I was entering into my final semester, and Prof. Sangwan presented with the opportunity to do my Thesis at TU Braunschweig and work on the Learning factory. This was very exciting and also made a nervous to an extent. Even though I had prior experience of going abroad to do an internship, I have never been or stayed in a place where I can not speak or understand the primary language. This made me very nervous and worried about my stay in Braunschweig. It is a challenge adapting to a place where you can’t speak the language of the people. Luckily, I had a fantastic experience, so I guess all my fears and worry was just the pessimist in me.
When I landed at Frankfurt airport, I did not know what to expect from my stay in Germany. I was nervous about the language, and people, in general, seemed very disciplined and closed off. But I was very well received by my mentor Benjamin Uhling, who helped immensely throughout my stay in Germany. He was always very precise in what he expected and what has to be achieved in the period, which I hugely appreciated. Also followed by the Student assistant Luise Mayer honestly she was just more of a friend rather than anything else. I was very nervous about what I will be doing during my stay at Germany but was made comfortable at every step of the way by Benjamin Uhling and Marcus Vogt supporting me and help to understand and work on the project. During my time at TU Braunschweig, I have worked on the implementation of Cyber-Physical Cooling system. This involves understanding the station along with the implementation of sensors and a runtime program for the functioning of the station. It also entails in developing aGUI on the raspberry pi, which helps the user control the cooling station and also observe the various sensors and data. This work requires a complete understanding of the Festo PLC and CoDeSys, in addition to python coding necessary to integrate all the elements on the raspberry pi. The GUI has helped understand, control and also help visualize the station. This GUI is now being used for lecture classes at TU Braunschweig. It is very satisfactory that the work I have done with e help of my mentors is currently being used in classes.
Now let’s talk about the historic campus. It is truly spectacular! No way around it. The entire city of Braunschweig has a vibrant student culture, unlike anything else. One other thing I would like to note, and the main thing that always comes to my mind when it comes to Braunschweig and Germany on the whole to an extent is “efficiency.” This so profoundly rooted in the mindset of people and also reflects in their work and day to day activities. Everything is precise and efficiently done with the utmost dedication and accuracy. It is not all work as the city on itself is quite beautiful; it also allows you to explore the surrounding towns and cities. To get a sense of the culture and difference you experience during my entire stay. I would also like to thank the ever so generous Yannick Pfister who went above and beyond to help and give me company for anything and everything I will forever be indebted to him. Being one of the students who came to Pilani the earlier semester, it was effortless to bond with him and discussed any matter with him without feeling any hesitation.
While our goal and aim are to study and work on our thesis, we do get time over holidays and weekends to admire the beauty that is Europe. I was lucky enough to visit several cities across Europe during weekends. I love taking photos, and this opened my eyes to great scenic views which I tried to capture to the best of my abilities.
This opportunity was something I won’t take for granted. It has done so much for my development as a person and an individual of science. This experience was once in a lifetime. Well, I was asked to write about this piece, but it would never be possible, thanks to Prof. Kuldip Singh Sangwan, who generously presented me with the opportunity. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christoph Herrmann for inviting me to TU Braunschweig with an opportunity to work under his tutelage. Benjamin Uhling and Marcus Vogt for always helping and guiding me through the entire time at TU Braunschweig. My fellow intern Lokesh Patel for always being there for me, and at the end, my fellow german counterparts Luise Mayer and Yannick Pfister for always making me feel welcomed and happy.