Fascinating February at Minerva University (2024)

Twin peaks, 10:01’s at Minerva, four cornerstone courses and 200 lifelong friends

Nature hikes in SF

After an intense week of staring at the computer screen, my mind and body needed an entire day of nature, fresh air, and disconnection from work. ‘There is no Wi-fi in the forest but you will probably find a better connection there’. I took my Chinese friends out for a packed day of hiking, but first we decided to fuel up on some delicious Indian food. I introduced them to ‘Chaat’ (street food), and it was fascinating and heartwarming to watch me struggle to explain to them how a certain dish was prepared and what ingredients were inside, as they stared at me cluelessly. So many words from our native languages are beyond translation and there are aspects of my culture which I will always struggle to explain to a foreigner not because they don’t want to understand, but because they lack the cultural vocabulary which is the only way I can truly describe how to prepare a ‘pani puri’ or ‘dahi wada’.

With enough gas in the tank, we then proceeded to hike through Sutro forest all the way up to Sutro tower, followed by a stroll through the Botanical Gardens of Golden gate park, and finally Twin Peaks for a jaw-dropping sunset. I come from a city of 15 million people, which has truly become a concrete jungle, with ever-diminishing natural spaces, forcing residents to look further and further away from the city center to reconnect with nature. My single-biggest appreciation of San Francisco is the well-planned integration of urban and natural spaces. There is a park within a 10-minute walking distance from any point in the city, and within the larger parks and hills, one feels completely detached from the city despite being a train ride away from the city center. Natural spaces are where human communities form. Running groups, birdwatching clubs, volleyball teams, surfing friends, photography buddies and more. A great way for new residents of the city to make friends and find communities with shared passions is to simply explore its parks. There is a surreal and warm feeling of connection I feel with every person I see, greet and walk past in the park, because I know that every other person in the park has also come with the similar purpose of reconnecting with nature. What unites us as communities are the things we are drawn to and fascinated to further explore: this is why nature is the common thread that binds us all together.      

10:01’s at Minerva

I want to introduce you to a special Minerva tradition, which happens every Sunday called the 10:01. The name itself comes from the fact that all assignments used to be due at 10:00 PM (now, 11 PM) and thus, after spending days in their solitary rooms, rushing to submit by the deadline, at 10:01 PM, Minervans would all emerge from their rooms to celebrate and bond together in a shared sense of joy and victory. The 10:01 was thus designed to bring the entire community together on Sunday evening, after a long week of work where some of us barely emerge from our rooms for days at a stretch. Given that our class comprises students from 50+ countries, we ought to spend some time learning about each others’ cultures and home countries. The 10:01 is a time of community bonding where the students from one country come together to prepare a dish from their culture, and give a presentation on interesting aspects of their culture, traditions, rituals, festivals, food to the wider community. Typically, students sing local songs, perform cultural dances, play native instruments from their hometowns, and challenge classmates to pronounce difficult words in their national languages. So far this semester we have had 10:01’s by students from Germany, Austria, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Romania, Pakistan, Moldova and many more.

It is eye-opening to see many cultural stereotypes and myths being busted, and to see the entire country, holistically, rather than the narrow and limited symbols, leaders, dishes, and monuments we use to define the entire country and all its people. Whether we accept it or not, we all have reduced an entire people/culture to a handful of words and symbols which have become global icons, restricting us from ever seeing past our broad and hasty generalizations of people we know barely anything about. 

Academics – Cornerstone courses

HC highlights

1)    Complex Systems – #shapingbehaviour

Every individual, organization, and government frequently tries to influence and shape the behaviour of other individuals, sometimes selfishly, sometimes selflessly. Incentives, disincentives, rewards, punishments and choice architecture, are all tools which can be used to shape behaviour in various contexts, with inherent pros and cons of each approach.

Real world examples:

·      Choice architecture – A promising new field of research in behavioral economics and public policy which investigates how to influence individuals in simple, cost-effective, unintrusive ways by simply changing the context and environment in which they make decisions, to hopefully, push individuals to make decisions that maximize their own health, wealth, and happiness. Placing fruits and vegetables at eye level and junk food on the bottom shelves does lead people to make healthier shopping decisions. Placing the image of a fly at the center of a urinal in the men’s bathroom does reduce spillages and cleaning costs. Converting a giant staircase into piano keys which produce sweet music when you walk on them does encourage people to take the stairs instead of the escalator. This works.  

