New York City, NY, USA: An engineering student of Indian descent, Harshim Saluja, has been selected as one of the five global winners of Bridgewater Associates’ international competition, “Forecasting the Future: A Modern Economics Challenge.”
The contest, held in collaboration with Global Citizen, attracted more than 1,000 entries from participants representing 120 nations. Competitors were asked to analyze how the concept of “Modern Mercantilism” could influence worldwide trade patterns, technological progress and geopolitical developments by the year 2035.
Saluja’s project relied on advanced computational tools, including economic data visualization, systems-based evaluation and computer-driven modeling, to identify and interpret upcoming global trends. By applying methods from data science and computer engineering, she explored how artificial intelligence, automation and evolving trade relationships might shift international power structures over the next decade.
“The inspiration came from extensive research into stock market behavior and trying to grasp it from the perspective of someone without a finance background,” Saluja explained. She said that reading widely about market dynamics helped her produce 20 well-structured predictions. “Once the data was gathered, the final step was using the right combination of mathematics and analytical reasoning to build the forecasts,” she added.
The winners were revealed during the Global Citizen Festival held at Central Park in New York City, where Bridgewater CEO Nir Bar Dea and Global Citizen ambassador Hugh Jackman honored the finalists on stage. Each winner was awarded $25,000, along with the prospect of a job or internship at Bridgewater Associates.
Saluja is currently a third-year student at Penn State University, majoring in computational data science while also pursuing a second major in computer science and statistics. She is further complementing her studies with minors in finance and entrepreneurship. Her academic work includes research in algorithmic trading, with emphasis on volatility analysis and time-series prediction.
Her professional background includes experience as an AI research assistant, growth engineering intern, data engineer and founder of AI-driven and quantitative platforms such as CollegeNavigator.AI. She also holds leadership positions in various student groups at Penn State.
