A final year B.Tech. Student at VIT University, Vellore, Mohammed Kamal Khwaja was declared the first prize winner of the KTH Master’s Challenge 2016 in the Wireless Systems track.
He has been offered a full scholarship to pursue a Master’s programme in Wireless Systems at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.
KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden is one of the most prestigious universities in the world and has had a long history of producing successful technocrats, entrepreneurs and researchers. The Wireless Systems programme which is a part of the Electrical & Electronic Engineering at KTH is ranked 16th in the world by the QS rankings 2015.
“The KTH Master’s Challenge involved numerous stages and was an exciting journey for me. After undergoing numerous quizzes, essays, and interviews, I was declared one of top 3 students in India during December 2015. The positions of the top 3 prize winners were announced at a prize ceremony in Bangalore. I am currently in Singapore pursuing my final year project at the Singapore University of Technology and Design,” says Khwaja.
"It was a delight to be declared the first prize-winner in the presence of senior professors of KTH and global heads of companies like ABB, Scania and FormulateIP. As a part of the winner’s prize, I have been awarded a two-year scholarship to pursue master’s studies at KTH," informs the elated Khwaja.
Apart from the scholarship, Khwaja has been offered an internship to work at FormulateIP. FormulateIP is an Intellectual Property (IP) and Innovation Management and Consulting Firm co-founded by a KTH alumni, Mr. Neeraj Gupta.
Speaking about VIT University’s role in his success, Khwaja says, "I have had immense support from my university, family and friends. I have had the opportunity to pursue three research internships abroad and win several national and international laurels for my university."
Khwaja says, " When I started my under graduation at VIT, I was scared of what was to come. During my first week at college, Dr Elizabeth Rufus, Dean of the School of Electronics Engineering, was very courteous and spent a lot of time to give me valuable advice."
The best part about VIT is its open door policy, he says. Dr P. Arulmozhivarman, Dean of the School of Electrical Engineering at VIT University, has been his guide since his sophomore year. “Through his advice and guidance, I was able to pursue research internships at Hong Kong and Singapore. He inspired me to take an interest in research and I owe a lot of my success to him,” explains the elated Khwaja.
As part of the Semester Abroad Program that VIT offers, Khwaja is pursuing his final semester project at the Singapore University of Technology and Design under the joint supervision of Dr Arulmozhivarman and Dr Simon Lui. He says, " Very few universities in India offer the flexibility that VIT has given me. It is due to its international outlook that I have the wonderful opportunity to work with renowned professors abroad like Dr Simon. VIT has shaped me into a confident and mature student and I am ready to face everything the world has to offer me after studying here."
VIT Chancellor Dr. G. Viswanathan said, "It is a proud moment for VIT University, each time one of our students achieves adulation for his or her outstanding performance. Our goal has always been to help students reach their full potential, be it through academics or extra-curricular activities. It is a proud day for us that our student has been received such an opportunity and his hard work has been recognized. We will continue to throw our weight behind such talented students."