Putting the puzzle together piece by piece – Vinita in portrait
Courage, passion, fascination and a lot of energy – that is Vinita’s recipe for life and applies both to the race track in India and to her job as a function developer at VAIVA. She always keeps the big picture in mind for the perfect interaction of all components for a safe vehicle.
The black asphalt burns underfoot, there is the smell of burnt rubber, the buzz of voices can be heard everywhere, people are running back and forth frantically. And then, finally, the starting sognal sounds and the engines roar to life. The perfect interplay of technology, teamwork and timing. The fascination of the automobile can best be experienced on the racetracks of this world. Whether in Formula 1 or at the Supra SAE in India.
By this enthusiasm for vehicle development Vinita was also carried away. And that led her directly to Lilienthalstraße. She first came into contact with it during her bachelor’s degree in electronics in India. Together with other students, she forms a racing team and participates in Supra SAE India for her university. The team is provided with an engine, but they choose it themselves. A functional race car has to be built around it and taken to the track. There, the racer is then allowed to demonstrate his skills.
“The Supra SAE is a huge event in India and quite a few students know about it. It was really a unique experience to take part in it. And with my team I was even able to get 4th place.”, Vinita reminisces. Visibly filled with pride and with contagious enthusiasm. At the latest, everyone would probably like tob e part of it. “For the race car, the control unit that came with the engine took care of everything. We rather took over the vehicle construction. Only then did I realized how much software development was involved and wanted to delve into that in a master’s.”, says Vinita, and you can sense how much she wants to permeate a subject.
She is not satisfied with just one piece oft he puzzle, but wants to see the whole picture. Her path leads her to Germany. Not without thought. She has already been to Stuttgart once for an exchange program and got to know the language, the country and the people. Vinita wants to be as well prepared as possible for her new phase in life and starts learning German while still in India. But not everything can be prepared, because leaving friends and family behind requires a lot of courage and passion. At least she knows she has her husband by her side.
The master’s degree at THI in International Automotive Engineering now combines both worlds that it takes to get a car on the road: Hardware and software. In her job as a function developer, the puzzle comes together again. Not just developing on a small section of code, but harmonizing all the components, connecting the different software levels like an architect – that’s what counts for Vinita in her job.
As a function developer, she joined VAVIA in 2020 and is working on the highway pilot project. She writes the requirements concepts, is involved in testing and integration. At VAIVA, she was welcomed openly, has a great, international team around her and has arrived. Not only in the company, but also in Germany. “At THI, I was also on a racing team.“, Vinita laughs about this parallel during her student days. The Audi Autonomous Driving Cup involved the smaller version, a model car, but that didn’t detract from the fun and determination. The focus here was on software development. Functions had tob e developed for the model car provided by Audi that would enable the car to drive autonomously along a route. It was the perfect introduction to world of driver assistance systems.
Getting a taste of practical experience is just as much a part of studying. At THI’s business speed dating event, Vinita met her future team leader Alexandru and discovered that VAIVA was working with the same model car as the one used on the Audi Autonomous Driving Cup. Vinita has been associated with VAIVA via internship and master’s thesis for much longer than the permanent position might suggest. even if the start into the permanent position was a bit bumpy. A visit to India, combined with the sudden outbreak of the Corona pandemic, meant that Vinita was unable to leave India in time.
For Vinita, breaking new ground, taking the initiative and getting to grips with new topics is also part of the job. “Work between meetings, instead of meetings between work. That’s what it felt like.“, she says, lamenting the reality of the working world. She didn’t want to put up with that, so she read up on how to optimize meeting time and make it efficient. Now Vinita will be the first trainer in the new multiplier concept at VAIVA. She trains other colleagues to become meeting facilitators. The aim ist o bring more structure to meetings. Vinita puts a lot of energy and passion into her job and enjoys what she does. For Vinita, the best way to gather new energy os by hiking around Munich. She also takes time for herself when knitting and embroidering or reading a good book. “But then I’d rather read a novel than technical papers on meeting optimization.“, laughs Vinita.
by Theresa