Kimeshan Naidoo
Kimeshan Naidoo | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 May 1991 Tongaat, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa |
| Education | |
| Occupations |
|
| Known for | Unibuddy |
| Title | Co-founder Unibuddy (2016–present) |
| Website | |
Kimeshan Naidoo (born 8 May 1991) is a South African entrepreneur and engineer. He is known for co-founding Unibuddy, an educational technology company, and currently serves as the Chief Technology Officer of BX Technologies, a London-based climate tech startup.[1][2]
Early Life and Education[edit]
Naidoo was born in Tongaat, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. During his high school years at Northwood School, he led the Synergy team, which won the ThinkQuest South Africa 2008 web development competition.[3]
In 2012, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical engineering from the University of Cape Town. During his time at UCT, he was the chairman of the United Nations Association of South Africa University of Cape Town.[4] In 2016, Naidoo completed a Master’s degree in Computer science from University College London (UCL), where he was part of a team that won the Google Firebase Hackathon.[5]
Career[edit]
After graduating from UCT, Naidoo briefly worked as an engineer at SLB.[6] In 2016, while pursuing his studies at UCL, he developed the initial concept for Unibuddy, a platform designed to connect prospective university students with current students.[7]
Under his technical leadership, Unibuddy expanded globally, partnering with over 500 higher education institutions.[8] The platform aims to enhance student recruitment by facilitating interactions between applicants and current students. Critics have pointed out the challenges Unibuddy faces in ensuring the authenticity and usefulness of student interactions, especially as the platform scales.[9]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Naidoo oversaw the introduction of live video streaming capabilities within Unibuddy, which played a crucial role in maintaining university engagement with prospective students during global lockdowns.[10]
In 2023, Naidoo transitioned to a new role as the Chief Technology Officer of BX Technologies, a climate tech company focused on providing climate data solutions to reduce carbon footprints in supply chains.[1]
Awards and Recognition[edit]
Naidoo has received several industry recognitions, including being named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list in the Social Entrepreneurs category in 2020.[11] He was also honored with the Haystack Pioneer Award in 2022 for his contributions to software engineering.[12]
Publications[edit]
Naidoo has authored several publications, including:
Modelling Call Dynamics in Next Generation Wireless Networks.[13] Unibuddy: A web application connecting high school applicants to enrolled university students.[14]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Kimeshan Naidoo Announces a Shift from Edu Tech to Climate Tech by Joining Bx as the CTO". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
- ^ "Unibuddy: A scale-up with big goals for human-centred decision-making". Silicon Republic. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
- ^ "WCED: Media release". wcedonline.westerncape.gov.za. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
- ^ "Student leaders' selfless efforts hailed". www.news.uct.ac.za. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
- ^ "UCL Students win Google Firebase Hackathon". www.cs.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
- ^ "Kimeshan Naidoo | Graduate Gallery". www.graduategallery.uct.ac.za. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
- ^ "UCL-backed company helps millions of students choose the best university for them". Innovation & Enterprise. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
- ^ "Partners". unibuddy.com. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
- ^ "Unibuddy - An Innovative Ed-Tech Platform Explained". article.wn.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
- ^ "After witnessing 190% growth amid the pandemic, UK-based edtech startup Unibuddy raises €16.9M". Silicon Canals. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
- ^ "30 Under 30 Europe 2020: Social Entrepreneurs". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
- ^ "4 Companies Winning on Developer Experience & Engineering Productivity". www.devopsonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
- ^ Naidoo, Kimeshan (2012). "Modelling of Call Dynamics in Next Generation Wireless Networks". Modelling of Call Dynamics in Next Generation Wireless Networks.
- ^ Naidoo, Kimeshan. "Unibuddy: A web application connecting high school applicants to enrolled university students".
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