The American computer scientist, Alan Kay, stated: "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." What do the members of the Student Research Group SKN .NET think about this, who are involved in creating mobile robots to support medical rescuers at disaster sites? Natalia Krzyżaniak, the vice-chair and project coordinator of aRMoRS, talks about the activities of the group that combines the IT sector with robotics.
What do you do at SKN .NET?
We operate on many levels. Our name might suggest that we deal with Microsoft, and that was indeed the case a few years ago. Now we have slightly expanded our interests. I think I could confidently say that we deal with broadly understood IT and robotics.
In addition to our aRMoRS project, we focus on organizing various types of events, such as Hackathons or IT and robotics training, and we support student projects and initiatives. We also have a mission now - we would like to create a utopian support group for programmers (current and future), thanks to which we could learn from each other and help even at a more advanced level (even at work). We want to create a dedicated platform, probably using discord, where we could directly support each other, connect, look for people to collaborate on some portfolio projects, answer questions that arise while writing code. We are currently working on this. We also want to start a technology podcast related to IT, but we lack time. We are looking for volunteers who could take care of it; we already have the equipment.
What is the aRMoRS project about?
It's a very large project, ongoing for a year and a half now. It's called aRMoRS - Robotic Medical Rescue Squad, and during it, we are creating a team of mobile robots to support medical rescuers at disaster sites.
I once considered going into medicine, so the idea of using robots for medical rescue seemed very interesting to me. My involvement made me the project coordinator, but the initiator of the idea is the other coordinator - Natalia Walczak. Even though many people thought that the aRMoRS theme did not fit the idea of our club, we are doing really well. Recently, as part of the "Student Science Clubs Create Innovations" program, we managed to receive funding of almost PLN 70,000. Thanks to this, we can start acting practically - it's time for testing.
How does membership in your student research group look like?
As for members, we have about seventy of them and these are people who really want to act. We deal with IT, and membership in such a club is always worth boasting about in a CV or on LinkedIn. In addition to being able to co-create many great projects, it's also much easier to find a job, so many members are already actively working.
In principle, you can join us at any time, we accept with open arms. Every year we also conduct recruitment - during it we fish out people we need at the moment, for example for a project or to organize some event or to sort out financial matters. We divide this into two groups - more technical (we distinguish subgroups: 3D printing, mechanics, electronics, IT, automation and AI team) and organizational-media-financial (we distinguish subgroups: media, financing and research).
How long have you been in the student research group?
About two years, although this is something I regret the most at university - that I joined so late. Regardless of how many rector's scholarships and other successes I had, I always thought I was not good enough for the club, that you had to have some outstanding achievements to belong to it.
If I could say something to people who are applying for studies - even before recruitment, find a club and join, because this is the best moment. Studies alone will not give you everything. The club is practical knowledge, which is necessary in later work. Besides, it's a wonderful thing, help in getting your dream job, and also a chance for lifelong friendships. This adventure will stay with us in memory forever.
Beautifully said. So, what did working in SKN .NET give you?
It helped me find my way. I think that if it weren't for the club, I would never have thought that I wanted to work as a User Experience Designer. I don't know where I would be at this moment - probably I would still be dealing with robotics. The club changed my life and made me a million times happier now.
Of course, I also developed soft skills - when organizing events or working with people. This is very useful especially in IT. Now we see a trend where soft skills are even more promoted than technical skills in recruitment because it is easier to train a person who works well with people than to work with one who simply knows a lot and can do a lot.
You said that working in a student research group can help you find your dream job.
Definitely. Every person who had .NET in their CV or on LinkedIn was asked about us in the job interview. For an employer, this is more interesting than other work-related experiences. It is said now that in the IT world they are not looking for juniors. Don't worry, because it's not always strictly about commercial experience. If you were active in the club for 3 years, and your portfolio is rich thanks to this, it makes you stand out from the pile of people who just graduated. It's really about doing something more - for the employer, you are like a beacon in a dark forest.
Our graduates work in broadly understood IT, they are mainly programmers. We do have a few electronics engineers, but still, most often people work as Full Stack Developer or Front-end Developer and similar. I worked as a constructor of distribution transformers, but now I am moving strictly to User Experience and User Interface.
Finally, I will ask about the beginning - how does your story begin?
We have been operating for years, but initially, we functioned as a group, which dealt with Microsoft and related fields. Hence the name. In 2018 we were registered as a full-fledged science club, but we are still associated with our original activity, so it's easier to tell people that we have expanded our activities than to create something new and change the name and logo.
We have been operating as an IT research group for only four years, our office is located in the Aquarium on the fourth floor in room 444. Our supervisor is Prof. Adam Pelikant (last year he won the title of the best student research group supervisor), and he is supported by Krzysztof Smółka, PhD.
Interviewed by: Paulina Krygier
Photos: private archive