From the United States to HSBI: First RISE Scholarship Holder Conducts Two Months of Research at Gütersloh Campus

Gütersloh (hsbi). Kanav Gupta’s alarm clock rings at 7.30 a.m. But during the past two months, he did not wake up in his home in Arizona, USA, but in his room in a shared flat in Gütersloh. Gupta is a third-year computer science student at Arizona State University. As part of the RISE scholarship provided by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), he completed a research internship at HSBI. He spent his workdays in the IoT Factory at the Faculty of Engineering and Mathematics’ Gütersloh Campus. IoT is short for “Internet of Things,” which combines sensors, software and other technologies. In the IoT Factory, computer science students can conduct practical research.

RISE stands for “Research Internships in Science and Engineering.” The DAAD programme offers students from universities in North America, England and Ireland the opportunity to complete research internships at universities and research institutions worldwide during the summer months. Internships last between six weeks and three months and can be completed from June to October. The scholarship is intended for fully enrolled bachelor students in science or engineering programmes as well as computer science, medical and pharmacy students.

HSBI offers practical research opportunities

Kanav Gupta first came into contact with research shortly before he came to Gütersloh in the spring of this year. In Arizona, he was part of a small research group dealing with theoretical questions in computer science. “It was quite different from the research project at HSBI. Here, I really have to do some practical work,” Gupta says with a wink. “But that’s exactly what I like so much about the scholarship and HSBI. I can work hands-on with high-quality technologies and learn a lot here.” Together with his mentor, laboratory engineer Roman Sliwinski, he was able to contribute to a code optimising the day-to-day operations of the IoT factory at Gütersloh Campus. “The great thing about working hands-on is that you see the result right away. Of course, theory is also important, but the combination of theory and practice is what we need later in our professional lives,” says Gupta.

During the two months of his internship, Gupta focused on the automatic detection of content in material boxes with a RaspberryPi, a single-board computer. He also created and assembled his own 3D models. In addition, he was involved in the implementation and connection to the production system database. As a second project, he contributed to engineering a software for the automatic localization of mobile robots. “Previously, we had to manually enter the initial position of a robot. This is fully automatic now,” explains Roman Sliwinski.

“Germany has a good work-life balance”

Kanav Gupta also made new friends. His two flatmates were of great help for him. Although he does not speak German and had never been to Germany before, he did not have any problems thanks to the help of his colleagues and flatmates. After work, he played tennis or explored Gütersloh with his new friends. With his two flatmates, he often cooked dinner in the evenings. “The atmosphere here is very relaxed. And you quickly get used to the daily routines,” says the student.

The 19-year-old also noticed cultural differences in the two months. “I had to get used to how direct people are here in contrast to people in the US,” says Gupta. The work-life balance in Germany, in particular, is something that he liked. He feels that everyone practically works around the clock in the United States. “In Germany, it’s quite different. Workdays end earlier here and people have more days of leave. In addition, Sundays are quiet days with many shops being closed.” With all the differences in terms of food, he was able to clearly confirm a cliché: Germans like their bread, for breakfast or even for dinner. “But that’s exactly what I found great here, too. There are so many bakeries that sell fresh, delicious rolls.” However, he did not say no to a good sausage or schnitzel and beer either. Did anything surprise him? “Yes, it surprised me that kebab is so popular in Germany,” says Kanav Gupta and laughs.

As laboratory manager at Gütersloh Campus, Prof. Dr. Pascal Reusch was an important contact person for Gupta, too. Both he and Roman Sliwinski were available for his questions at any time. Sliwinski and Professor Reusch are quite enthusiastic about the RISE research scholarship. “It is a good opportunity for students to get to know other countries, research institutes and laboratories,” says Professor Reusch. Sliwinski felt that Gupta’s contribution to their work was very valuable. “I regularly supported him with domain knowledge, debugging sessions and joint brainstorming. We worked together really well, especially considering how young he is.” He will stay in contact with the 19-year-old, so that will be able to ask questions on Gupta’s work if necessary.

Having learned about the RISE scholarship from a fellow student who had received it the previous year, Kanav Gupta would also recommend it to others. “It was a great experience. Passionate researchers work here on campus, and I have learned a lot from them. Everyone supported me from day one!” (sad)