Building AI beyond borders
Stepping outside his comfort zone took Vivek Upadhyay from Canada's public service to Japan's technology industry, where co-op reshaped both his career goals and his perspective on growth.
Vivek Upadhyay, a third-year Computational Mathematics student, believes that the best opportunities come from embracing discomfort. Whether it was pursuing cybersecurity, building artificial intelligence (AI) systems or moving halfway across the world for a co-op in Japan, each experience challenged him to step into unfamiliar territory.
Vivek’s co-op journey
Cybersecurity Analyst, Shared Services Canada, Ottawa, ON (Remote)
Vivek began his co-op journey with the Government of Canada, where he analyzed and correlated data from multiple sources to identify unusual activity and potential cybersecurity risks. He developed forensic reports and presented his findings to managers and stakeholders, helping inform technical and operational decisions.
Cybersecurity Consultant, CGI, Toronto, ON
For his second work term, Vivek joined CGI as a Cybersecurity Consultant, where he analyzed code and cloud infrastructure, documented security findings and communicated recommendations to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Software Engineer, NN Life Insurance Co. Ltd, Tokyo, Japan
Most recently, Vivek completed two consecutive work terms in Tokyo, Japan as a Software Engineer. He developed artificial intelligence-powered tools, cloud-based solutions and cybersecurity initiatives, including a multi-agent AI platform capable of retrieving information from enterprise systems, generating insights and automating tasks for employees across the organization.
Q&A with Vivek
What made you decide to pursue a co-op in Japan?
"I've always believed that the best way to grow is to push yourself outside your comfort zone. It sounds cliché, but I genuinely think you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable if you want to keep developing."
"After completing co-op terms in Canada, I wanted one more challenge before graduation. Working internationally meant adapting to a completely different culture, workplace and way of life. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but that was exactly why I wanted to do it."
"Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. It pushed me in ways I couldn't have experienced if I had stayed somewhere familiar, and it helped me become much more adaptable both professionally and personally."
"It also gave me the confidence to take on new experiences without always needing to know exactly what to expect."
You built several AI tools during your work term. Is there one project you're especially proud of?
"Definitely the AI platform I built in Japan."
"The system used multiple AI agents, each responsible for a different task. One agent generated financial newsletters by collecting information from enterprise systems like Power BI, Oracle and SAP Ariba. Another functioned as a chatbot, allowing employees to ask questions in plain language while automatically retrieving information from the appropriate data source."
"The final component was probably my favourite because it didn't just retrieve information, it actually completed actions. If someone requested a task through the chatbot, the AI agent could carry it out automatically within the organization's databases and systems."
"It was exciting because I wasn't just building another application. I was creating something that simplified people's workflows and allowed them to spend less time searching for information and more time making decisions."
You also presented your work to senior leadership. What was that experience like?
"It's actually kind of a funny story."
"I'd been working on the project for about four or five months when my manager casually walked over one morning around eight o'clock and asked if I could present what I'd been building. He made it sound like it wasn't a big deal, so I only had about two hours to prepare."
"After the presentation, people started asking really detailed questions about how they could implement the system in their own divisions. I thought they were just interested stakeholders."
"It wasn't until afterwards that someone told me everyone in the room was part of senior leadership and the C-suite. I had absolutely no idea."
"Looking back, that became one of the moments I'm most proud of. It reminded me that sometimes you're far more prepared than you think you are."
How did living in Japan change you both personally and professionally?
"The biggest challenge at first was honestly everyday life."
"When you're travelling, Google Translate can get you pretty far. When you're actually living somewhere, it's completely different. Suddenly you're opening a bank account, setting up a phone plan, talking to your landlord and trying to navigate daily life in another language."
"At first, even ordering food felt intimidating. But over time those challenges became normal, and I stopped seeing them as obstacles."
"The experience made me realize that I'm much more adaptable than I ever gave myself credit for. It also completely changed the way I approach problems. Instead of getting overwhelmed by a big challenge, I naturally break it into smaller pieces, work through each step and ask questions whenever I need clarification."
"That's something I still carry with me today, whether I'm working on a technical project or dealing with everyday situations."
What advice would you give students thinking about working abroad?
"First, sort out your housing before you arrive."
"I spent almost two weeks living in a hotel while trying to find somewhere permanent to live, and I definitely wouldn't recommend that."
"I'd also encourage people to spend some time learning the language before they move. You don't need to be fluent, but knowing the basics makes a huge difference. Things like introducing yourself, ordering food or asking for directions become much less stressful. It will get easier once you immerse yourself in the culture as well."
"Beyond that, take the time to understand the culture before you arrive. I think a lot of people, myself included, focus on how exciting it will be without really thinking about what everyday life will actually look like."
"Once you understand those day-to-day differences, you're able to settle in much faster and enjoy the experience a lot more."
How have your co-op experiences shaped what you want to do after graduation?
"Before co-op, I had a pretty fixed idea of what my career would look like."
"Once I started working, I realized there are so many opportunities that you never really learn about in the classroom. Every work term introduced me to something different, whether that was cybersecurity, software engineering, AI or working internationally."
"I've realized that I actually enjoy being challenged. If everything feels comfortable, I eventually get bored."
"Going forward, I'd love to continue working at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity. I really enjoy building AI systems, working with AI agents and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines, while also thinking about how those systems can be made more secure."
"I'm also much more open to international opportunities now. Living in Japan completely changed my perspective, and I'd love to work abroad again in the future."
What's next for you?
"Right now, my goal is to continue building a career in AI and security engineering."
"I'm excited to keep developing AI systems, working with intelligent agents and exploring how emerging technologies can be built securely from the ground up."
"I've realized I really enjoy both creating systems and understanding how they work beneath the surface, which is why combining AI and cybersecurity feels like such a natural fit."
"Outside of work, I also want to keep travelling. Living in Japan opened my eyes to how much there is to experience beyond Canada, and I hope it's only the beginning."
"Every new place offers a chance to learn something different, and I want to continue seeking out those opportunities throughout my career."