Shristy Joshi Thakur, 24
Shristy Joshi Thakur: Code, Community, and Chai‑Fueled Change
If you had bumped into Shristy Joshi Thakur in 2011, you would have met a cool kid starting to code, exploring beginner programming languages like Basic, Q-Basic, GW-Basic etc hunched over her Mother’s big fat 2000s Computer System exploring Science and tech over Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Digital Encyclopedia apps like Encarta wondering what came next. “Technology, hackathons, and the hacker community have completely transformed my life,” she says today, and the evidence stretches from Finland to COP28.
Shristy has been coding in JAVA since she was 14 years old. After securing a 100 in her Tenth boards in Computer Applications Shristy’s spark ignited at Xamk, Finland’s open university, where she tackled Game Development before pursuing a Bachelor of Technology in Information Technology. Her second‑year plunge into Major League Hacking’s Global Hack Week Game Week 2023 rewired her ambitions. “Hackathons taught me to build fast, fail fast, and learn even faster,” she recalls. Since then she has checked in to eighteen MLH events, registered for API Week 2025, and even squeezed in the Web3 BUILD Hackathon with NEAR Horizon.
Back on campus she turned inspiration into action. As Founder and CEO of Girl Up Coders, a United Nations Foundation Girl Up community, she guides young women through bootcamps and hackathons that turn first lines of code into career‑shaping wins. One participant’s late‑night message still fuels her: “You made me believe I can also belong here.”
Shristy’s community résumé reads like a relay baton of impact. She is a Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador who runs cloud and AI workshops, a Java instructor with IEEE MSIT Hackerspace, and Program Manager for Social Winter of Code where she multiplied contributor growth. Open‑source programs see the same momentum. She created a badge recognition system for GirlScript Summer of Code, mentors at Code for GovTech, and led product strategy for a blockchain gaming research project during Timechain Summer of Code. Shristy has mentored over thousands of students globally, through platforms like AnitaB.org, IEEE, topmate.io C4GT, Girl Up Coders, LMF Network UK, and more.
Her reach has gone global. Through myNetworkHer in New York and the LMF Network in London she mentors women technologists across continents. With YOUNGO she represented youth voices at COP28, while Harvard ACONF 2024 welcomed her to share insights on inclusive tech spaces. She currently serves as the Asia Contact Point for UNFCCC YOUNGO and contributes to the NDC & Climate Finance Working Group, shaping global youth policy engagement for climate action.
Awards keep arriving. She is a National Finalist in the Smart India Hackathon, a Semifinalist in the Google Girl Hackathon, and a Semifinalist in the L’Oréal Sustainability Challenge 2023. Her favorite trophy, however, might be the national news clip that featured the AI chatbot for environmental awareness her team built during a 48‑hour marathon.
When the laptop closes, Shristy sketches UI mocks or tests color palettes. Python remains her multipurpose go‑to language, while GitHub is the sidekick she “can’t live without.” Friends claim her secret fuel is endless chai and instant noodles, but she insists it is the joy of seeing a mentee’s first pull request merge.
From a self‑taught 10‑year old newbie coder to a global mentor and award‑winning hacker, Shristy proves that talent paired with tenacity can redraw the tech map. Her next adventure is already on the calendar, caffeinated and ready.
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Shristy Joshi Thakur, 24
Shristy Joshi Thakur: Code, Community, and Chai‑Fueled Change
If you had bumped into Shristy Joshi Thakur in 2011, you would have met a cool kid starting to code, exploring beginner programming languages like Basic, Q-Basic, GW-Basic etc hunched over her Mother’s big fat 2000s Computer System exploring Science and tech over Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Digital Encyclopedia apps like Encarta wondering what came next. “Technology, hackathons, and the hacker community have completely transformed my life,” she says today, and the evidence stretches from Finland to COP28.
Shristy has been coding in JAVA since she was 14 years old. After securing a 100 in her Tenth boards in Computer Applications Shristy’s spark ignited at Xamk, Finland’s open university, where she tackled Game Development before pursuing a Bachelor of Technology in Information Technology. Her second‑year plunge into Major League Hacking’s Global Hack Week Game Week 2023 rewired her ambitions. “Hackathons taught me to build fast, fail fast, and learn even faster,” she recalls. Since then she has checked in to eighteen MLH events, registered for API Week 2025, and even squeezed in the Web3 BUILD Hackathon with NEAR Horizon.
Back on campus she turned inspiration into action. As Founder and CEO of Girl Up Coders, a United Nations Foundation Girl Up community, she guides young women through bootcamps and hackathons that turn first lines of code into career‑shaping wins. One participant’s late‑night message still fuels her: “You made me believe I can also belong here.”
Shristy’s community résumé reads like a relay baton of impact. She is a Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador who runs cloud and AI workshops, a Java instructor with IEEE MSIT Hackerspace, and Program Manager for Social Winter of Code where she multiplied contributor growth. Open‑source programs see the same momentum. She created a badge recognition system for GirlScript Summer of Code, mentors at Code for GovTech, and led product strategy for a blockchain gaming research project during Timechain Summer of Code. Shristy has mentored over thousands of students globally, through platforms like AnitaB.org, IEEE, topmate.io C4GT, Girl Up Coders, LMF Network UK, and more.
Her reach has gone global. Through myNetworkHer in New York and the LMF Network in London she mentors women technologists across continents. With YOUNGO she represented youth voices at COP28, while Harvard ACONF 2024 welcomed her to share insights on inclusive tech spaces. She currently serves as the Asia Contact Point for UNFCCC YOUNGO and contributes to the NDC & Climate Finance Working Group, shaping global youth policy engagement for climate action.
Awards keep arriving. She is a National Finalist in the Smart India Hackathon, a Semifinalist in the Google Girl Hackathon, and a Semifinalist in the L’Oréal Sustainability Challenge 2023. Her favorite trophy, however, might be the national news clip that featured the AI chatbot for environmental awareness her team built during a 48‑hour marathon.
When the laptop closes, Shristy sketches UI mocks or tests color palettes. Python remains her multipurpose go‑to language, while GitHub is the sidekick she “can’t live without.” Friends claim her secret fuel is endless chai and instant noodles, but she insists it is the joy of seeing a mentee’s first pull request merge.
From a self‑taught 10‑year old newbie coder to a global mentor and award‑winning hacker, Shristy proves that talent paired with tenacity can redraw the tech map. Her next adventure is already on the calendar, caffeinated and ready.
