Advanced Instrumentation Technology Centre
Published in the RSAA Lunations
Vol1 Issue58 1–31 January 2025
AITC-CBE Internship Program: A Successful Cross-College Collaboration
Some of you may still recall that in the second half of last year, we hosted three talented students from the College of Business and Economics (CBE) as part of a pilot program under AITC’s cross-college collaboration initiative. This program was designed to harness the power of combining technical expertise with business acumen to address the complex challenges AITC has been navigating.
During their internship, the students—Qinqi (Belinda) Gu, Simant Gupta, and Xinyi (Tyra) Xie—were tasked with analysing AITC’s workflows, identifying inefficiencies, and proposing actionable improvements. They collaborated closely with AITC’s leadership team, including myself, Roger Haynes, David Brodrick, and Jennifer Burgess, to gain insights into engineering management and project management processes.
The interns truly demonstrated the value of integrating business and technical perspectives, providing fresh insights and innovative solutions to support AITC’s ongoing projects. While the program proved highly beneficial to AITC, I was initially concerned that the complexity of our operations might be overwhelming for students. However, they rose to the challenge with remarkable dedication and capability.
One of the highlights of this collaboration was the recognition of Simant Gupta, who received the ANU CBE Excellent Intern Commendation (Postgraduate) for Semester 2, 2024. His exceptional work on the optics-mechanic engineering workflow, now proudly displayed at AITC, showcases the practical impact of his contributions. This prestigious accolade not only celebrates his achievements but also highlights the broader success of the AITC-CBE partnership. His work underscores the value of interdisciplinary collaboration and its potential to significantly enhance the management of AITC’s ambitious projects.
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the AITC colleagues who contributed to the interns’ work. Their guidance, support, and collaboration played an essential role in making this program a success.
This pilot program has demonstrated the immense potential of cross-college collaborations at ANU. By bridging disciplines, we’ve shown how combining expertise from different fields can drive meaningful change and innovative solutions. We look forward to exploring further opportunities for such partnerships in the future.
Jenny Jiang
Simant Gupta's work on the optics-mechanic engineering workflow is displayed on the wall in AITC 1 upper level open plan office area.
