Working With AI in an Ever-Evolving World
Ashutosh Iwale, MS’24, robotics, was inspired to study robotics after learning about the robotic systems NASA sends to Mars. During his master’s program, he has expanded his knowledge in the field and discovered his interest in working with AI in a world where technology is constantly evolving.
Ashutosh Iwale completed his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering in India. He was intrigued by NASA’s mission of sending highly engineered robotic systems to Mars and knew he wanted to learn more about robotics. He chose to pursue a master’s degree in robotics at Northeastern University because of the school’s highly curated courses, interdisciplinary nature and experiential learning opportunities.
In the Classroom
Iwale with Professor Radivojac.
Iwale accredits two courses he took during his master’s program as a turning point for his career. The “Robot Science and Systems” course provided Iwale with an introduction to machine learning and computer vision, and how they are applied to robotic systems. Through the course, he additionally learned important search algorithms, which sparked his curiosity to learn more about new technologies. The other course was “Supervised Machine Learning and Learning Theory” taught by Professor Predrag Radivojac. By taking this class, Iwale had the opportunity to learn more about the foundational side of machine learning and the mathematics behind it. Iwale appreciated that Professor Radivojac incorporated topics about AI in the class, which he believed was relevant to his interests and the current technology industry.
Co-op Experience
One reason Iwale chose Northeastern was for its co-op program and the amazing opportunities it creates. During Iwale’s time in the robotics program, he worked as an AI engineering intern at C-10 Labs, an AI venture studio, for his co-op. His responsibility was to help C-10 labs screen start-up applications for businesses using an AI tool. Additionally, he created some of the tools that were being used, such as a tool that helped identify the demographics and other information about the users.
Iwale said the most memorable part of his co-op was watching the start-ups his company helped and seeing them grow from just an idea to having investors start to invest in the start-up. He thought it was a gratifying experience, and he was proud to be a part of the process.
Iwale and his co-workers at C-10 Labs.
Through his co-op experience, Iwale was invited as a student visitor for a class at MIT by Associate Professor Ramesh Raskar. The class was called “Foundations of AI Ventures” and Iwale was able to collaborate with Professor Raskar to build an AI tool to help the students to produce startup ideas. Since the creation of the tool, almost 350 start-up founders have used it.
Additionally, since meeting Professor Raskar, Iwale had the chance to participate in one of his projects. The project is titled “Project NANDA”, NANDA stands for “Networked Agents and Decentralized AI”. The project aims to expand on Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) to create an internet network where AI Agents can communicate. “Project NANDA” is designed to address problems related to AI by giving agency to AI and providing the agents with a secure space on the web to collaborate. Iwale finds the research very interesting and believes it will be incredibly useful in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
Iwale with Professor Raskar.
Iwale says Northeastern played a huge role in the opportunities he was able to get through the co-op experience. He says his co-op advisor, Marna Eckels, was extremely helpful to him during the co-op search process.
After Graduating
Since graduating, Iwale has been working full-time as a software developer at an NGO. He has been able to translate the knowledge he gained in the robotics program to create a successful career in the industry. Iwale has also had the opportunity to mentor kids from India at a summer camp in the U.S. about AI and technology. He said this experience was unique, and he got to see firsthand how the younger generation is using and perceiving AI.
Looking at his time in the robotics program, after graduating, he believes Northeastern provided him with an environment to explore a broad range of topics within and outside robotics. He said he was fortunate to be a part of the program and to have many amazing career opportunities from the program.