Arnav Dhingra
Wharton & SEAS ’26
CIS & Finance (M&T)
SA: Aquincum Institute of Technology (AIT Budapest)
Ask Me About…
- Taking CIS classes abroad, such as CIS3200, and balancing with travels, meeting new people, and Penn extracurriculars
- 4-year course planning in M&T program with study abroad
- Best apps and travel hacks for cheap travels across Europe (and Morocco!)
- Living abroad with allergies
- Making new friends
My Experience Abroad
As a CIS and Finance student in Penn’s M&T program, my coursework at AIT allowed me to build technical skills while exploring design and culture from new perspectives. In Algorithms, I deepened my understanding of graph theory and dynamic programming—core topics I had seen before but now approached with more rigor. Mobile Software Development pushed me to write production-level Kotlin apps with Jetpack Compose, which sharpened my fluency in modern Android development. In UX Design and Design Workshop, I learned to prototype and test ideas quickly, blending code with user empathy and feedback in a way I hadn’t practiced in prior CS classes.
While my summer role in tech investing is more finance-focused, I used time outside of class to bridge that gap—networking with people and re-familiarizing myself with Excel and SaaS investing primers to prepare for my summer. These helped me connect my tech background with financial decision-making, especially as I prepare to evaluate growth-stage software companies. Conversations with classmates and visitors—including the inventor of the Rubik’s Cube—expanded how I think about innovation and long-term value creation.
My elective in Hungarian Music offered something completely different: a historical and cultural lens that gave context to my time in Budapest. It made me more intentional about engaging with local life and reflecting on how culture shapes ideas and systems.
Other Highlights
- I hadn’t skied since high school, when I broke my elbow and needed surgery after a rough fall. This semester, I finally felt ready to try again and went to Sölden, Austria, with friends from Penn and AIT. The first run was terrifying, but by day two I was skiing black diamond slopes. The powder snow and panoramic views of the Alps were unlike anything I’d experienced in Pennsylvania, and regaining confidence after such a long break made the trip unforgettable.
- In April, I ran the Budapest Half Marathon and beat my previous time by over six minutes. I hadn’t trained properly since fall, but all the hiking and walking around Europe helped. Race day was sunny and packed with cheering crowds from all over the world. Friends even made signs for me, and we celebrated with brunch after!
- In my Mobile Software Development class, I built two Kotlin apps using Jetpack Compose—one for weather data using APIs and Room, and another for grocery tracking with live filters and swipe-to-delete features. It was my first time shipping complete Android apps, and debugging live UI issues taught me so much.
- I formed close friendships with students from both Penn and other schools, and we’ve already planned to visit each other next year. We traveled, cooked, and even pulled all-nighters together for algorithms homework. These are people I’ll stay close with long after abroad ends.
- I met Ernő Rubik (inventor of the Rubik’s cube) after class one day when he visited our design workshop. I showed him my CAD models and got to ask about his creative process and life after inventing the cube.
