Making a difference in the world

Studying biotechnology in New Zealand is a way for Kenyan student Anish Shah to make a positive difference to society.

“I love working with plants and microbes and learning about the cool techniques used to study various aspects of plant physiology and molecular biology,” he says.

In the future I would like to be involved in a leading research group, working with high-yielding GM plants which will eventually help solve world hunger.

He believes biotechnology is an excellent subject to study. “Biotechnology is a very employable, fast-growing and lucrative scientific field.”

Anish decided to study at the University of Canterbury because it was “a different, faraway place that I didn’t know much about”.

He was also attracted to the research being carried out at the university.

Anish enjoys the multinational campus and the friendly, supportive lecturers. He urges other international students to open up and talk to others during their time studying abroad in New Zealand.

“The importance of personal relations cannot be stressed enough,” he says. “You can make contacts at university that will definitely come in handy when you’re looking for jobs.”

Anish Shah, Kenya, Postgraduate Diploma in Science in Biotechnology