·      Governance – The government has the power to use various combinations of incentives, rewards, and punishments to change its citizens’ behaviour. There are situations where choice architecture can be successfully implemented, however in other cases, fines, taxes, and more severe punishments may be necessary. By executing simple choice architecture solutions like implementing opt-out organ donation vs. opt-in organ donation programs for all its citizens, the government can solve significant social issues like the lack of organ donors for transplants, by simply relying on its citizens to go ahead with the default choice for cognitive ease, which is ideal if the default choice for all citizens is automatically being enrolled into an organ donation program, with the free choice of any citizen to opt out if they so wish. 

·       Understanding what drives peoples’ behaviour – Two people engaging in the same behaviour could be driven by two very different factors. Understanding the underlying motivations, fears, hopes, insecurities which drives people to act the way they do can help us better empathize with their point of view, because we are all a reflection of our deepest motivations, desires and goals. Re-phrasing punishments as rewards and disincentives as incentives often goes a long way in inspiring people to do things with positivity and passion, rather than by force. Going to the gym regularly due to a nagging fear of gaining weight vs. the satisfaction of feeling strong and flexible are two very different mindsets with which to approach personal fitness, and one is definitely more pleasurable than the other!  

2)    Multimodal communications - #designthinking

Design thinking is a creative problem-solving process which focuses on creating human-centric products, ideas, software, services, through continuous iteration and feedback. The process involves empathizing with the target user, defining a specific problem statement, rapid brainstorming for creative ideation, prototyping to build MVPs and testing on the same target user with the finished product.

Real world examples:

·      Designing your living spaces – You are influenced every day by the design of the spaces you spend time in – your bedroom, study room, workplace, gym, art studio, or university campus. When designing your own home or personal office, think about the specific goals you want to accomplish with a space like productivity, leisure, mindfulness, passion, creativity, and think about how your design decisions like the choice of furniture, color, shape and size of the room, lighting, fragrance, outside view, either enhance or hinder your ability to achieve the intended purpose of this space.   

·      Artistic creation – Design thinking can give a structure to your artistic creation and creative process. Before you sit down to paint or write or sing, think about your work of art from a designer’s perspective. Empathize with your audience – their needs, struggles, hopes, fears, dreams. Clearly define the intention and motivation behind your work. Create mini prototypes along the way to get quick feedback from your peers and audience, before you create an entire work and then find its faults. Finally, acknowledge and accept that no work is ever perfect and be comfortable with going right back to the drawing board, because design is an inherently non-linear and iterative process.

·      ‘Designing your life’ – this is a powerful and transformative book which equips readers to use the tools of design thinking (like journey mapping, Plan A, B and Z, trying stuff (bias for action), radical collaboration, informational interviews and more), to create their ideal life through experimentation, iteration and prototyping. If you can take an objective step back from your life today and evaluate it like a product with a specific purpose to serve, in what way would you re-design and re-shape it to move closer to serving that mission? What would you change about the aesthetics, form, functionality, branding, and how would you pitch this product to a potential spouse/friend/mentor?  

Student spotlights

Mathis Henaux (Belgium + The Caribbean)     

As a music engineer, what has been your journey and personal relationship with music over the years?

As a child, I was involved in theatre and acting, participating in multiple plays and performances, both inside and outside of school. My cousin played the base and sometimes I would make music with him, which was super fun. Then, my friends purchased an app for making digital music, and I began experimenting on my own. One of my school music teachers sold me their mini piano, and I just began to play around with different chords and rhythms. I am almost entirely self-taught: a combination of YouTube videos, personal experimentation, and taking inspiration from the hymns and melodies I adore in popular songs, is how I create music. I take inspiration from a rhythm or beat I enjoy, play around with different versions and sounds, until I create something which is pleasing to my ears. Being self-taught is definitely harder and less efficient because of the lack of structure and formal step-by-step approach to learning the skill, but all the wasted time and silly mistakes has taught me perseverance, creativity and curiosity, which I hope shines through in the music I create. For now, I have numerous unfinished projects and unpublished songs which are yet to be shared with the outside world. I believe I have almost hit the plateau of my comfort zone, hence I want to become more seriously involved in music production here at Minerva, and let go of my fears by releasing my work for the world to both enjoy and critique.      

