Mahendra works as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Mauritius. He is a finalist in the Science and Sustainability Award category of the StudyUK Awards this year
The alumnus credits his UK education in shaping and influencing his success.
He said:
“If I can summarise my time in the UK in few words, it’ll be developing into a professional, wholesome researcher in my field of practice, namely Artificial Intelligence and Machine Vision.
“I pursued my aspiration of becoming 'an engineer in academia and an academic in industry' by choosing the UK first and foremost as a reference in engineering and professional development.
“Specifically, [I chose] Loughborough University for its renowned expertise in the field I wanted to pursue my doctoral degree, and it has a great reputation as being a student-focused institution.”
The alumnus now uses his experiences of studying in the UK to influence others.
Mahendra shared:
“Being myself from a modest family, the commonwealth scholarship was a unique and only opportunity for me to complete a doctoral degree at a UK institution, so I relate my own story to my students who wish to go for specialised studies abroad and inspire them to work hard and passionately to be eligible for these opportunities.”
Dr Gooroochurn has achieved several successes since leaving Loughborough and these have given him a better opportunity to contribute to society using research grants as principal investigator and collaborator.
Through attending a circular design workshop in London in 2019, Machendra became an Ellen McArthur Foundation Circular Economy pioneer for Mauritius.
Mahendra said:
“This has really empowered me to reach out to all layers of our community, in Mauritius and the region, namely primary, secondary, and tertiary level students, entrepreneurs and NGOs to raise awareness and educate about circular economy principles.
“I have been regularly invited to sustainability and circular economy forums. The impact has been resounding for me, with a growing network recognising my work and keen to partner with me in organising training programmes, workshops and in R&D projects.”
Congratulations to Mahendra on being a StudyUK Alumni Awards finalist.