Vivek's January Newsletter
Walmart Challenge | Hackathon | TKS | OUCC | Badminton Tournament
🥳Meet Me🥳
Hi, my name is Vivek Kommi, I am a 14-year-old from Cambridge, UK. I am crazy about upcoming technologies like AI, Nanotech, Robotics, IoT, and much more!
TKS
5 months ago, I joined a program called TKS. So what is TKS about? TKS is a program that teaches students how to be the future “Elon Musk” teaching us real-life skills like pitching, presenting, teamwork, and content creation. Some of the stuff we cover in the sessions include Quantum computing, the metaverse, and business case studies.
We also learn mindsets such as:
Antifragility ❌: The mentality of being comfortable with the uncomfortable and embracing failure
Activator 🦸♂️: The mindset of creating events, this could be organizing a family dinner, or organizing a friend tournament
Be Intentional 🥴: The action of consciously choosing to create the life you want, rather than having other people dictate your feelings and actions
Hackathon
In TKS this month I had the opportunity to participate in a hackathon, and I am proud to say that we got selected as one of the top 5 teams to be broadcasted live!
We created Cropsia, an AI-based app that targets diseased crops using drones.
I learned and built skills over these couple of weeks and it has been a big rollercoaster with many all-nighters.
TKS x Walmart Challenge
I had the insane opportunity to take part in a Sprint Challenge at The Knowledge Society (TKS) on Thursday to meet, and present to Walmart Executives. This was an opportunity that barely anyone our age would experience. We created a recommendation deck based on the statement “How can Walmart improve the customer experience by developing simple & scalable in-store digital touchpoints or experiences that further connect customers to our digital journey?”.
We created Wallace, a voice assistant which will help guide customers in-store, create personalized recommendations, and community features for adding your friends and family. And while creating this deck, I learned so many new skills like prototyping, mockups, and presenting. Incredibly, our team was selected as 1 of 2 winning teams out of more than 40 teams, with top-tier innovators from over 70 countries and working alongside Walmart, the highest-revenue company in the world.
Thank you to my amazing teammates Natalie Wong, Viola Seda, Priscilla Leung, and Allison Dominguez for all their hard work and all-nighters. Also, thank you so much to the judges Colton Schwenk, Julia Perlotto, and Juan Caride for even giving us this incredible opportunity. But most importantly the best director Aatik Chopra who guided our team through the toughest of challenges. I very much look forward to tackling the next Challenge!
Badminton Tournament
On the 13th of January, I participated in a county badminton tournament and learned many things about myself, and that I could work hard if I care. And in the end, I came top 10 out of 500. This was a great experience and a big journey.
The key takeaways from these months:
I can do stuff if I care😍 - Find passion in the things you do, then you will surpass any obstacle
Stress is nothing😅 - I found that I feel good and I present well under pressure and when you put the others aside, you will speak cleaner
Just do it🦾 - I am realizing that when I have a task in hand, I should just do it. Not procrastinate