By Laura Michell
A South Morang student who first dismantled and rebuilt a computer at just five years of age has been awarded a Westpac scholarship to pursue a career in IT.
Nivasan (Niv) Srinivasan is one of 34 students to received a Young Technologists Scholarship from the Westpac Scholars Trust.
The scholarship is awarded to young people who hope to use technology as a lever to drive positive social change.
Niv, 18, who is studying engineering and computer science at RMIT, plans to use the scholarship to fund his studies in the hope he can secure a career in information security and ethical hacking.
Niv’s fascination with computers began at a young age.
“When I was five I wanted to take apart
my computer to see what was in it. I managed to put it back together but my parents were shocked when they found out what I had done,” Niv said.
“Later, I started servicing old phones for some cash on the side while I was at school.”
Niv said information security and ethical hacking was a fascinating industry.
“It’s like a puzzle … you need to look at things in a way that is not just method based,” he said.
