The Power of Curiosity | My Experience at International Conferences

Curiosity – The Driving Force

Curiosity is the deep-down rationale and driving force of any breakthrough, innovation, product, and innovation. As said by Cred Founder, Kunal Shah, Curiosity is the need of today’s era. My experience at international conferences taught me to unlearn the learned. It helped me glance into diverse views and opinions, and unlocked new perspectives.

This article reflects upon the power of curiosity and the inculcation of the habit of asking “Why” to conventional, reasonable, and simple traditions, cultures, perspectives, habits, and lifestyles. It discusses how curiosity has the potential to revolutionize the existing and forthcoming generations of the globe. It talks about my curiosity in various dimensions of subjects, which were sown at my delegacy at International Conferences such as Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations International Conference (HPAIR), Harvard US India Initiative International Conference, Harvard India Conference and World IP Forum.

The Power of Curiosity

Every invention in the human civilization’s history, from the wheel to Airplanes, if boiled down to one disposition or cause of action, would be curiosity. We are driven by passion and by asking questions to conventional predispositions that have been entered into our neurological patterns through our environment and the people around us.

The power of why is the power of curiosity.

The greatest ideas, inventions, products, breakthroughs are born out of curiosity. During their childhood, everyone is used to asking fundamental questions which may seem silly to society and parents at times, but a simple “Why” helps the child to shape their personality, character and philosophy.

Evolution of Human Beings

With the growth of the child, society puts a hood on the free minds of the child. This results in them creating toxic prejudices and restricts them to explore and be open to new perspectives and experiences. Yuval Noah Harari, the author of “Sapiens” has described the evolution of homo-sapiens and the survival of the species through natural calamities, diseases, and battles with the help of weapons. Weapons may be intellectual, physical, inventions, urbanizations, and communication. The most powerful weapon for the human species to survive through the disastrous history was communication and the invention of languages.

Contraction and Expansion of our Potential

The limitation of communication leads to a contraction of the potential of our brains. Though specialization is important; when it comes to career and mastery of skills, having the taste of most of the ideas in the room is also important. Being open to new ideas that challenge your internal biases, is a pattern that every human being should practice. Questioning our own biases is important; which helps us to broaden our approach towards a field or subject. A person who has always exposed themselves to new subjects and perspectives has options to choose from, because, they have the view of the “larger image” or the “Drone view”, instead of a narrow vision of thoughts.

International Conferences during the pandemic

In 2019, when the pandemic struck the world, it resulted in lockdowns across the globe, forcing the people to stay at home, working and growing in the limited scope of the house. This perspective is cited from the majority population’s approach towards the pandemic. This pandemic brought in an opportunity for me to grow within myself.

The first step which opened me up to the idea of international conferences were books that made me realize my reach to the world and global perspectives on issues. It helped me have an opinion on various subjects such as Technology, AI and innovations, Finance, Business and Startups, Law and governance, Media and entertainment, medical science and psychology, and many more.

HPAIR – Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations

I initiated my journey and dived into the world of international conferences of the most venerable and prestigious institutions of the world. This gives a reach to people of various fields that define their subjects, being the pioneers. The first international conference which I got the opportunity to attend as a part of the Indian delegacy was Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations International conference (HPAIR), Harvard University’s largest annual student conference in the Asia Pacific region.

Exposure at HPAIR

The major contribution of the conference to my professional personality was to expose me to various world policy leaders, Fortune 500 business executives, technology visionaries, and Silicon Valley pioneers. The opportunity to listen to their ideas and take on various subjects and issues opened up my mind, giving me the fertilizer to grow beyond national biases and conventional thinking. I got to view the larger picture of a global perspective improving the lives of global citizens.

Events at HPAIR

The events were designed in such a way that the delegates selected across the globe got an immense opportunity to network with fellow delegates that belonged to various occupations and fields. Networking with the eminent speakers, delegates, from across the globe, and the executive team of the HPAIR conference, from the Harvard University, blew up my mind by countering my biases and perceptions about international organizations, by understanding their mindset in depth.

The cocktail nights and cultural programs encouraged the delegates to represent their own countries and qualities which may be music, dance, and poetic aspirations, etc. Discussing with the delegates on various dimensions of subjects and the books they read, gave me a global perspective, pulling me away from conventional ideas on subjects.

Benefits of attending International Conferences such as HPAIR

The conference allowed me to build lifelong connections and relationships with people across the globe and through various fields and subjects. Since the conference, all the delegates are connected through groups and engage in discussions, interactions, and often share ideas.

The conference changed my neural patterns in a way that I became interested in subjects and fields which did not intrigue me earlier. The subjects and fields to which I was exposed have mandated and driven me to keep up and conduct in-depth researches on all the subjects. My knowledge, skills, and experience have grown exponentially because it pulled me above niches, and grew me up to the stature of being well versed in numerous subjects and fields.

Drive to attend more international conferences

The future is revolutionary with Biohacking, robotics, AI, and decentralization coming in. The interests built today will become skills in the future. Being a law student, aiming to build a career in the corporate ecosystem with law firms and corporations, my ambitions rose higher through the interactions, stories, and journeys of all the delegates and eminent speakers.

The drive for growing myself through conferences grew to a level that I got selected as a delegate in the Harvard US India Initiative International conference, which had eminent speakers from the Indian film industry, business industry, and various fields. With growing curiosity, I got selected in various international conferences such as India Harvard Conference, 2021, and the World IP Forum, where I was ranked 1st among the delegates.

Curiosity and Learning

The curiosity and sheer hunger to learn with humility was a change that I gave rise to, and developed at a rapid pace to achieve these opportunities. The passion to interact and communicate with people across the globe has helped me open up my perspectives and diversify my interests, building my personality. The takeaway from interactions and conferences was to stay curious and explore fields and subjects out of my comfort zones and competencies. In order to stay relevant and competitive in the future, one needs continuous upskilling and diversification of skills and knowledge.

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About The Author

Saptak Pandya is a third-year law student who is an aficionado in diverse topics, from Business, Finance, Law, Economics, Technology, IT and innovations, AI, robotics, spirituality and books. He is a startup enthusiast, who likes to analyze business stories and is working on an NFT project on blockchain technology.

Apart from academic facets, Saptak is a musician, martial artist, and an avid baker!