressed by the flexible timetabling that allowed students to study during standard semesters, as well as during summer and winter schools, and by the range of majors and submajors on offer.

At first, Shiva didn’t know which area of business to specialise in, but he says that guidance from his teaching team helped him commit to a major in Operations and Supply Chain Management.

“I told them that my interest is in both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of business. I’m good with numbers; I wanted to learn and explore the numbers that underpin business operations, but I didn’t want to go into the analytics side. I wanted to work in field operations,” he says. 

“Australia is all about imports and exports; there are a lot of opportunities in this particular sector.”

Connections in and beyond the Business School

With his MBA degree preferences locked down, Shiva turned his attention to his studies. But, surrounded by new people, a new culture and a new approach to learning, it wasn’t long before he realised that he needed a bit of extra support. 

“My first assignment introduced me to a new academic approach that was very different to my studies in India, so I reached out to my professors for help. They were very supportive,” he says.

His teachers also suggested he access a peer-led study support program called U:Pass where he met other students from across the UTS Business School. He started slowly inching outside his comfort zone by showing up at a few campus events; at one of them, someone told him about a volunteering program led by ActivateUTS, the organisation responsible for student life at UTS. 

Despite being shy by nature, Shiva had always been driven by a desire to help others, a value instilled in him by his family. When the ActivateUTS put out a call for its annual Holi Festival, a Hindu festival of colours, Shiva summoned his courage and signed up. 

The rewards were immediate: 

“It was my festival, and I was volunteering as an international student, supporting other international students, spreading smiles and happiness and colours. From then on, I thought, I’m not going to miss any other opportunities like this one,” he says. 

What followed was two years of volunteering at events across the UTS Campus, and later, at some of Sydney’s biggest celebrations, including New Year’s Eve and Vivid Sydney, through the City of Sydney volunteering program. The work boosted Shiva’s confidence, gave him a sense of purpose, and introduced him to hundreds of new people from all walks of life, many of whom became his friends. His new life in Australia was taking shape.

A chance meeting becomes a supply chain management job

Armed with his growing expertise in all things business and the feeling of community he’d found through volunteering, Shiva found himself truly coming out of his shell. One night, he got chatting to a stranger on a train, telling them about his degree and what he was learning at UTS. 

The stranger revealed that he worked in supply chain management at David Jones, a major Australian department store, and that he was looking for someone to join his team. He seemed impressed by Shiva’s story and his UTS experience; when they parted, he told Shiva he’d be in touch.

“After week or so, he dropped me an email asking if I’d like to join as a casual staff member in the Inventory Support team,” Shiva says. 

That chance meeting turned into Shiva’s first job in Australia, and within six months, he was promoted into the Inventory Management team in a role that was strongly aligned with what he was learning in his supply chain course. As soon as he finished his UTS degree, he received a full-time job offer.

Today, Shiva is a logistics and supply chain professional, blending his degree learning with his passion for connecting and working with others. 

“The best thing I’ve learnt as a UTS MBA student are critical thinking skills, leadership skills and communication skills, which I draw on every day. I really think these are what helped me most throughout the two years of my journey in the MBA and my time at David Jones,” he says. 

If Shiva could give advice to new international students, he’d tell them to get involved with life on campus and to reach out to teachers, international student advisers and support services to get the most out of their UTS experience.