The Sandbox is not only a platform for students to ideate, design and innnovate but also a platform which ensures that the technological products that different teams develop can be utilised in the industry for real-time applications.
A purely symbiotic relationship to its core, industry-academia collaboration has often produced creative and practical technological solutions to address problems present around the globe. Therefore, one of the main aims of the Sandbox is to foster and improve the industry-academia interaction in BITS Pilani University
The following are a few of the very many advantages that companies will enjoy when they collaborate with Sandbox -
- New solutions to Old problems - There are many problem statements that need a younger and fresher perspective to be solved. Corporates can give these problem statements for our students to work on. The industry-level facilities available along with academic and industry mentors will lead to students coming up with innovative ideas and products that can be employed for real-time application. The cost of creation and resources - human as well as infrastructural will be quite low as the Sandbox provides one with industry-level hardware and software.
- Publicity and Larger Reach - The companies that are sponsoring and collaborating with the Sandbox team will be well-publicised through banners and standees around the campus, especially in those places such as the BDome, LT Lawns etc. which are frequented by the students, faculty members, guest speakers, business visitors and more. This would increase the outreach of the company amongst the people, especially students in campus. The same companies will also be featured and mentioned in the official website of the Sandbox which will increase their digital visibility amongst students , faculty members of other colleges and other visitors to the website.
- An option to test before employing - With industrial experience becoming an important part of one's education, the Sandbox provides an excellent opportunity for companies to check whether students are a good fit for them or not. They can assign projects to students a particular project along with deadlines and conditions and then be able to accurately judge his/her capabilities before making an offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Still apprehensive about collaborating with us? Have a look at the following questions to clear any doubts
How do you think collaboration with companies help improve the technical culture of our campus?
A collaboration will be beneficial to all the parties involved. The company will get bright technical assistance at a very low cost, the students will get the experience and training from working on real world projects, and everyone will get more publicity. The ideas from industry are more practical and students and companies can collaborate on solutions and products - the companies willing to sponsor some devices given specific requirements can collaborate with the students who can work on those particular requirements.
How does the Sandbox set us apart from other colleges and universities in India?
Though Sandbox is still in its early stages, we are able to provide the students will excellent facilities that they have used to their advantage. Students in our campus can now get free access to equipment that others only dream of. The experience gained by the students working in Sandbox has also helped them a lot as is evident by 3 students going for their thesis in Portugal, 1 in USA, 1 in Singapore, 1 for a summer internship in Amazon and another in Navstik Labs and many more.
Similar to the fact that a healthy mind lives in a healtyh body, having a facility like Sandbox helps one to do better research and development. We still have a long way to go and we only hope to be comparable if not better to other fablabs in developed countries.