Cars and bikes were the only toys I knew, cycling and, later, driving were the only activities I was fond of. Growing up as a crazy car lover, I finished my B.E in automotive engineering and went to work with Ford. When I decided to move further for my master’s degree, I zeroed in on Germany and Italy. And it all fell in place in 2011. I was here in Politecnico di Torino in Torino, Italy. Torino is the birth place of one of the largest automobile manufacturers of Italy, FIAT.
The oldest city of Italy, very European, or very Italian; very little shades of Asia: that is Torino. I fell in love with the city at first sight. 2011, September, It was Italy’s 150 years of unification; the city was flooded with celebrations, and the one attracted me was the sight of old little Fiat 500s rallying around the city roads following Italy’s tricolour theme — green, white and red. A lot of history, lot of cars and fun: I am living my life here, the way I have always wanted it to be.
At the universityPolitecnico Di Torino is one of the oldest technical universities of Italy. It ranks among the top three for its course on automotive engineering.
The professors are mostly from the industry. The course, basically, is a blend of different wings of the automotive industry, such as engineering, design, manufacturing and management. Many special lectures by engineers from leading brands like Ferrari are arranged. We have the option to select a specialisation in the second year for the course. The offerings are in the field of power train, chassis and manufacturing technology. Since I had a good platform on the earlier two, I took the manufacturing technology module. It had a lot on machining, cnc, production process and tooling which opened a new door to my career. We worked close with the engineers of COMAU robotics for a semester project which taught me a lot more on the industry. Apart from the Euro crisis, there are opportunities for able and active engineers who love challenges.
Social lifeThis is the best part. Italy is fun. A lot of adventure, sports, games and events, there is always something happening in the city. People here are active, and they have respect for Indians. We need to pick up some basic Italian language to join their fun completely. People are friendly and curious about Indian culture and food. There are many places to visit in and around Torino. My personal favourite weekend activity is to rent a car and take a drive to the Alps, along with friends.
The writer is now interning in Fiat Power Train Technologies.
Email: balakarthic.s@gmail.com
