Coca Sai Vikas, Class of 2024, MSc in Aerospace Engineering
Coca Sai Vikas personifies the proverb, “If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room.”
Due to the nature of his father’s job, Vikas has had to relocate to a new city once every two years since childhood. Because of this, he developed a love for travelling. Possessing an adventurous streak, Vikas is always seeking new destinations to explore and immerse himself in different cultures.
An opportunity to do an exchange programme at his alma mater, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, had opened his eyes to TUM in Germany, and he knew this was where
he wanted to be in the future.
Unfortunately, he missed the acceptance criteria just by a narrow margin and was offered a different university in Germany.
“Fast forward a few months, I learned that TUM has a Singapore campus offering Aerospace Engineering and students will have the same fair amount of chance to pursue an additional semester for an internship in Munich, I did not hesitate to apply,” explained Vikas.
The second chance to study at his dream university propelled his wish into the realms of possibility once more.
“I still remember the first day I sat in Prof. Holzapfel’s lesson. He emphasised the academic rigour and encouraged us to work harder,” said Vikas.
With those seeds of dreams and hope sown in him, he worked doubly hard to get the golden ticket to get into Prof. Holzapfel’s Chair of Flight System Dynamics to pursue his thesis in system safety engineering.
“What you see is just 0.1 per cent of what goes into developing an aircraft. During my thesis, I thought I would have the time to conduct a safety analysis for the entire UAV we were developing in collaboration with Aurbus Urban Mobility. But I realised nine months into the project, I was only able to perform the safety analysis of one system! This experience opened my eyes to the magnitude of effort involved in developing an aircraft,” Vikas laughed.
“The MSc in Aerospace Engineering allowed me to gain a solid foundation of aerospace engineering; I find it easier to understand the subsequent specialisations because of the initial foundational knowledge taught here,” said Vikas.
“I am continuing my work as a Safety and Reliability Engineer at Pipistrel Vertical Solutions in Slovenia, where we focus on groundbreaking R&D in the field of UAM. Being surrounded by some of the best engineers during my project and internship expanded my horizons and skill set. I hope to share the knowledge I learned with others,” said Vikas.
“The MSc in Aerospace Engineering allowed me to gain a solid foundation of aerospace engineering; I find it easier to understand the subsequent specialisations because of the initial foundational knowledge taught here,” said Vikas.
With what he has experienced in Munich and Singapore and the spirit of an intrepid explorer ready to seek higher ground through knowledge, Vikas launched his LinkedIn channel, Aviation Xchange. With his efforts, he hopes to foster a community of aviation enthusiasts by creating a safe space for dialogue and knowledge exchange about Advanced Air Mobility.