Vishal Mistry – tech student

A day in the life. Meet Vishal Mistry, a student whose experiences of start-up culture and innovation at HOST have shaped his desire to change the world. He describes his experiences:

“I was studying computer science when a friend told me about MediaCity. They put me in touch with the founders of Dicey Tech, based at HOST, and I’ve just finished an internship with them. I tested products and learned how to explain information in a way that a year 6 student could understand it. It was a real challenge. MediaCity itself: I love it, I love how much has been invested in the way it looks, it feels like walking around in California. I just like what they did with the place!

I’m passionate about using interdisciplinarity to solve complex problems, particularly when it comes to sustainability and education. At university I saw people asleep in their lectures – that’s not the way we should teach, and how we teach hasn’t evolved at all. It’s the same when it comes to improving cities. There’s a company that uses waste plastic to build modular roads. It started with all the roadworks we have, and all the plastic waste: their solution means that sections of road can be replaced quickly, using the plastic we can’t get rid of. It solves two problems. It’d work as well for us as it would developing nations. It’s that kind of thinking that fascinates me. The intersection of technology, education and other fields: that’s how we’re going to fix the world.”