Dr. Dobb's Journal Spring 1998
Sidebar: More than Money
Sidebar: Every Week is Exam Week
Sidebar: The Intern Trail
Despite spending lots of time in classrooms, many students are still unsure of their abilities because they rarely get the opportunity to apply their training to real-world problems. One way to obtain practical experience is via part-time and summer jobs. Alternatively, many colleges and universities offer a more formal approach to integrating educational programs and work experiences, through internship programs that alternate on-campus classroom learning with mentored work opportunities. Depending on the program, students may earn academic credit or receive a paid salary. Students typically participate under the supervision of a company mentor and faculty member, and a written report (describing the work experiences) or similar academic effort often is required.
In this article, I'll describe the VI-A Internship Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) -- a cooperative work/study program with industry and government in continuous existence since 1917. Although the VI-A program is unique in many ways, it is, nevertheless, representative of internship programs at most universities. I'll describe the program from a unique perspective -- both as an MIT EECS professor of electrical engineering who's been director of the VI-A program since 1994, and as a VI-A student intern from 1965-68.
Students studying electrical engineering and computer-science (Course VI) at MIT who participate in the VI-A Internship Program generally mix academic study at MIT with three summer terms and one fall or spring term of work at one of the participating industrial or governmental organizations (see Table 1). This educational plan gives students opportunities to relate the scientific and engineering principles they discuss in the classroom to current engineering problems in the industry. Students receive competitive salaries during their company assignments.
There are approximately 28 participating companies with 37 work sites for the VI-A students. On occasion, VI-A students have worked at foreign offices of VI-A companies. Each year, approximately 160 students apply for about 80 positions. Since the program lasts three years, after some small attrition, more than 200 students remain in the program, which is about 20 percent of all MIT EECS students. Approximately 4000 students have graduated from this program since its inception in 1917.
The primary motivations for joining VI-A include:
I was a member of the program from 1965-1968, receiving both Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering in June 1968. I was a "co-op" student at Raytheon, working the first two assignments at the Raytheon Equipment Division (Wayland, Massachusetts) and the last two assignments at the Raytheon Research Division (Waltham, Massachusetts) where I performed research for my master's thesis ("Pulse Compression Using Bragg Scattering of Light by Ultrasonic Waves"). My thesis involved light scattered by a traveling acoustic wave, which produced an optical signal of considerably shorter duration than the input pulse width of a "chirped" acoustic wave with a great increase in signal to noise ratio. To do this research, some extremely bright, motivated, and kind professionals arranged for Raytheon to custom-build the required equipment.
My co-op experience, at that time the cutting edge in acousto-optic interactions, was beyond the quality and availability of on-campus research, and the co-op earnings also helped finance MIT educational costs. That research experience motivated me to become a better classroom student and to continue my education by completing the MIT doctoral program. Today, I am an MIT professor of electrical engineering in the general research area of electromagnetic interactions with media.
As director of the VI-A Internship Program, I try to match students and companies so that every student's work and research experience is of comparable quality, inspiration, and professional reward to my own. The knowledge and time willingly given by Raytheon mentors provided examples of professional excellence and conduct that are still worthy of emulation today.
The Internship Program leading to simultaneous bachelor's and master's degrees in five years provided a model for the entire EECS program to follow beginning in 1992. Today, the course requirements for internship students are essentially identical to noninternship students. (Additional information about MIT can be found at http://web.mit.edu/; on the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at http://www-eecs.mit.edu/; and on the MIT EECS VI-A Internship Program at http://www-eecs.mit.edu/via/index.html.)
The focus of the undergraduate curricula is on the fundamental principles and models of the electrical and computer sciences. Engineering concentrations, laboratory subjects, independent projects, and research complement this preparation by introducing more specialized techniques of analysis, design, and experimentation in a variety of fields.
