Original Link :

http://www.grs-sim.de/education/master/student-profiles/student-profile-aravind-sankaran.html

Student profile: Aravind Sankaran   

Name

Aravind Sankaran

(Under-) Graduate Education 

B.Sc. Industrial Engineering

Anna University

Chennai, India

Why did you choose the Master’s program in an offbeat, unconventional and unusual career such as Simulation Sciences?

In my Bachelor’s, I have studied the basics of mechanical engineering along with foundations in statistical and optimization tools that can provide solutions to industrial probelms. However, I realized that my theoretical knowledge was still shallow, and there was also a gap between theory and implementation. With increasing data processing capabilities, it was important for one to have knowledge about exploiting this computational power efficiently. Hence, the Master’s program in Simulation Sciences, which has multi disciplinary courses, covering areas in numerical mathematics and scientific computing was a promising option for me.  

Why would you recommend the program to other students worldwide?

The German Research School for Simulation Sciences provides the best infrastructure for students to thrive. We get a chance to work with bleeding edge technologies and participate in research groups, both in Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen. In addition to the computer clusters provided by RWTH Aachen, we can also apply for access to clusters in Jülich. So students can easily get access to nodes for multi core computations or GPU nodes. This aspect sets this program apart from similar programs all around the globe. Hence, when I applied, I found this program to be much better than other programs in other countries which had tution fees! And today, I feel very happy about my choice. So I would definitely recommend this program to other students. 

What are your plans for the future, i.e. when you finished your Master’s degree?

Until now, I’ve worked with three research groups (High Performance and Automatic Computing, Virtual Reality, Human Language Technology and Pattern Recognition) as a student assistant. And I’ve also had some offers from industries. At least in the areas I have worked, I can say, many industries are little behind the current state of the art that the academics work on. There is so much more to learn. Hence I would like to pursue a PhD over looking for a job in an industry. 

Where and in what kind of industry or research would you like to work in the future?

I would like to contribute to the field where machine learning and simulation can come together to provide solutions to demanding problems. I would be happy, if I could be a part of the Human Brain Project.

What do you do in your free time?

I play or listen to music. I read books or meet friends and travel. 

How is studying and living in Aachen?

Aachen is a student friendly city and most of the people here are students. Different activities (sports, music, dance, weekend trips, language meetings) are regularly organized. People from different countries come together and it is culturally inviting. There are enough study rooms, the library is well equipped and there are enough computational resources. Hence, Aachen is a peaceful place for studying and for fun.