Theatre and music. A powerful combination indeed! But you didn’t stop there. More recently, you’ve gained a deep interest in filmmaking and film production. Tell us more about your wonderful short film, ‘Amusia’. 

Film was a massive part of my childhood. The power of visuals, sound and humanity to elicit the deepest emotions of the human experience within the viewer, is the inherent power of filmmaking and of the filmmaker. In high school, as part of a school project, I directed a 7-minute short film called ‘Amusia’. The team went through the entire process of script writing, performing, editing, sound engineering, and publishing: right from pre-production to post-production. The film covered the journey of a young musician who was doing well in school and had almost been accepted to one of the top musical colleges in the country. Before the final big audition for the music school, the musician begins to develop a condition called Amusia (also called tonal deafness), where they lose the ability to perceive musical rhythm and beats, hence they are unable to appreciate the melody of any music they play or listen to. The film focuses on the emotional impact of having such an integral part of one’s identity taken away in an instant, and the sense of emptiness and helplessness it creates within someone who has devoted years of their life pursuing a goal which now they can probably never accomplish.

Overall, the project taught me the importance of adaptability in the creative process: not becoming so fixated on the specific image within your mind of how you want the film to look, rather being open to possibilities and experimentation to produce something different but perhaps more creative than your own mental image of a shot or scene.  

So, musician + actor + director. Surely, you didn’t have the time to also start your own podcast in high school, Mathis?    

A late-night conversation with a friend led us both to realize how our society looks very open to freedom of speech from the outside, but in real-world settings, there are so many highly important yet slightly controversial topics which no one has the courage to bring up in a conversation, for fear or ‘ruining the mood’. We believe there is almost always value in openly speaking about controversial issues which impact us all, and having fruitful dissent and disagreements with others, as we challenge our deepest held beliefs.

We both latched onto the idea and created ‘The rhetorical podcast’ which covered topics like ‘How long will religion stay relevant in today’s technological world?’, ‘Is fate and destiny real?’, ‘Are men becoming physically and emotionally weaker?’, ‘Is it okay to lie?’, and ‘Is everything funny?’. We interviewed people all over our community: friends, classmates, elders, neighbours, relatives.

My biggest takeaway was that as a podcaster, the day you genuinely just have a causal and spontaneous conversation with another person and forget about the mic and the recording taking place in the background, that is when you have gotten comfortable in your podcasting shoes.   

Michelia Teh (Singapore)      

Why did you choose to transfer from the National University of Singapore (NUS) to Minerva University? 

I know, I know. From the third best university in Asia and one of the top 10 globally, why did I transfer to a school which has existed for less than a decade? Here’s the true story, right from the horse’s mouth.  

I applied to NUS with high expectations, knowing I would be going to one of the best liberal arts programs in Asia. The NUS first and second year curriculum is somewhat similar to Minerva, emphasizing breadth over depth and covering a wide range of disciplines across the social sciences, natural sciences, arts and humanities, math, logic and more. The concept was fascinating, however the implementation was not ideal. It was only the second year of NUS implementing this curriculum, hence many professors were still refining their lesson plans and course syllabus. Too many hours were spent on simple concepts – a concept which we take one class to quickly learn at Minerva, would stretch for a week at NUS. Students at NUS generally focus on specialization over generalization hence many failed to see the relevance of taking a philosophy course when they wanted to pursue only mechanical engineering. Since the syllabus was broad and introductory, it was possible to be disengaged in class, prepare a few weeks before exam season, and perform excellently on all the courses, which led to class discussions being passive and uninspiring. At NUS, I tried hard to participate, engage in discussion and actively gain from each class I took, but the environment and response of my peers was not highly supportive.

I knew I needed a new style of education, which suited my personality and skills, focusing on active learning and inspiring discussion. A university where students wanted to actively engage in class discussions vs. being happy to passively absorb content and take notes in a lecture. My friend suggested Minerva to me, and I applied, almost certain that my hastily completed application would be rejected. When I got in, I had to re-read the acceptance letter twice and take a deep breath before it sank in. Long story short, here I am in San Francisco, because for me personally, I value the experience over the prestige.

