Sameer Malkhare – Automobile Design Blog

They say that “the opportunity is often taken care of; the time is generally what is taken for granted! ”. That is how I would be describing my experience till now; starting from the day I first came to know about doing my diploma project at RMIT. I knew I stood a chance for a diploma project in at least one of the many automobile companies, given the requirements of both the companies and the students. But what I didn’t know was that the rumor was going to be true. As I was approaching the end of the 4^th semester­, there was a news floating in the NID campus about 5 students from my discipline (Transportation and Automobile Design) were going to get an opportunity to go to RMIT as a part of an exchange program. In fact, until 3 days prior to leaving India, this rumor never seemed to end, and had transformed into a distant dream. The reason was the horrendous visa procedures that we had to undergo, which thankfully I did, owing to lots of patience (and off course, money as well). But more about the visa stuff later.

So as the days went by, there was no news about RMIT, neither from their side, nor from NID’s. All I did, was to submit a 5 page draft portfolio to NID (they say they required it, whereas I had to submit my portfolio thrice after that for many reasons, mostly because they said they required it!!!) and wait and wait and wait. In between, I started thinking twice about whether I really wanted to commit to the decision of doing my diploma project abroad, that too an university sponsored industrial design project, and not really going for a home-bred industry sponsored project. Off course, I realized that both of these options hold their own merits and de-merits, it was going to be my decision (and my parents, who supported me morally and financially, and yeah, more than anyone else, the people at Australian high commission, New Delhi, who were going to play a very vital role in this journey, more about that later!)

So one fine day, the proceedings started, and felt like they are never ending. Now everyone who was involved in the RMIT exchange started feeling that it was too late. But I, along with other students, where already committed to take a plunge and grab this opportunity, since it also involved great amount of planning in advance, and yes, financial planning as well (like booking air tickets, including return journeys, IELTS exam, etc). I had no idea that the visa procedures were such a headache. None of us had any proper information about what class of visa exactly we were supposed to apply under, it was just a group decision, and we kept on filling those millions of forms and taking ‘n’ numbers of photocopies of the documents on the way. I was going through a series of mixed emotions during this time, one thing I was certain of, that it was going to be a very tight finish to the ridiculous visa proceedings, and that made me more aware about the timeline, something which I think all the people involved from the administration department of the college had taken for granted. But we had one guy always supporting us at every step, and shall I say, it was Mr. Liam Fennessy who single handedly guided us through all the steps, and also gave the necessary motivation to everyone of us, and also stretching the timeline to its maximum in order to give us that extra bit of time, so that we can get our visa’s safely. Where the people at NID seemed helpless, he managed to reach till each one of us directly via his daily emails, and that really saved a lot of time and money, I must say. Off course, the international programs manager, Catherine, was a real help in coordinating between Praveen Nahar and Liam. The guy behind this exchange program from NID’s side was undoubtedly praveen, who worked in the background without letting us know about the proceedings.

The anxiety grew and became unbearable as July arrived, when we knew that we were going to fly from Mumbai International Airport on the 7^th of July, and it was the visa that was the only major uncertain thing till then. At one point of time, I even went to the travel agent to cancel the ticket, if not, at least postpone it to an indefinite date. Off course, I still had to do some last moment shopping, which included a large suitcase (I would not be buying one if I need not be flying, right?) and woolen wear (because Ahmedabad and Melbourne have contrasting weather) and I had been calling the visa office and hearing just one answer everyday – “ The decision has been taken on your visa, and it should reach you very soon.” (Later I came to know that the decision that they were talking about could have been easily a negative one, which means NO VISA. Just imagine a situation like that, specially after waiting for the visa for over a month or so). The worst part about the whole thing was that I could not go home to meet my family, and was stuck up in the college at Ahmedabad. I was prepared to go to Mumbai and meet my family directly at the airport if possible, which could have been really sad, since I hadn’t been to my home since last 7 months.

Thankfully, I was lucky enough to receive my visa on time. By that I mean I got a last minute chance to go home and stay with my family for ONE full day! I did the last minute shopping and rushed home only to find that there was a huge rush of relatives and friends flooding into my home to wish me luck and I was really happy to see that it was them, and not really me, who were excited that I was going to Australia. The day ended with me not getting to sleep at home, not getting to eat at home (since I was too busy talking with everyone!), and next day I had to travel again to Bombay. It happened so that in those five successive days after I received my visa (i.e 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th ), I was in five different cities; viz Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Mumbai, Singapore City, Melbourne ! Statistics like those would even rival those of the Prime Minister or the President of any country!

This was the end of the first part………….and what follows next is the actual action !!!!!

Mission RMIT kicked off in a rather unusual fashion, with me arriving at the Mumbai airport, and i didnt even know who all are exactly going to travel with me, since everyone was dying to get the Visa till the last moment.