July-August 2019

Courtesy Widener University
Photographs courtesy Lake Superior State University
Above: A Widener
University student with
WUbot, a robot which helps
students learn robotics
programming.
Above right: Lake Superior
State University Robotics
Director Jim Devaprasad
(left) with a senior level
mechanical engineering
student, in the robotics lab.
Above left: Lake Superior
State University offers its
students hands-on
experience with high-tech
machines and the
opportunity to partner with
leading industries and
corporations to develop
capstone projects.
Left: Widener University
provides students access to
modern, well-equipped
laboratories and computer
facilities, and exposure to
real-world aspects of the
engineering profession.
mechatronics as well.
Broader skills like communication, creativity
and strategic thinking can also be key to success
in robotics. “Being inventive in solving
problems and having the ability to communicate
these solutions are vital to any engineering
discipline,” says Lubeck.
Widener University and LSSU make it easy
for international students to find out more about
their robotics programs and apply to join the fun.
Students from India should expect to provide a
variety of documents, including proof of
proficiency in English and standardized test
results demonstrating the skills and experience
needed to thrive as a robotics engineer.
Both institutions also offer an array of
scholarships and financial aid options. LSSU, for
instance, offers a dedicated robotics scholarship
to incoming freshmen. And through the
university’s One Rate Tuition program, students
from around the world pay the same lower rate
of tuition as those from Michigan.
Widener University offers opportunities like
the #YouAreWelcomeHere scholarship, which
covers a minimum of 50 percent of tuition costs
for selected international students. Other
scholarship opportunities include the chance for
incoming engineering students to receive free
laptops.
For those who receive an undergraduate or a
graduate degree in robotics engineering,
Devaprasad describes outstanding career
opportunities, flexibility and earning potential.
There are “tons of job opportunities all over the
world,” he says, “with a variety of industries and
businesses already in robotics or looking to get
into robotics.” Furthermore, the work is great
fun, he says, emphasizing that it’s hard to get
bored with such vast opportunities in so many
different fields.
What sort of student should pursue a degree in
robotics engineering and help meet the global
demand for new experts in this discipline?
“Anyone who is interested in technology and its
applications in industry and day-to-day life,”
says Devaprasad, as well as those who have “a
desire to help solve problems and make human
life better.”
The world of robotics does, however, present
its own unique challenges. When entering the
workforce, Devaprasad warns, newly-minted
robotics engineers should be ready to face
perceptions like robots replace people and that
the growth of robot usage will lead to massive
unemployment. “Actually, so far, studies have
shown that in industry, robots do not replace
people, but do displace people, with a greater
need for people with skills, education and
training,” he says. “Often, for every robot used
in the field, there are two new jobs that become
available.”
For Lubeck, “The biggest challenge that
robotics engineers face is failure. You can say
that for any major, but robotics engineering sets
the bar for failure as a challenge. Improvement
and development is the basis of robotics. And
when that fails, it does not feel good.”
No matter how bad it may feel, though,
Lubeck advises persevering when engineering
projects don’t go as hoped for, working hard and
never backing down from a problem. “Seeing
something work is one of the greatest feelings
that you can have,” he says. “With robotics
projects, there’s really no limit or end to what
you can do.”
Michael Gallant is the founder and chief executive
officer of Gallant Music. He lives in New York City.
JULY/AUGUST 2019 27