The department of electrical engineering and computer science offers programs leading to the master of engineering degree and to the bachelor of science degree. Three preprofessional four-year bachelor's programs are available: one designed for students specializing in electrical science and engineering (VI-1), a second for those specializing in computer science and engineering (VI-3), and a third for those whose interests cross this traditional boundary (VI-2). The principal department professional program leads directly, through a seamless five-year course of study, to the simultaneous awarding of the master of engineering and one of the three bachelor's degrees. An undergraduate who wishes to pursue the master of engineering degree initially registers for any of the three bachelor's programs. The VI-A internship program combines either the professional master of engineering or a preprofessional bachelor's academic program with periods of industrial practice at affiliated companies. A minor in biomedical engineering is also available.
The program leading to the master of engineering degree in electrical engineering and computer science is intended to provide the depth of knowledge and the skills needed for professional work as well as the breadth and perspective essential for engineering leadership in an increasingly complex technical world. This program builds on the General Institute Requirements in science (chemistry, physics, calculus, and biology) and the humanities. The additional requirements in EECS are four core courses that include laboratory components: structure and interpretation of computer programs, circuits and electronics, signals and systems, and computation structures; and three math courses including probability, mathematics for computer science, complex variables, and linear algebra. The heart of the program is a group of nine required Engineering Concentration subjects selected from seven concentration lists under constraints designed to ensure appropriate depth and breadth. The remainder of the program consists of restricted choices in engineering laboratories and mathematics that, together with free electives and a thesis, permit individual students to shape their programs to their special interests.
A focus on design is aided by two important components of the master of engineering program: laboratory-project subjects and a thesis. Laboratory-project subjects expose the student to the design of experiments, equipment, or computer programs, as well as to the problems of implementation and the evaluation of results.
The four-year preprofessional programs leading to a bachelor of science degree are shorter and less comprehensive than the master of engineering program. These programs are accredited by the Accreditation Board for engineering and Technology (ABET) and, in the case of VI-2 and VI-3, by the Computer Science Accreditation Board (CSAB). Recipients of a master of engineering degree normally receive a bachelor of science degree simultaneously. No thesis is explicitly required for the preprofessional bachelor of science degree. However, every program must include a major project experience at an advanced level, culminating in written and oral reports. Normally, the thesis for the master of engineering degree will fulfill this requirement for students receiving both degrees simultaneously. The requirements listed for the department programs are not rigid. Much flexibility is built into the elective structure; 60 units of totally unrestricted electives are included in every master of engineering program.
Programs leading to the professional five-year master of engineering degree or to the preprofessional four-year bachelor of science degrees can easily be arranged to be identical through the junior year. At the end of the junior year, most students will be offered the opportunity to continue through the five-year master's program; those students who are not selected may request reconsideration. To remain in the program and to receive the master of engineering degree, students will be expected to maintain a term rating of at least 4.0 (out of 5.0 overall) every term after the junior year. Admission to the master of engineering program is open only to undergraduate students who have completed their junior year in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. Students with other preparations seeking master's level experience at MIT must be admitted to the master of science program.
The fifth year of study toward the master of engineering degree can be supported by a combination of personal funds, participation in the VI-A Internship Program, an award such as a National Science Foundation Fellowship, fellowship or traineeship awarded by MIT, graduate assistantship, or interest-free student loan. Assistantships require participation in research or teaching in the department or in one of the associated laboratories.
Five subjects from the list of engineering concentration subjects are required for bachelor's degrees:
To receive the master's of engineering degree, a total of nine subjects from the lists of Engineering Concentrations is required: a Large Concentration consisting of a header and two other subjects from a single Engineering Concentration; two Small Concentrations, each consisting of a header and one other subject from a single Engineering Concentration; two additional concentration elective subjects, freely chosen from any of the seven Engineering Concentrations.
The Computer Science Engineering Concentrations are:
The Electrical Engineering Concentrations are:
The Bioelectrical Engineering Concentration applies engineering principles and tools to the understanding of living systems and to the design of technical devices whose specifications require some knowledge of the properties of living systems. Examples include the quantitative description of biological, physiological, or psychological systems, such as the circulatory, sensory, or skeletal systems, protein or genetic structures, speech and natural language; devices that improve the operation of pathological systems (pacemakers, sensory aids, artificial tissues, and so on); and systems that aid in the effective delivery of health care (imaging systems, medical decision aids).
