Q&A with Atharva Deshpande from Monash

Written By Jason Cotton

As Monash student Atharva Deshpande finishes his internship with us, he has many highlights to share and a focus for his future career in the water industry.

A profile photo of Atharva from the shoulders up. He is wearing a dark blue suit jacket, white shirt and black tie and is smiling at the camera.

WHAT ARE YOU STUDYING AT MONASH?

I’m doing my Master’s Degree in Professional Civil Engineering, specialising in water engineering.

WHAT MADE YOU PUT UP YOUR HAND FOR A WORK PLACEMENT WITH IWN?

I was interested in the internship opportunity because I was fascinated by IWN’s range of programs. As a beginner in the Australian water industry, I felt that working at IWN would provide a good transition from student to professional for me. Needless to say, I was not disappointed and had an amazing experience with IWN.

WHAT WERE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF YOUR IWN INTERNSHIP?

  • Attending the IWN annual conference at Marvel Stadium was the biggest highlight of my internship. I got to network with so many professionals from the water industry and learnt about many new technologies

  • Assisting Prith - Asset Management and Optimisation Deputy Program Manager - to gather documentation from IWN’s member water corporations related to their asset class plans and maintenance strategies

  • Learning how to use software, such as Microsoft Teams, Outlook and SharePoint, which are widely used in many industries

  • The 8:30am online catchups with the IWN team were always an amazing way to start the day. I got to share my updates with Elisa and Dean and was able to meet many people in the industry

  • Last, but one of my main highlights, was the entire IWN team who were warm and welcoming throughout my internship. I learned many valuable technical and non-technical skills from some of the best professionals in the Victorian water industry

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN A CAREER IN THE WATER SECTOR?

I am interested in the hydraulic and hydrological modelling sector within the water industry. I enjoy the analytical side of data related to flood hydrology, such as rainfall run-off hydrographs, and I would like to further develop my technical design skills in floodplain design and modelling.

Jason Cotton
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