Growing up in India, Saurabh was like many high school graduates, full of potential, curious and unsure of what lay ahead. Most of his peers chose to stay close to home. The safe choice. The expected path. But something inside him pulled in a different direction – towards the dream of studying overseas. A dream shared by many, but one that often felt out of reach.
“I actually applied to RMIT Melbourne as a bit of a joke,” he admits. “The tuition was too expensive.”
But then he discovered RMIT Vietnam and the path began to reveal itself.
“It felt like the right mix of quality, affordability and adventure,” he says. With a scholarship and tuition rebate on the table, the idea of studying abroad shifted from impossible to within reach. The opportunity came with many unknowns, but he found the courage to take the leap.
At just 18, Saurabh boarded a flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Alone, traveling to an unfamiliar country and a foreign culture, unsure of what was coming next but ready to find out.
That bold choice would lead him to a life he never expected. And it all started with saying yes to the unexpected.
At 18, Saurabh Padmakumar took a bold leap from India to RMIT Vietnam, turning a distant dream into a life-changing journey.
It is said that Vietnam has a way of turning strangers into friends and unfamiliar places into something that feels like home. Saurabh found that to be true almost instantly.
“At first, I tried not to bother the other students,” he laughs. “I thought they might not want to speak English with me. But my Vietnamese roommate convinced me to come downstairs and play pool. That changed everything.”
Through late-night games, shared meals and small acts of kindness, walls began to fall. Immersed in the vibrant campus life, Saurabh bonded with students from Vietnam, Korea and beyond - forming friendships that crossed cultures and backgrounds. He also learned to play pool like a pro and became a friendly, familiar face in the dorm.
“I don’t feel like a foreigner anymore,” he says. “Everyone’s been so welcoming and kind. I’ve found a sense of belonging here that I never expected.”
That sense of connection only deepened with each step beyond the vibrant campus - from tasting mooncakes for the first time and learning about lunar traditions to exploring tucked-away cafés and local spots with his girlfriend.
As Vietnam began to feel more like home, Saurabh found himself growing in unexpected ways. Before long, he was the one helping new students find their footing. The quiet kid from India was evolving - becoming more confident, more connected and driven by a sense of purpose.
From quiet newcomer to campus connector, Saurabh Padmakumar found friendship, belonging and a second home at RMIT Vietnam.
Saurabh’s transformation wasn’t just social. At RMIT, the classroom felt like a launchpad.
From his very first semester, he leaned into practical, hands-on projects that pushed his thinking and sharpened his skills. He tackled real-world problems with curiosity and creativity – from an NFT-based certificate authentication system to a Vietnamese-English voice recognition tool and even a hotel booking app built in JavaFX.
He also developed an Android medicine shopping app using Java and Android Studio, complete with Paytm integration - an experience that taught him how to build with users in mind. As his confidence grew, he began experimenting with cloud-based systems, integrating tools like Firebase and Google Cloud to improve scalability in student-led builds.
These projects didn’t just teach him how to code, they gave him an edge. In India, software engineering is one of the most competitive majors, typically pursued by top academic performers. But through RMIT’s applied learning and real industry exposure, Saurabh found himself not just keeping up, but pulling ahead of many of his peers back home.
Outside the lab, he made his mark too. As the Secretary and Treasurer of the Student Council, he found his voice as a leader. When he won first place at a Microsoft Hackathon, he realised just how far he had come.
“At RMIT, I was not just a student. I was a mentor, a problem solver and a community builder”, he says.
Saurabh Padmakumar from RMIT celebrates his team’s win at Microsoft’s AI Hackathon 2024 with an AI solution for the visually impaired.
Now just weeks away from earning his Bachelor of Software Engineering, Saurabh is once again looking beyond borders. A master’s degree abroad? A tech-for-good role in a mission-driven company? The next chapter is still unwritten, but the mindset is already there.
“Now, as I prepare to graduate, I leave RMIT with the confidence to embrace new beginnings anywhere in the world.”
Once focused on job titles, Saurabh is now driven by something deeper – a sense of purpose shaped by experience, connection and growth. He wants to work in spaces that matter: artificial intelligence, sustainability, accessibility. He doesn’t have all the answers yet, but he’s clear on the kind of impact he wants to make.
It’s one thing to leave home. It’s another to find yourself in the process. That transformation rewrote the script for Saurabh.
Saurabh didn’t realise it at the time, but choosing RMIT Vietnam was more than a decision, it was a character shift.
He accepted the invitation to step outside the familiar, to grow through challenge, and to begin the journey of becoming a global citizen in the truest sense.
Now, on the edge of graduation and ready to step forward with confidence and courage, Saurabh sees just how far he’s come and how far he still wants to go.
Because RMIT Vietnam didn’t just prepare him to be ready for what’s next, it inspired him to rise to it.
For anyone standing where he once stood - unsure, undecided, at the edge of something new - Saurabh’s story is your invitation. Because the future needs more global citizens - the kind who say, "challenge accepted".
