Swinburne Immersion Project 2018
This was a Foreign technical training program offered by Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, which allowed us to work on projects which included concepts like Smart Cities, IoT (Internet of things)and UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles).
How did I get in this training program?
VIT Vellore being one of the best universities in the country provide its students with ample foreign exposure, one of them being the Foreign technical training program. This opportunity, of doing this Immersion Project at Swinburne University was given by VIT Vellore’s International Relations department.
Details and procedures for applying to a similar program at Swinburne are at the end of this article.
The Project at Swinburne.
After arrival at Melbourne, we had one day to get ourselves acclimatized to the mercurial victorian weather and then start with the projects that we have chosen.
Team formation
Apart from the students from VIT Vellore, several other students from other Indian universities were at Swinburne to attend this Immersion Project.
The teams were divided by our mentor and guide Dr Karan Kapoor who is a research assistant at Swinburne University. After the formation of the teams, we had to choose the team leader for our group who would be the point of contact between the guide and the team and will be responsible for the whole team’s progress with the project. I was chosen as the Team leader for my team. Our team was perfectly balanced with two people from an Electronics engineering background, one from Aeronautics engineering background, one from the Computer Sciences and one from the Mechanical engineering background.
The Project
Our project titled “Smart cities: Application of UAV in Indian Urban Scenario using IoT” provided analysis and evaluation of the current situation and scope of Infusion of UAVs in Indian urban scenario. The main aim highlighted was to make a UAV fit for the Indian urban scenario to accomplish tasks such as surveillance, rescue, first aid, logistics, cargo and several other things.
It focuses more on the self-dependency aspect of the UAVs and their fabrication from scratch, providing a minimalistic solution for people or industry in need. So the basic three components of this project were:
- To design an agile and robust UAV for the Indian scenario.
- To get to the minimal cost by minimizing the cost of production and using technologies which were highly scalable and easily available — IoT and cloud computing were the main options which fall into the above-mentioned criteria.
- Interconnectivity and Data transmission — This was and still is a huge responsibility for the prototype, as it will be the quality indication factor for any particular model.
The Reviews
The review of the project was done in 2 parts, the first part comprised of the trial run and our approach towards the project. We were encouraged to visit the local companies which could help us in our project. We mostly worked on the ways to design a suitable drone for Indian scenarios, and how we can connect several drones for Smart Surveillance.
The Second and the final part comprised of a presentation in front of a jury of three teachers who would approve the credibility of the project. The jury consisted of Prof. John Webb, our guide Dr Karan Kapoor and an external faculty from RMIT.
“The project was one of the best projects among the 8 projects proposed to the panel at Swinburne University of technology, as it has a great potential in the current Indian scenario” -Prof. John Webb.
Our Guide Dr Karan Kapoor sir suggested us to continue this as our Capstone project and design the working prototype to implement the idea in VIT and other respective colleges as it can turn out to be a reality in near future.
The Australian-Indo relations and The Aussie Culture
Apart from the project work, we were also introduced to the Aussie culture and Indo-Australian bond by Stephen Manallack. He is a Speaker, Advisor and the former president of Australia-India Bussiness Council Ltd. He taught us the common Australian slangs “G’Day Mate”, “Check Please”, “Down under”, the eccentric Australian accent — the pronunciation which are quotidian for Australians but astonishing for us — and the indigenous Australians and their culture. He also mentioned the new regimes both the Indian and Australian Governments are taking for Indian students who want to study abroad in Australia.
Our accommodation.
The accommodation provided to us was a shared service apartment with complimentary breakfast. It was facilitated by Swinburne University and was situated in the heart of Central business district(CBD) of Melbourne. It was called Arrow at Swanston, which was situated on Swanston street. I shared my room with one other student from VIT. The apartment was just perfect, it was literally in front of one of the tram stations which connected us to the major junctions. One of them was Flinders Street station.
We usually had to cook our dinner for ourselves if we didn’t go out to have something.
Roadtrip to Port Campbell.
For one of the Weekends, all of the interns decided to do a small one-day road trip to Port Campbell National Park popularly known as the 12 Apostles on the Great Ocean road. It was a 3 hours drive to one of the most scenic views on the planet.
The history of the Great Ocean Road dates back to World War 1. It was originally made to connect isolated settlements on the coast, which became a vital transport link for the timber industry and tourism later.
We also visited Loch Ard Gorge, which was stunning and witnessed a Greek wedding on the beach. This Roadtrip was indeed a memorable one.
My learnings from this training program.
The technical outcomes of this program were:
- A clear understanding of Smart cities and other concepts like Smart surveillance and traffic management.
- Implementation of IoT and Cloud Computing and its integration with UAV.
Apart from the technical aspects, we all learnt so much about the Australian work culture, the food they love and their native culture which was truly a delightful experience a student can get.
This ended with the successful completion of our project within the deadline.
How can you apply for this program?
If you’re lucky and in VIT then wait for one of the FTTP emails from VIT IR office which will guide you with the process to apply for this opportunity. Other students could follow the following steps.
How to apply for Swinburne Immersion Project:
- Make a résumé stating your skills and previous experiences.
- Write a cover letter stating why you want to attend this program and how is this going to help you in future?
- Apply through your university’s International Relations representative, for the Swinburne Overseas Internships and Opportunities.
Following are some of the prerequisites and eligibility criteria for this program.
- The Student should be in their 2nd or 3rd Year of study.
- They should not have any standing arrears.
- The CGPA of the student applying should be at least 7 (out of 10).
After being shortlisted for the course, the student shall receive an Invitation letter from the university, which can be used for scholarship and Visa purposes.
