What Technology Taught Me About Education and Travel

People often know me as someone from the education and travel field, but my own studies went in a slightly different direction. I did my MSc in IT, and before that I studied Zoology. In fact, I even published a research paper on antibiotic residue in milk samples collected from different places in Kathmandu. It came out in an Indian journal in 2020. So my background is a mix of science and technology, and I think that mix shaped how I look at business.

When I began working in education consultancy, I noticed something quickly. So much of the work was repeat work. The same kinds of documents, the same follow ups, the same questions from students and parents. I thought, there must be a simpler way to handle this. That thought led me to build small information systems. In 2014 I worked on a vehicle entry management system, and in 2015 we developed a tour package management system for our own travel company.

These were not big or fancy projects. But they taught me a lesson I still use today. When you take a messy daily process and put it into a simple system, three good things happen. You save time. You make fewer mistakes. And you can give people better service, because your mind is free to think about them instead of searching for lost papers.

Education consultancy is a very paper heavy business. A single student may have a passport, certificates, transcripts, recommendation letters, bank papers, test scores and visa forms. If even one of these is missing or outdated, the whole application can be delayed. In the early days, we kept everything in files and folders and trusted our memory. Today a well organised digital record makes sure that nothing is forgotten before a deadline. For a student who is already nervous, that peace of mind matters.

Communication has changed too. Before, a parent would have to visit the office for every small question. Now a quick message or call can solve many things. Students can read about courses, compare colleges and watch videos about life in other countries from their phone. When I started, a student had to depend completely on the counsellor for information. Now information is everywhere.

But here is something I have noticed. More information has not made decisions easier. In many cases it has made them harder. A student may read ten different opinions online and feel more confused than before. This is why I believe guidance still matters. Information is easy to find now. Good judgment is not. That is where an experienced person can truly help.

Technology has also changed how we learn ourselves. I have done e-learning courses, including a Japan travel specialist course and the training programmes of different education bodies. I attended physical workshops abroad too, but online learning means that busy professionals can keep improving without stopping their work. I would encourage everyone in this field to do it. The rules and trends in international education change often, and you must keep up.

At the same time, I want to be careful. I have seen some businesses depend too much on screens and forget the human side. A website can look perfect, but when a family is deciding about their child’s future, they want to talk to a real person. They want to look into someone’s eyes and feel that this person is honest. No software can give that. Technology should do the boring and repeated work, so that people can spend more time on care, advice and trust.

So my message to young professionals is this. Learn the tools. Do not be afraid of them. Use them to work faster and cleaner. But never forget that behind every application form is a student with a dream and a family with hopes. If you remember that, technology will make you better at your work. If you forget it, it will only make you faster at being ordinary.

I enjoy sharing these thoughts because this field grows when we learn from one another. If something I have written helps even one student or one young entrepreneur, I will be happy.