Knowing you personally, I am aware that you can’t sit still for even 4 seconds, much less 4 whole months. You had a solid 4 months at home between leaving NUS and before flying to San Francisco for Minerva. What kept you busy during that time?

Over the summer, I started an Anime – themed arts and handicrafts business. As a child, I was obsessed with Anime and have been a passionate and talented artist since 12, with an appreciation for beauty and colour. I made my first Anime sticker at 16 on our home printer, sold it in my school, and made less than a dollar in profit. I knew I could do better if I put my heart into it.

Over the summer, I ramped up my production and started a proper business. I designed anime-inspired keychains, stickers, postcards, t-shirts, and am very soon hoping to introduce BOBA keychains! I sold my art at booths of Anime conventions and events across Singapore. Over the upcoming summer, I wish to build a website for my business, ramp up production, sell at more booths and conventions, and ideally, dive into e-commerce, where orders can be made directly from my website. 

I remember watching a fascinating video of you on Tik Tok as you spoke about transferring from NUS to Minerva. Seconds later, I realized just how many videos you have posted online and how many thousands of views some of them had. Walk us through your journey with content creation and how you deal with the emotional rollercoaster of being your authentic self on social media.     

My greatest difficulty in convincing both myself and my parents that Minerva was a ‘real’, ‘legit’ university was the sheer amount of skepticism and lack of information from a student’s perspective about the Minerva experience. Watching videos from Unjaded jade and a few other Minerva students (who were not affiliated with Minerva) helped me see the authentic experience and thoughts of a Minervan, including all the highs and lows, all the pros and cons, not just the bright side. The niche I have carved out for myself here has been actively creating content as an individual student about life at Minerva and in San Francisco. I focus on Instagram and Tik Tok, creating short, 30-second to 5-minute long reels and videos where I interview my classmates’ candid responses to questions like ‘Why did you choose Minerva?’, ‘What has surprised you most about Minerva?’, and ‘How have you been engaging with San Francisco, without having an official campus?’. Interestingly, before Minerva, I had the time to create content but no substance. Here, I have all the substance in the world, but obviously, no time because of our never-ending assignments.

As a content creator, I avoid glamour and embrace authenticity: no make-up, no fancy dresses, just authentic me, with my genuine emotions and my own unique voice and style. Hate comments are almost inevitable when your video gathers thousands of views, partly because the algorithm is designed to push hate speech upward. It does hurt, especially when the hate comments keep coming day after day, and those comments receive multiple likes. I sometimes have to take a break from social media for a week, and emotionally ground myself before returning to the app. A simple video I made about coffee shops in San Francisco received thousands of views, with an illogical amount of hate comments on each word I said. A mindset which serves me well in this case is ‘For all those haters out there, their comments are more of a reflection of them than they are a reflection of me’.

Book of the month

Movie of the month

Poem of the month

Running

When I run

I am free

As if all the shackles

that bind me,    

All the heavy metal chains

that hold me back,

have been broken

destroyed

No one can stop me

Nothing

Can hold me back

I will outrun it

Outrun you

Sprint gaily past

And continue on my way

No looking back

The painful memories,

The nightmares,

The sorrows and pain,

The guilt of mistakes,

And regrets of indecision

All

Left

Behind

The cool breeze on my face

Soothing my burning, aching calves

My hair blows wildly in the wind

Like the grass

Everything is a blur

Flashes and spots

The green of the grass

The blue of the sky

The faces of people

Rushing by

Everything is impermanent

Unimportant

Miniscule

In the grander scheme of things

Fading away

Like a memory that desperately

Needs forgetting

The dark road underneath

will take me

to the place I deserve to be

No longer am I a son,

a father,

a brother,

a criminal,

a failure,

an addict

Just a runner

Like every other runner

Nothing more

Nothing more

My destination?

No idea

The journey matters more

I will not stop

Can I stop?

Now there is no going back

And that is why

I will keep on running

Running

Running

That was long. Thank you for being patient with me and reading (or skimming) to the end.

Please subscribe to my monthly newsletter if you would like to stay updated with my monthly adventures, as I travel to 6 global cities (San Francisco, Taipei, Seoul, Buenos Aires, Hyderabad, and Berlin) over the next 4 years with Minerva University. Until then, Au revoir!!