Raj Singh is one of three Indian students at the Chippendale school this year.

He started a career in banking in India, working in Mumbai for over 12 years.

Raj then moved to Oman to work in corporate banking and project finance and, over the next 20 years, worked on financing projects large and small – from power & water to oil & gas, from aircraft & ship financing to steel and aluminium plants.

He decided to retire from the banking world, and coming to the Chippendale school “is a process of exploration, to discover what I would like to do for the next 20 years,” says Raj.

“I wanted to do something different, something creative and practical, and learning fine woodworking is something I never got around to doing,” he says.

Without a clear idea of what he will do following the course, Raj says that he is “enjoying this period of exploration and uncertainty!”