The aerospace industry has a long legacy of being underrepresented by women. In the United States, 11.2 per cent of aerospace engineers are women, while 88.8 per cent are men. In such a male-dominated field industry, success would not happen without breaking through gender stereotypes and stigma.[1]
Kaavya was unfazed by such challenges. To her, the sky is the only limit.
“I always wanted a career in computational fluid dynamics. It is one of the specialised fields of aerospace engineering that is responsible with
airflows and how it interact with its surroundings ,” Kaavya said.
Since her undergraduate years, when she had the opportunity to cross paths with computational fluid dynamics, she has worked relentlessly in that direction.
Having graduated from Hindustan University with first-class distinction in Bachelor of Technology in Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering, she has only one vision in sight and has never deviated since.
“I decided to come to TUM Asia because it was not too far away from home, so I could always fly back home if I wanted to. So, even though I was miles away from home, I felt right in my element. Besides, it gives students the opportunities to pursue internship and their master’s thesis in Germany,” said Kaavya.
Finances have always been a concern for international students. Kaavya is no exception. When she was deciding on her postgraduate studies, finances were one of the spanners in the work. The costs of pursuing a master’s degree and living expenses in a foreign country are not a sum that one could easily muster.
Thankfully, the DAAD Scholarships, awarded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to qualified students every semester, help alleviate some of the financial burden international students have while studying.
Kaavya’s determination to carve something out for herself in the realm of aerospace engineering paid off, for she received not once but thrice consecutively.
“I was really happy and touched to have received the DAAD scholarship three times in a row, which was a great motivator for me to work harder in this field,” said Kaavya.
To her, receiving the DAAD scholarship felt like she was finally set free from her clipped wings. It was the taste of freedom where she could place her entire focus on realising her dream.
“Studying at TUM Asia is truly an experience. You get to experience the diverse cultures and educational systems and, importantly, learn about the philosophies underpinning German engineering and technology while being on the other side of the coin and understanding the reasons for the things we Asians do. Classes conducted at TUM Asia are small, so we have lots of opportunities to question, analyse, and explore ideas with our professors beyond the textbook,” said Kaavya.
In her second academic year at TUM Asia, Kaavya went to Germany, where she did her internship and master’s thesis with Prof. Dr.-Ing. Volker Gümmer, Director of the Institute of Turbomachinery and Flight Propulsion.
“It was such a fascinating course when I first came across of it. When I first stated, I know I have very little knowledge of this field. But I thought, why can’t I give it a try? What’s stopping me? So, I approached Prof. Gümmer when he was teaching at TUM Asia. Fast-forward a few months later, here I am,” said Kaavya happily.
Kaavya was one of the few women who did her internship and master’s thesis at TUM in Munich. Beyond her studies, Kaavya is also a working student on the technical marketing at Cevotec gmbh, an aerospace company that offers one of the world’s most advanced production systems for complex fiber composite. Being physically away from her friends challenged her commitment and questioned her decision to come to a country vastly different from her home, but she pressed ahead, keeping her line on sight solely on her eventual goal – to make a name for herself in the aerospace engineering arena.
“I am currently doing my master’s thesis on a collaboration project between Universität der Bundeswehr München and TUM’s Chair of Turbomachinery, funded by the Munich Aerospac on the topic of emission characteristics of combustion chamber. This is in relation to sustainable aviation and I believe it will propel the industry towards greater sustainability in the future,” said Kaavya.
With nothing but her sights set on her dream, she is well on to make an impact in aerospace engineering, as a #womaninstem, and as a #womaninaerospace.
[1] https://www.zippia.com/aerospace-engineer-jobs/demographics/