Plato stated: "The beginning is the most important part of any action". The Student Research Group SKN Main is a place where something begins and similarly to the entry function of an executable program, which gave the group its name, it helps members start their IT adventures. The president of the SKN Main, Tomasz Kalisiak, talks about the project related to autonomous vehicles, financed from ministerial funds, as well as other activities of the student research group.
What made you join SKN Main?
I have been a member since the beginning of this academic year. Participating gives many opportunities for development, chances to lead various projects, as well as to learn something and test knowledge in practice. When someone comes up with an interesting project idea, we try to gather a team and get to work. Working in a student research group is a great opportunity to learn more than what we find out during studies, and also to see what cooperation in a team on a common project looks like.
We invite people from all faculties who are interested in programming. You don't have to attend IT courses. SKN Main is always open when our supervisor - Piotr Duch, PhD - is in our headquarters (C7 building, C campus), so basically every day. If you have any questions or need help with homework, you are also welcome.
So what projects are you working on?
It can be said that our interests revolve around two axes. The first one is artificial intelligence. Many of our members participated in projects that later won competitions in this field. An example is "Black Sea Science" in Ukraine, which our team won by developing a website for generating music - FriML (http://main.p.lodz.pl/news.php?id=129). It is also worth paying attention to the idea of generating images. Based on the source data, a model was prepared that automatically created quite picturesque photos.
The second axis of our interests is the so-called embedded, i.e., low-level programming of devices. One of the more interesting activities in this area was the microprocessor emulator.
We are currently carrying out a project for which we received a large grant from the Ministry of Education and Science. It is strongly connected with embedded, but at the same time contains elements of machine learning and artificial intelligence. It concerns a traffic town that simulates city traffic with autonomous vehicles. Our goal is to design a model and about six cars that will move around this model without a driver. It is possible that we will also introduce remotely controlled vehicles and a few automatically controlled vehicles. The purpose of our undertaking is to analyze algorithms for automatic movement, test solutions when it comes to image analysis and ultimately lead to a state where the cars do not crash.
You talk about it with great joy...
I like it very much (laughs) and I think it's worth signing up with us. We have been operating for six years and have many plans for development. Currently we have seven members, because many people have already completed their engineering studies. You can join us at any time. We try to make our group a place where you can simply come and ask for help with a project or homework, for example. It is meant to be a friendly place for both members and new people or friends of the SKN Main.
Does working in a student research group influence steps taken in the job market?
We receive many job and training offers in our mailbox. Lecturers also offer us various internships that we can take advantage of. This helps enter the job market. I myself work part-time, study and chair the group. That's a lot of responsibilities, but it can be combined.
One of our graduates runs his own company - it's a studio that programs computer games. It's called OnionMilk. Thanks to this acquaintance, we can test various products they create for free. SKN Main provides not only work prospects, but above all numerous contacts. This opens many doors.
What skills can you develop thanks to SKN Main?
First of all, hard skills, boiling down to programming dependent on projects and scope of tasks - it can be electronics programming, some devices, image analysis, machine learning, general logic programming.
Of course, no project will work without proper management. We encourage everyone to run their own project if they just have an idea. So, you can learn how to manage a team, but also how to work in a group. We get to know the principles of project coordination, task division, cooperation on one code base, as well as methods of planning the project over time.
What has SKN Main personally given you?
It teaches responsibility and independence. I feel it especially now as its president, when I am responsible for members and organize time for them, prepare various initiatives. At the moment we are planning promotional workshops for EUG 2022.
Thanks to SKN Main I met great people who are eager to take action. Maybe that's why I'm so fascinated by it. I'm studying Computer Science at IFE, where I acquire the necessary knowledge in English. Belonging to Main is an excellent complement to studies, and sometimes it can even give something more - precisely this beginning of an unforgettable adventure that we start on our own.
Interviewed by: Paulina Krygier
Photos: Jacek Szabela, private archive