Graduated in 2013 in international Politics from City, after which did an MPhil at the University of Cambridge.
Current role: COO/Founder of Grakn Labs (On the founding team)
Grakn is database software that enables developers to be more productive and build applications in industries such as drug discovery, cyber threat intelligence, fraud detection, machine learning and many more. Founded in 2015, Grakn has received £7m in funding and has an open source community of thousands developers worldwide.
Why did you choose to study at City?
Well, it’s funny actually, I initially decided to study Sociology but after much consideration and conversations with my father I decided to switch to International Politics. I was particularly keen to study in London, and City was a place that stood out to me as being centrally located. I was born in Chile and lived there until I was nine years old, after which I moved to the Netherlands before leaving for the UK.
As I was getting to know City University, I flew to London for an open day session for my course and found that everyone was serious and committed to their field of work. This left a good impression on me and solidified my ambition to study at City.
What was your experience of studying at City?
Studying at university, especially in London was a big change for me. In the first few months of the course, I needed time to get accustomed to the course which meant my grades could have been better at the start. However, the academics at City were able to challenge me to grow to the next level. In the end, I managed to get a First Class in both my second and third years. In my second and third year, I was also heavily involved with other things both outside and within City, such as societies. For example, I became Vice President of the student organisation AIESEC, where we would promote international exchange to become responsible leaders of the future. I did a volunteering project in China and attended many national conferences.
Some of my favourite academics at City were, Dr Sara Silvestri, Professor Inderjeet Parmar, Professor Rosemary Hollis and Professor Anastasia Nesvetailova. All of them inspired me to think differently of the world and spark a deep curiosity in the many issues facing the world. I think it’s a real honour to be in their positions, having the ability to influence and encourage students to be the best version of themselves. I particularly liked that Professor Parmar encouraged us to write a 500 word weekly essay, these were great to improve my writing skills and geared me up for when I would eventually study at Cambridge university.
How was life after City?
Well, as with many other students I decided I was going to study further. I ended up getting into Cambridge University and I thank my tutors at City for pushing me in that direction. Whilst at Cambridge I studied International Politics, and I became the president of a society, which was great to develop my leadership skill and work on something collectively bigger than the sum of its parts.
What advice would you give to students starting out at City?
Get involved with as much as you can. University, especially City, is as much about doing stuff outside your course with people you don’t see normally, as it is your course. City is great for that, there are so many interesting people doing interesting things. Join societies that interest you, or that is out of your comfort zone. For example, speak to PhD students who are at City and learn what they’re working on, pick their brains! They’re the ones pushing the frontiers of science forward. Treat your tutors as your friends and don’t be ashamed or embarrassed to ask questions. Also get involved with the City’s marketing team! It’s a great way to make a bit of money doing campus tours, but you also learn more about your own university and everything that you may have not known is on offer.