My journey from India to Australia to become a global person and an industry-ready engineer

My name is Calvin Gomez, I am a current PhD Candidate in material engineering and a Graduate Mechanical Engineer from Deakin University.

Discovering my passion for engineering

I was born and raised in Chennai in India where I completed my schooling. From a very young age, I had a passion for science and technology as I was always curious to understand how things work. I wanted to be an engineer out of a sheer passion for engineering.

Journey from India to Australia

After completing my schooling, I started researching universities and found out about Deakin University’s engineering courses that go beyond theory, state-of-the-art facilities and practical programs that help students to create innovative engineering solutions to real-world problems. I sent my application for the bachelor degree and applied for the Vice-Chancellor’s Meritorious 100% Scholarship for Indian Students. Luckily, I cleared the interview rounds and became a Vice-Chancellor’ Meritorious Scholar. Not only did I get a full tuition fee waiver, but I was also a part of the Vice-Chancellor’s Professional Excellence Program (VCPEP) that allowed me to be a part of special workshops and development meetings with an academic mentor and become career-ready.

Becoming an industry-ready engineer

I completed my Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Honours) degree in 2020 from Deakin University. Then, I went on to work as a Graduate Engineer at Air Radiators, Victoria during which I realised that I wanted to expand my horizons which led me to pursue a PhD. I was awarded the Deakin University Postgraduate Research (DUPR) Scholarship to support my PhD work and course work at Deakin.

During my studies, I had the opportunity to work at Avionics Ltd, Victoria on multiple projects and as a Research Assistant at Deakin. I also represented Deakin at the National Warman Design and Build Competition. Deakin has offered me the skills and experience to grow as an industry-ready engineer and become a global person.

My advice for students: networking is working

I strongly believe in the power of networking and effective communication as it is this skill that has opened doors to most of my career opportunities.

Therefore, the message I would like to share is ‘don’t be afraid to forge genuine connections with people as they could become valuable assets in the future.’

Deakin has offered me the skills and experience to grow as an industry-ready engineer and become a global person.

Quick links

To learn more about Deakin’s Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Honours), click here.

To discover Deakin’s range of undergraduate engineering degrees, click here.

To learn more about research degrees at Deakin, click here.

To learn more about the Deakin Vice-Chancellor’s Meritorious 100% Scholarship, click here.

To learn more about the Deakin University Postgraduate Research (DUPR) Scholarship, click here.

To find our full range of scholarships, click here.