Originally from Parfino, Russia, with a background in retail and an unfinished degree in International Business and Law, Aleksei enrolled at Columbia University in 2019 as one of many non-traditional students. Aleksei is in his senior year at the School of General Studies, where he is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Information Science with a track in UX/UI Design.
While at Columbia, Aleksei discovered his passion for people and technology and decided to pursue design as a career and a tool to solve people’s problems. In the past, he worked with the General Assembly as part of the Design for Social Innovation class, where he worked on a project that encompassed universal design and building technology that empowers people from all walks of life. In the Human-Centered Design and Innovation course, Aleksei with his team designed a product for sustainable electricity consumption. His deep care for the environment led him to the project where he employs design thinking to solve climate problems and address plastic pollution. Receiving the Adobe Design Circle Scholarship allowed Aleksei to focus on maintaining a community of students and faculty interested in design called Design@Columbia.