Course VI sophomores and selected juniors, registered and in good standing, are eligible to apply for the VI-A Internship Program. To gain admission, each student must be selected by one of the participating companies after an interview. Students, in accepting admission to VI-A, agree to remain in the program with their selected company until graduation with a master of engineering. degree, or with a bachelor's degree if not admitted to the master of engineering program. Release from this obligation is granted only under extenuating circumstances.
Students are usually selected for the program by the participating companies during the spring term of their sophomore year. At the end of the junior year, students who are in the program are informed of their admissibility to the five-year VI-A program leading to the master of engineering degree. It is expected that most VI-A students will qualify and complete their studies in five years. Elective credit is given for the experience gained during company assignments, and counted toward the master of engineering degree.
Important issues that a student considers about a VI-A company include:
Early in the spring term a VI-A orientation is given by the director of the program to acquaint interested students with the program and the procedures for joining. The participating companies and laboratories supply informational material, which is made available in the VI-A office. Prospective students are urged to carefully peruse this material as an aid to their choices of companies to interview. To further assist in the selection process, both a Student Open House and a Company Open House are held prior to on-campus interviews where all applicants can talk with current VI-A students and company representatives.
Company representatives interview applicants on campus early in March. Applicants must sign up for interviews ahead of time in the VI-A office. Offers to participate in VI-A are then extended by the companies following these interviews. Final decisions on joining VI-A, and with which company, are made by the selected applicants in consultation with the VI-A office.
The industrial and governmental organizations participating in the VI-A Internship Program are selected by recommendations of the electrical engineering and computer science faculty. From time to time the list of participating companies is reviewed and companies are added or removed as dictated by the changing areas of emphasis in the department and the needs of the various companies.
Internship assignments are presently carried out at the companies and laboratories listed in Table 1. Taken together, these companies and laboratories cover a very broad spectrum of technology, including electronics, communications, control, computation, and instrumentation. They provide opportunities for firsthand experience in manufacturing, testing, design, development, research, technical planning, and administration.
Each VI-A company is assigned an advisor from the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department faculty. These advisors serve as liaisons between the campus and the participating companies. VI-A faculty advisors monitor the progress of their students on work assignments through visits to the company.
Each VI-A student carries out all VI-A assignments with a single company or laboratory. The technical level and responsibility of the assignments increase as the student gains experience. While working, students are subject to company regulations and receive regular compensation for their work. They are not obligated to accept employment with the company upon completion of the program, nor is the company obliged to offer such employment; many do, however.
The master of engineering degree requirements for students in VI-A are, with minor exceptions, identical to those of non-VI-A students enrolled in the electrical engineering and computer science course. VI-A students must also complete four internship assignments for the simultaneous receipt of the bachelor of science and master of engineering degrees. If not admitted to the master of engineering program, a minimum of two internship assignments are required for the bachelor of science degree. Elective credit is earned for each term of practice, provided a VI-A student satisfactorily completes at least two internship assignments.
Leaving the VI-A program before completion is not a common occurrence, and is not undertaken lightly. At the time of joining the VI-A program, each student signs a "Student's Agreement to Participate," which states that by joining the VI-A program, the student is making a firm commitment to the VI-A company and to EECS to remain in VI-A until receipt of the master's of engineering degree if admitted to the master of engineering program, or of the bachelor's of science degree if not admitted to the master's of engineering program. A student may not drop out of the VI-A program and if admitted to the master of engineering program must perform the master of engineering thesis research at the VI-A company. If the student experiences problems with the VI-A assignment, the student must inform the VI-A office and VI-A faculty advisor early so that corrective actions can be taken. Only under extraordinary circumstances and after the student, the VI-A office, and the VI-A company have exhausted attempts at finding a suitable assignment can a student make a request to the VI-A Director to leave the program.
VI-A students pay the regular two semester academic year MIT tuition. Many VI-A companies offer financial assistance during this term. Some offer their own programs, which may include funding a research assistantship or competitive salaries with full or partial tuition awards. Most companies participate in the MIT VI-A fellowship program where, in lieu of salary for one term, the VI-A fellowship program has the participating company fund a fellowship for a VI-A graduate student that pays one term's tuition, MIT student health insurance, and stipend that matches an on-campus research assistantship.
