Annual panel prepares new cohort for landing an internship

The Energy Science, Technology & Policy (ESTP) organized its annual Internship Panel on October 7 at the Research Accelerator Space in Scott Hall. The Internship Panel is part of the 39662-A: Communication of ESTP Internship Experience course of the Applied Advanced Study program of ESTP. The panel is aimed at communicating the experiences of students who completed an internship to the new cohort to help with their internship search, academic coursework selection, transition into a professional environment, and to clarify any questions they might have on these topics.

The session started out with an introduction from Professor Paul Salvador, Director of ESTP. The session was then broken into three panels: Search and Acquisition, Technical Integration, and Professional/Personal Integration. ESTP students Prathit Dave, Sruthi Mahalakshmi Easwaran, Akash Prasad, and Manish Sainani were part of the Search and Acquisition panel. All the panel members emphasized that networking with Alumni, along with the Career and Professional Development for Engineering Master's course, helped them secure their internships. ESTP students Gokul Krishnan, Shaofeng Ouyang, and Zulkifli Palinrungi were part of the panel on Technical Integration. The panelists communicated how they chose their coursework and how it helped them during their internship. ESTP students Sagar Bharadwaj, Chris Fang, Madhumithaa Vellingiri, and Jeffrey Yin were part of the panel on Professional/Personal Integration. The panelists discussed their experiences working on a dynamic team and the importance of making connections within and outside the team. The session was interactive, with time for questions after each panel's presentation. We concluded with lunch and a discussion among the new cohort and panelists.

“The panel members helped me gain insight into the US energy and power sector by exposing us to different facets through their on-the-ground experience. Additionally, their individual journey with the process of securing an internship was extremely helpful to identify effective tools and methods for a successful internship search,” said Malvika Agarwal, an ESTP student who joined the program in the Fall of 2022. Marilyn Kung, another student who attended the session, said, “I learned about the wide variety of different industries my peers experienced with their summer internships, and it really was an eye opener on the scope of work within the energy sector. As someone who is going through my own process of finding a job, I am grateful to have so many classmates in the program who can help answer my questions.” Overall, the session was a success, and the new cohort took away a lot about navigating the internship search process, technical integration, and working in a professional environment.