Summer Internships with our Applied Study Students
By Nicole Rihn
EST&P’s Applied Study Energy Master’s Degrees combine professional development and an internship experience with our Foundational Energy Degrees. The EST&P Applied Study (two semester) and EST&P Applied Advance Study (three semester) programs were launched in the Fall of 2020 and, this past summer, our fifth cohort of students were hard at work in a variety of exciting internships. Students worked in internships in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Texas and more. Additionally, they worked in a wide array of energy industries— companies are listed in the sidebar. Internship roles were landfill engineering intern, energy storage engineering intern, data scientist and more.
Applied Study students begin their program taking the course “Career and Professional Development for Engineering Masters” during an academic semester before their summer internship. This course prepares College of Engineering graduate students to identify, create, and manage career opportunities.
All EST&P Applied Study students, whether starting in the Spring or Fall semester, are eligible to pursue an internship in their first summer semester, during which they take the Master’s EST&P Internship course. The requirements for the internship course include securing an internship, writing an internship proposal, meeting with the academic and faculty advisors, and writing reflections and a final report communicating different aspects of their experiences. Many students had incredible experiences with their companies. Overall, EST&P Applied Study students had an educational, exciting, and fulfilling summer.
In the fall semester following an internship, the Applied Study students participate in a course entitled Communication of EST&P Internship Experience. Amongst other requirements, they will be presenting their internship experiences at our annual Internship Panel Sessions, occurring on Friday, October 3rd. Students in the course share their myriad experiences with the program faculty and staff, with each other, and with the new cohort of EST&P students just beginning their own internship search and experience. Based on the experiences of this cohort, we are excited to see the next group continue to excel in energy internships.
Student Thoughts:
"This internship allowed me to realize many of the goals I set at the beginning, gaining
hands-on experience, building technical skills, and contributing meaningfully to a product with real-world impact." - Sana Shetty (EST&P-AAS)
"It allowed me to apply the skills gained at Carnegie Mellon in a real-world corporate setting, contribute to a high-impact team, and confirm my interest in energy storage as a career path." - Ahan Pujari (EST&P-AAS)
"My internship at WM as a Landfill Engineering Intern was an enriching experience that bridged academic knowledge with practical industry challenges in waste management and renewable energy." - Utkarsh Kumar (EST&P-AAS)