This summer we are delighted to host Chhavi Sharma from The University of Hong Kong. Chhavi is the first international Laidlaw scholar the University of St Andrews has hosted and as a result she will also be the first international Laidlaw scholar in Computer Science. She will be supervised by Professor Aaron Quigley. Together they will be working on Blended Reality and Discreet Computing using the Magic Leap system for digital/physical interactions.
Chhavi is currently an undergraduate student pursuing Computer Science and Cognitive Science at The University of Hong Kong.
She was born in Delhi, India and for a major part of her life, she lived there. She spent her early years of childhood in Malaysia as a result of which she developed a cosmopolitan attitude at a very young age. Living and attending school in Malaysia familiarized her with the Chinese culture and people to a major extent and she decided that she wanted to attend University in a similar country after finishing her secondary school education in India. This is why she chose to attend HKU.
Her family always encouraged her to take an interest in the Sciences which worked out well for her since she was a numerically minded child. However, her interest in Computer Science developed only when she came to University and explored this field more in her first year which made her want to pursue it as a career.
Chhavi’s parents are doctors and do the benevolent job of treating the poor for free as a result of which she grew up in an environment which was all about giving and helping others. She started doing different kinds of volunteer work (including blood drives, teaching at NGOs, participating in various ROTARY events) when she was in the 8th grade and she hasn’t stopped till now. At University, she is inclined towards the social cause of achieving gender equality in the Science and Technology field which is why she co-founded the club, Change The Code which aims to do the same.
Always keen to do more and learn more, Chhavi is looking forward toward her time at The University of St. Andrews!