The Faculty of Engineering and Technology (FET) Alumni Committee had successfully hosted an engaging alumni sharing session featuring Mr. Viknesh Kumar, a distinguished alumnus and industry expert in smart factory integration. The session was specially curated for the Robotics and Automation engineering undergraduate students and was attended by approximately 26 participants in April 2025.
Mr. Viknesh Kumar, graduated with a Bachelor of Electronics Engineering (Hons.) in Robotics and Automation in year 2017, furthered his academic journey with a Master’s degree in Engineering Science in year 2021 and is currently pursuing a PhD at MMU. At the same, he holds the position of senior software engineer – Factory Integration Capability Owner (Agile) and Ambassador of Factory Integration at Infineon Technologies, Singapore.
In the session titled “Factory Lights Out: Running a factory with robots and AI with minimal human intervention”, Mr. Viknesh shared valuable insights into the transformative role of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) in modern manufacturing environments. Through an engaging presentation and a captivating video demonstration of a fully automated plant operating in a “lights out” environment, he illustrated how factories are evolving to operate with minimal human involvement. He also elaborated on the core principles of Industry 4.0 and the 4M framework – Man, Machine, Material, and Method – which underpin modern smart factories.
Mr. Viknesh also candidly recounting his own academic journey, reflecting on his time as an average student at FET and how his involvement in various student projects helped spark his passion for automation and robotics. He emphasised the key skill sets an engineering student should cultivate, including strong programming capabilities, a project-based learning mindset, and iterative, practice-driven development. He also offered practical time management strategies to consistently meeting project deadlines. The one-hour session left a lasting impression on students, equipping them with not only technical insights, but also inspiration to pursue excellence in the ever-evolving field of robotics and automation.
