Deepika Kannan

Contact

dkannan@sas.upenn.edu

Ask me about…

• Recruiting while abroad: when abroad, I interviewed for and secured an internship in consulting for this summer.
• Being a POC when abroad: Britain has a deep and complex history with India, my home country, and observing this dynamic in London was interesting. As a result, London has very rich and deep South Asian culture I enjoyed, whether through food, art, music, parties.
• Solo traveling: I had never done this before, and since I didn’t really know a ton of people going in, I sort of had to. I learned to really enjoy it!

My Experience Abroad:

I studied abroad at University College London’s Bartlett School of Planning to gain a more specialized understanding of Urban Studies. In the UCL urban planning coursework, I took courses in urban economics, GIS mapping software, urban social change movements in London, and social implications of infrastructure. I gained a very practical, hands-on understanding of concepts used in urban planning through our cumulative projects. For example, I wrote a Social Impact Assessment on a petrochemical factory being built in New Orleans, Louisiana, or I created a collection of GIS maps about inequity in digital infrastructure across London, and I wrote a paper about Smart City CCTV Injustices in London. Doing readings, discussing in class, and exploring real-life case studies of what I’d learned in class for final coursework was a new way of studying. Within Urban Studies at Penn, there are many paths to take, and I realized I wanted to explore the city planning element, which UCL provided. Additionally, since the Bartlett School is a strong organization, the other students and faculty were enjoyable to discuss concepts and career journeys with.

Other Highlights

• Traveling around Europe, solo traveling for the first time
• Taking only classes in Urban Planning field
• Exploring London’s various neighborhoods
• Visits from family and showing them around London