A HEAD FOR NUMBERS

With a passion for math, Arham Mufti is hoping to become a mechanical engineer and make space travel an everyday event

Astudent of Jumeirah College, Arham Mufti has a passion for math. His enviable list of achievements in the subject include being a qualifier for the British Olympiad, an Elitist and Champion title holder at the International Math Olympiad Challenge, and a United Kingdom Mathematics Trust gold medal winner for five consecutive years.

Arham is good not just at crunching numbers. A member of the basketball, cricket, and football teams in school, he has won medals in several competitions. Of late, he has started to play golf as well and is proud to have lowered his handicap from 25 to 13 within a year. Keen to pursue mechanical engineering, Arham also does his bit for the community - teaching students in Pakistan.

EXCERPTS FROM AN INTERVIEW: Why mechanical engineering?

I have always enjoyed the practical uses of math and physics. Combined with my innately curious personality, I want to pursue mechanical engineering and become a pioneer to propel us into the future.

Tell us about the electric scooter you developed.

I started this project to scratch my gadget-making itch. I had an old hoverboard that I didn’t use anymore and remembered opening it to see how the motor works. I then used the motor to power a scooter. “I learnt a lot while working on this project and with this new knowledge, I hope to show the younger generation the power of innovation.

Tell us about the education empowerment drive you are involved in.

This started in February, when I went to teach some students about the practical uses of math in real life. I realised that one way I could motivate them to learn something is by teaching them that the knowledge they acquire could be applied in everyday life.

What are the lessons you learnt from your experience teaching students?

I have mentored students in my business GCSE class as part of a mentoring program. The biggest lesson I learnt from my teaching experience is that often, student know what to do; they only need a little push to help them along. Another lesson I learnt is be a team leader, delegate tasks and complete a task as a team member. A third lesson I learnt is patience. Patience is crucial for teaching. This helped me become a better teacher.

What kind of internships have you done?

I interned in Zurich, Switzerland at Habib Bank AG Zurich. Here I got to see aspects of the business, from operations to the treasury.

I also interned at BK Gulf Facilities Management. They focus on managing buildings and villas and this gave me a taste of a different industry. I am currently doing an online AI internship.

How useful were the internships?

The first internship allowed me to see another practical use of math in a different business to what I am interested in pursuing at university. It enlightened me about a whole new industry and I am keen to learn more about it.

The second gave me first-hand experience about mechanical engineers, as well as civil and electrical engineers. I understood how engineers need to be collaborative and simultaneously, take on a managing role within the business.

I learnt the most in the last internship- skills to create code. Using these newly acquired skills, I am making a code that will help turn sign language alphabet to text.

3 pieces of advice you would give students regarding internships.

1.Don’t be scared about heading into the workplace. Most employees are very keen to teach you about their craft.

2. Learn as much as possible. Getting experience about different industries at a young age can give you a lot of information when choosing your career path.

3. There is no internship where you come out learning nothing new.

What is your dream career?

To help make flights to space an affordable and everyday event. For this, I am also doing a college credit course called ‘Calculus for Engineers’ which is giving me the knowledge about the math behind the physical projects.