India | Manasa Kotha

Meet Manasa

Hailing from Andhra Pradesh, India, Manasa wanted to study in Australia for its reputation of being a safe and friendly destination to international students.

“I wanted to do a dual degree to extend my education in my bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering and combine it with a degree in business management. I was accepted to several Australian universities but among them, UTS was the only one that offered a combined degree. UTS became my dream university because of the unique dual degree of Master of Engineering Management Master of Business Administration (MEM/MBA).”

Based on exemplary performance in her undergraduate studies, Manasa received the Postgraduate Academic Excellence International Scholarship which covered 25% of her tuition fees.

I was able to attend UTS because of this scholarship. My parents and I did not feel as much financial strain. It felt wonderful to give my studies my full attention instead of worrying so much about tuition.

Aspiring to take on leadership roles in her corporate career, Manasa believes that her MEM/MBA has been indispensable to her career path.

“I believe that my degree was a major factor in helping me land my job at Nokia. It gave me a better understanding in leadership and business management skills that I can apply in technical industries likes engineering firms. Through my MBA projects, I worked on real-life business scenarios like designing marketing plans, pitches, and developing strategic business models. In Systems Engineering, I became the project manager which helped me develop my leadership, management, critical thinking, and decision-making skills. I think that having a broad degree that included both business and engineering management gave me an advantage over other applicants.”

Though Manasa attended classes online through the COVID-19 pandemic, she found community and connections by volunteering with AusLEAP. AusLEAP exclusively connects international students to volunteer with and undertake training with local charities, not-for-profits, and social enterprise organisations.

“As an international student, I was very confused about Australian work culture and networking. Since my first year of the degree was online, it was very difficult to make a lot of connections. Volunteering is an opportunity to meet like-minded individuals and network. While collaborating with other students who shared my interests, I was able to learn a lot about Australian work culture. The experience made me confident and helped improve my social skills, which was a great help during interviews when applying for companies.”

 The Lucy Mentoring Program was also key in helping Manasa secure her job with Nokia after graduation. The Lucy Mentoring Program connects women and gender diverse people studying engineering or technology at UTS to industry professionals for one-on-one mentoring.

“I was partnered with a mentor from Nokia. He mentored me regarding career paths, about work life balance and even interview tips and tricks. He even introduced me to other mentors from Nokia who let me know when there was a job opening that suited my skills.”

In 2022, Manasa joined Nokia as a Graduate project Manager at Nokia Sydney.