Kanishk Vishwakarma, a Mechanical engineering graduate from BITS Pilani talks (Pilani, ‘23) about his experiences as a student and a researcher, and about his ambitions to push the boundaries forward.

From the very start, Kanishk has been passionate about fields involving electronics, given that his father is an electrical engineer. He explored various areas, from the popular software development route to the lesser-known robotics fields. This is how his interest and curiosity developed towards Robotics! Thanks to the BITS system, which offers assistance to students wherever they need it, Kanishk could make use of this and was also free to interact with professors and various other people proficient in the field of robotics. This environment helped him grow as a person as well as an engineer.

With all his exposure and knowledge at BITS, he started visiting other research institutes and facilities like CEERI, Pilani, and IIIT Hyderabad, where he was involved in computer vision, robotics, and NLP research. Having gained the experience needed, Kanishk started applying for Ph.D. programs instead of a research-oriented MS, planning to explore the domain deeply. Having a choice between the University of Limerick and its counterparts offering Ph.D. programs in robotics, he chose Limerick over them for the industry-oriented approach they follow.

Kanishk’s idea of fun was the time spent with his wingmates and close buddies. Those long walks, late-night food, and chats with his friends are now memories he's happy to have made. In his leisure time, he used to play some sports like football to relieve himself. Since all three Indian BITS campuses are located in somewhat remote locations, he believes this environment fosters strong bonding and friendships among the students. And with all the noise from the cities going silent, these places become hubs of liveliness for the students. But, more importantly, people are open to giving and receiving honest opinions, which Kanishk considers a blessing in disguise.

He also involved himself in clubs and societies that he found intriguing. He advises people to explore through clubs. More importantly, he wants people to keep in mind that packages are not everything to strive for. His advice to the current students at BITS is to look out for their interests and be ready to accept the compromises they hold. To do so, he advises us to increase networking on campus. Being in touch with seniors who hold similar interests might be beneficial. Professors that have tie-ups with industries and other good universities are helpful too. At the end of the day, memories and lessons are what we take with us from this place.