From Latur to Malaysia: A 19-Year-Old Finding Himself in Bigger Rooms

At 19, Swami Rutvik is still a student.

He is also someone who likes to build things, meet people, and understand how bigger systems work. That is what made URIIS 2026, the University Research & Innovation Investment Summit, a different experience for him.

Rutvik had been in Malaysia for only a short time when he found himself in a room filled with conversations around higher education, research, innovation and investment.

For a student from Latur, Maharashtra, it was a very different environment.

He did not expect to be in that room

Rutvik did not go to URIIS 2026 expecting attention.

He went to learn.

During the summit, he had the opportunity to interact with senior people from Malaysia's higher education and innovation ecosystem. He was also seated close to senior leaders during the opening ceremony.

For him, the moment felt unusual.

A student who had started his journey in Latur was now sitting in Malaysia, listening to conversations happening at an institutional level.

He was not there to prove anything.

He was there to understand.

One idea stayed with him

One of the messages shared during the summit stayed with Rutvik: universities should not only focus on producing graduates. They should also work with real problems and use research to create practical solutions.

That idea connected with the way he already looks at technology.

For Rutvik, building something is not only about making a product work. The more important question is whether it solves a real problem.

That thinking has also shaped the way he approaches his own projects.

The people mattered, but the exposure mattered more

Rutvik had conversations with senior figures from Malaysia's higher education and innovation ecosystem, including the Minister of Higher Education, Malaysia.

One short interaction with the Minister became a memorable moment for him.

But the bigger takeaway was not simply meeting senior people.

It was seeing how different parts of an ecosystem come together.

Research.
Universities.
Industry.
Investment.
Innovation.

URIIS 2026 gave him a chance to see those connections from much closer.

A new country, a new perspective

A few months earlier, Rutvik was studying in India and building projects alongside college.

Now he is spending a semester at INTI International University, Malaysia, experiencing a new academic environment and meeting people outside the circles he was familiar with.

That change has also made him more comfortable with being the person who does not know everything in the room.

He listens.

He asks questions.

He observes how others think.

And then he takes what he learns back into his own work.

For Rutvik, that may be the biggest value of exposure.

It is not about being seen in important places.

It is about seeing something you had never seen before.

At 19, he is still figuring out where all of this leads.

But the approach remains simple:

Listen. Observe. Learn. Build.

Still early. Still building.