One of the most important experiences I've had while completing my bachelor's degree and starting a graduate program in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT has been my participation in the VI-A Internship Program. The VI-A program has given me a chance to explore a number of research topics and gain practical work experience at the same time. The work assignments were beyond the quality and scope of typical summer jobs, enabling me to expand my horizons and nurture my current interest in computer architecture.
I entered the VI-A program by working at Silicon Graphics (SGI), in Mountain View, California. I was one of two original MIT interns assigned to SGI when the company joined the VI-A program in 1995. In lieu of salary, SGI paid for my MIT tuition ($11,550 per term for the 1997-98 academic year), in addition to a stipend (about $6000 per term) as part of the VI-A Fellowship Program. This was great: SGI pays for my education, while I conduct my thesis research using world-class computing facilities. Other amenities included access to restricted computing facilities, internal training programs, and participation in technical conferences -- not to mention health-club memberships and employee discounts.
The first summer, I worked under the architecture group at SGI's microprocessor division, Mips Technology Inc. (MTI) -- the group responsible for high-level microprocessor architecture simulation and architectural innovations for next-generation processors. I worked on performance simulation of the R10000 chip -- SGI's flagship microprocessor and one of the first superscalar, dynamic-execution processors. With my initial exposure to working in industry, I learned the intricacies of how a microprocessor-design company functions, as well as the general product cycle of a microprocessor in development. In academia, it is often possible to lose sight of practicality or implementability, focusing instead on research.
At SGI, I was allowed to choose any research area I was interested in, and then pair up with a manager with expertise in that field. I took advantage of this opportunity to explore new topics and broaden my experience. In fact, I switched divisions my second summer to work under the Advance Systems Division (ASD), where SGI developed its high-performance computing products. At that time, SGI had just acquired Cray Research, and my manager acted as a liaison between SGI and Cray. It was interesting to see the integration of the two companies and the strategy of merging technologies for future projects. That summer, I worked on developing a novel benchmark suite to accurately characterize the performance of SGI's SMP Challenge and DSM Origin 2000 multiprocessor machines. I was surprised at the level of access I was given to the prototype DSM machines, the first distributed shared-memory multiprocessors. In fact, I had access to some of the most powerful computers available.
This year, I am back at MTI's Architecture Group, working on my thesis topic of simulating trace caches as possible high-bandwidth instruction fetching mechanisms. I returned to the Architecture Group because I was able to develop a more research-oriented project suitable as thesis material, instead of being part of a project development team. However, perhaps the most interesting experience from this assignment was not directly related to the research at all, but rather watching the company evolve. I joined the company right when SGI was entering the spotlight. Known as the "sexiest" new company in the industry, SGI had a fun atmosphere in which carnivals on campus and visits from celebrities such as Michael Jackson or Steven Spielberg were common. However, by the time my next assignment rolled around, SGI's growing pains as evolved into a larger company, were palpable, especially after the Cray acquisition where SGI doubled its workforce. The company's focus moved more toward stability and company profit instead of technological innovation. This past year, I have been in the unique position of watching the company go through major restructuring. I've seen project cancellations, layoffs, and even the resignation of the CEO. During my years here at SGI, the company grew from a startup-like company into the graphics and high-performance computing juggernaut it is today.
These insights will be useful in the future, whether I'm working for another company or starting my own. My VI-A experience was integral to my development as an engineer in the real world.
Research Triangle Institute (RTI) is an independent, not-for-profit, research and development organization that focuses on meeting customers' needs with cutting-edge technologies. As a participant in Duke University's Computer Science Internship Program, I interned with RTI for eight months in 1997. While there, I was exposed to the entire process of developing new capabilities, marketing them, and applying them to meet customers' needs.
I was originally hired to implement a prototype Competitive Intelligence System (CIS), a web-based, client-server application implemented in Java. The CIS is designed to provide convenient, timely access to relevant business information for all of RTI's 1450 employees, who work in widely diversified areas. My job included working with an information specialist to specify information requirements and the user interface, designing the system, and actually writing all of the code for the prototype. The goal was not only to develop a system that would streamline and unify RTI's new business acquisition process, but also to develop a new capability that could be marketed to potential customers.
