The MISTI MIT-Russia Program matches MIT students with paid industrial internships and research opportunities in Russia. Participating students come from diverse backgrounds including engineering, architecture, science, and management. In Russia, local and international companies, start-ups, universities, research institutes, and NGOs participate in the program.
AeroAstro major researches SLAM at Jetbrains in Russia
Catching the travel bug Claire McGinnity (AeroAstro ’20) spent over 150 hours aboard the Russian train network - which is more than can be said about that ever elusive bug that caused her early 3D models to run askew.
As a junior in the MIT AeroAstro department Claire applied to the MISTI MIT-Russia program and spent summer 2019 working with the renown software company, Jetbrains, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In the Open Source and Linux Lab (OSLL) Claire helped develop an open source framework used to efficiently run and test SLAM algorithms (simultaneous localization and mapping). Investigating and evaluating the Intel RealSense D435i as a tool for creating datasets for SLAM she created datasets in the OSLL office and produced 3D models from the data while researching current SLAM libraries.
Wanting to explore more than just the Russian tech scene Claire took to the Trans-Siberian railway to discover the farther regions of the largest country in the world. Traveling solo over 9000km during the course of three weeks Claire spent around seven full days on board the train in the third class open sleeping carriages. She shared meals and Russian cat memes with friendly Russian babushki (grannies), and swam in the chilly Lake Baikal, the largest fresh water source in the world - containing over one fifth of all the fresh water in the world.
“Everyone who is able should take advantage of the MISTI program. It is an unforgettable experience that will broaden your horizons, instill newfound confidence and leave you with many lasting memories,” Claire says.
