How To Have a Successful Internship Sue Moon Associate Professor Computer Science Department

Goals of an Internship For Junior Students  Academic Achievements Participate in projects of your research interest  Methodologies Experience collaboration with people other than your advisor Develop flexible approaches to research problems For Senior Students  Participate in a project closely related to your thesis topic  Publish in major conferences

Indirect Benefits Broaden Your Horizon  See a “bigger” picture of your own research and others Communication Skills  Improve your English  Learn more about other cultures Networking Opportunities  Meet other researchers  Meet other students from different schools  Make local friends Monetary Gains  $$$

Expected Difficulties Culture Shock  Language barrier  Lack of support network Whom to have dinner with? What to do on the weekend?  Exotic cuisine  Minor tasks turned major challenges Work environment setup ( , printer, fax, …) Grocery shopping, post service, hair salon, dentist, etc. Academic Challenges  Effective communication w/ mentor What are expected of you  Peer competition

How To Prepare Yourself Upon internship offer  Read an intro on history of the city/school/company/group  Contact your mentor/contact person for info on: Research topic Availability of other interns (to share info with) Housing Transportation

Once You Get There Upon arrival  Introduce yourself to all members  Settle down on a routine of how to work with your mentor  Give any work-related feedback directly to your mentor e.g. Weekend entry to the lab, Internet access at the dorm  Spend time with as many as possible to discuss your internship work and your own thesis ideas Upon departure  Write up a report about your work  Send out a thank-you note to your new friends  Stay in touch with your mentor

Point of No Return Your mentor will evaluate you based on:  Technical strength What are you particularly good at?  Motivation Do you find interesting problems on your own?  Team player Do you work well with others? As a leader?  Idiosyncracy Too opinionated? Discriminating behavior??

Measure of Success Paper + Note of “Readiness”  “Readiness” means S/he is strongly motivated to do good work S/he knows why the work is interesting S/he is fast once the problem is formulated S/he sees relevant ideas in others’ work S/he is effective at delivering own idea to others

Last Note You will succeed  As long as you enjoy what you’re doing

Appendix: Cultural Tips Body odor: use deodorant and perfume Table manners:  Make no chewing sound  Put your fork and knife together and parallel when done  Avoid putting down elbows on the table or hiding hands under the table Manners in a restaurant:  Waiter/tress comes to get orders for (1) drinks; (2) the meal; and (3) the dessert. Synch your other requests with the 3 visits.  The check is delivered only after the meal is over. “Excuse me” instead of “sorry”