Shortly after work on the CIS was begun, the opportunity arose to design and implement a similar system for a public utility. I helped write a proposal and market the system to this customer. After we won the proposal I became the lead programmer on the new project. Thus, I gained experience in dealing with a serious customer who expects high-quality, on-time results. This pressure showed me how much truth there is in my boss's saying, "In the business world, every week is exam week."
The most valuable aspect of my internship was that I learned where my programming expertise fits into the scheme of things. I found that actually designing applications and writing code is just a small part of holding down a job. I also had to relate well with clients, communicate with coworkers, learn new skills on the fly, write and review proposals and contracts, manage my time to meet many unrelated and often unexpected constraints, and much more. The internship provided me with experience I would not have gained in school, and taught me what to expect after I graduate.
Summer, 1994. I just finished my first year at Carnegie Mellon University. Eager to get some experience, I went to California and found a summer job at Tandem Computers performing bug fixes and product improvements for legacy networking code.
Although I had a great summer and learned a lot, I was a bit lonely. At the end of my internship, I decided to come back next year, but bring some friends along for the ride.
December 1994. Back in California for the Christmas holiday, I drove up and down Silicon Valley's route 101 in search of companies for my friends. I stopped at Sun, Tandem, Hewlett-Packard, and Silicon Graphics to find out information on recruiting practices and contacts to bring back and share with my pals at Carnegie Mellon.
Although I was reasonably sure I wanted to return to Tandem, my coworkers had talked about the hot technologies and amazing parties of SGI. So I sent my résumé to its college recruiting office as well. When SGI came to campus to interview, I signed up through CMU's Career Placement office for a slot.
Summer 1995. After interviewing on the phone with an SGI manager, I was offered a position in SGI's network hardware. I eagerly accepted, and one of my friends took my place at Tandem.
During that summer, I learned the Verilog hardware simulation language, and developed a testbed for an embedded MIPS processor. This testbed was used to simulate a multiport ATM card which later became part of SGI's product line.
In addition to the wealth of knowledge I picked up, SGI threw some amazing parties, one of which included Huey Lewis and The News. Michael Jackson also stopped by my building for a demo of SGI's media server product line.
Interested in this new technology, I wandered down the corridor near the end of August and spoke with a couple of people who pointed me to the director of the division. I talked with him for a bit, and became excited about the emerging technology he described to me.
Summer 1996. Though I originally thought it would be wise to work at a different company for diversity of experience, I called back that manager and ultimately ended up working in the MediaBase video server group. The network troubleshooting tools I had developed in C, Perl, and HTML, ultimately became part of the product when it began shipping, and I learned a lot about software engineering, testing, bug fixing, and working in a group.
I also enjoyed the company of many more of my friends from school, as they learned how to get jobs in the Valley. We rented an apartment for the summer. At work, I got to know the university recruiting staff during some of the intern events they organized.
At the end of 1996, I was chatting with the manager of SGI's university recruitment who asked me what I wanted to do next year. I told him how I wanted to try something different, maybe even apply at a company where I could work abroad.
Not wanting to lose talent, he described some of SGI's foreign offices and urged me to give him my résumé so that he could forward it to the field.
Summer 1997. After a harrowing all-night flight, I was riding a train up the valley in western Switzerland headed to SGI's European Manufacturing facility. I was greeted at the train station by a cheerful employee, who proceeded to show me around the area, find my apartment, take me shopping, and otherwise help me get set up.
My horizons were certainly broadened. While immersed in a foreign culture, I could still see the core SGI values and style at work. One of my jobs was to develop UI modifications which gather board repair information,, tools to extract that information from the manufacturing support database, and database code to present that information in report format.
Outside of work, I drove all around Switzerland on weekends, and visited France (I was 30 minutes from the border) and Italy.
My four years as a summer intern complemented my course and project work at Carnegie Mellon. I also benefitted greatly from the group project atmosphere and software engineering concepts, both of which were invaluable later in my college career when working on advanced projects. As I prepare to receive my master's degree, I look back on my internships with fondness and gratitude.
DDJ