On February 14, 2016 we received an email from Mary Cain, a student at Connelly School of the Holy Child. She stated, "Prior to graduation, students at Holy Child participate in a Senior Internship Program to explore career interests and gain experience working in a professional environment. As an aspiring mechanical engineer, your company, Kashmir World Foundation, specifically Kashmir Robotics, interests me because robotics are an important part of technological innovations for the future. I would love to gain some hands-on experience in this area which will be so integral to my future studies and career."
We were thrilled! So we quickly agreed to make arrangements for Mary to participate in a 1 week Internship at Kashmir World Foundation to learn more about aerial robotics and mission focused projects.
Microsoft Store in Tysons Corner has been a partner for the last two years on the DaVinci Challenge: Build a Drone Workshop. So what better place to start Mary then with our Technology partner. At KwF, we like students to arrive with little to no details because everything they need to just waiting for them. Mary was a bit nervous but after hearing the wonderful stories about the foundation's mission from Princess Aliyah she began to relax and enjoy learning about the passion behind KwF projects.
Day 1 - KwF background and hands on learning with a quadcopter and hexacopter.
Day 2 - Review and research assignment about drone component and monarch butterfly.
Day 3 - Flight Testing at Foxcroft School our partner in girls STEM Education DaVinci
Challenge: Build a Drone Workshop.
Day 4 - Mary's explains how the drone is connected.
My Experience at Kashmir Robotics
by Mary Cain, Senior Connelly School of Holy Child - Pursuing Mechanical Engineering Degree
"When I started my week-long internship at Kashmir Robotics, I knew absolutely nothing about drones. In the four days since then, I have learned all about the way a drone works, its frame, all of its electrical connections, and the program that is used to fly it. I researched all the different parts of the drone in order to create a full guide of what each component is and what it does. I also learned about the many practical applications of drones, a much more extensive list than I had previously realized. They can be adapted to so many different things, from animal conservation to agriculture. I even got a chance to fly the drone, and luckily I did not crash it. In fact, my flight went quite smoothly. Perhaps more importantly though, was learning about the importance of schematic diagrams and writing down notes on everything to understand how things are put together, a skill that will help me as I go on to study mechanical engineering in college. It is hard to believe that I have learned so much in just a few days. Having done this internship, I feel much more confident, as I enter into my college career, about my ability to learn, how to build things, and to fully understand how to put things together and the reasoning behind it. The only thing that I wish is that I would have known a few more details about what I needed to bring with me before I came, but after I did know that, I was much more prepared. I truly enjoyed learning so much and having a chance to work with something that could be a part of my career in the future.
Kashmir Robotics (KR) is a subdivision of Kashmir World Foundation (KwF)."