Undergraduate EE Expo

Jobs and food!

The pipeline for future generations of electrical engineers needs support. One cause is: freshmen and sophomores have difficulty finding summer research and industry positions in electrical engineering. Earlier hands on exposure can help build interest in the field but lack of experience poses an obstacle. The EE Expo was held exclusively for freshmen and sophomores interested in learning more about EE. This event was the vision of Department Head Anantha Chandrakasan who guaranteed all attendees of the EE Expo a summer research or internship position.

The first ever Undergraduate EE Expo brought together over 100 students, 17 companies, and 80 internship and research positions. From 3-4 pm, we had 8 EECS faculty present about their research in the RLE Allen & Haus Rooms. From 4-5 pm, there was a quick preview of all the company and industry opportunities at the EE Expo. Some attending companies included Bose, Lincoln Laboratory, MediaTek, Texas instruments, and Vanu Inc. Then from 5-6 pm, the event moved to the Grier Room for an internship fair exclusively for freshmen and sophomores attending the EE expo. This exclusive internship fair gave underclassmen the opportunity to receive priority attention from company representatives and learn more about exploratory and introductory positions at these companies. From 6-7 pm the fair was open to everyone. After the conclusion of the event, Anantha Chandrakasan held four special “office hour sessions” in Feb-March to help students find internships for the summer.

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Student and Alumni Dinner

Alumni and food!

Students come to MIT to learn whatever it is that they want to learn and then finally use their newfound knowledge and skills out in the real world. Every student comes out intelligent and capable. But it isn’t always easy to find all the opportunities that are out there. This is especially true for the electrical engineers. To give course 6-1 students some exposure to all the various career paths in electrical engineering, what’s better than to hear from actual professionals to provide perspective? Thus, Voltage put together this student/alumni dinner for which we invited course 6-1 alumni in the Boston area from various different career paths, ranging from IC design, venture capital, robotics, and consulting, and current electrical engineering undergrads to have dinner together.

The 2016 dinner was held on Tuesday, April 19th from 6-8 pm. The student/alumni dinner was a casual event to foster conversation so that alumni and students could share their experiences. Over 14 alumni and 35 students were in attendance and enjoyed the event. With alumni at each of the tables, students were free to sit down and talk with the alumni. Both students and alumni “table-hopped” to meet everyone and have even more great conversations.

The 2015 dinner was held on Tuesday, April 21st from 6-8 pm. Overall, the dinner always has a very positive response. Students loved hearing about what life after MIT is like. It is fascinating to hear how the alumni use their EE knowledge and skills in their respective jobs. There were the electrical engineers that were designing the next generation’s electronics, creating biotech companies, trading in the markets, and much more. This also served as an excellent networking opportunity for internships or future connections. By popular request, this a yearly recurring event.

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EE Showcase

EE and food!

Many MIT students perceive Course 6 as the computer science department, completely forgetting about the electrical engineering side of the department. Students get some exposure to signals and circuits in 6.01 and 8.02. But by the time spring semester rolls around, undecided freshmen considering Course 6 research opportunities for the summer are usually set on programming. This spring, Voltage set out to shed light on what else is being worked on in the EE department to increase EE exposure among interested students, and spike interest among undecided students, for opportunities in the department. With help from Professor Perreault, Voltage organized a research expo where professors gave presentations about their different research departments.

The 2016 research expo was held in Grier B on March 10th from 5-7pm, with eight professors’ presentations and over 30 students in attendance. The fact that a majority of the audience members were freshmen and sophomores shows the existing initial interest in EE, and makes events like these worthwhile. Each presentation was structured with five to seven minutes for professors to talk about their work followed by five minutes for questions. After the last presentation, students were given time to informally talk to with different professors and graduate students about research opportunities within the department. The informal conversations showed the potential for such events to not only build a 6-1 community, but to also allow for more transparency and access of knowledge about opportunities and research within the department.

Voltage's first large group event, the 2015 EE Research Expo, was held April 1, 2015 and featured seven EE faculty who talked about their research. The goal was to expose students to the breadth of opportunities in EE at MIT and help them find a faculty research match. More than 80 students — from all years and not only Course 6 — attended expo presentations, which were followed by serious and fruitful networking between students and speakers.

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Student and Faculty Dinner

Faculty and food!

The student and faculty dinner aims to bring together EE faculty and students so that they can get to know one another in a casual setting.

The first Voltage student-faculty dinner was held on December 3, 2015. As the semester was coming to a close, Voltage invited MIT EE faculty and students to a dinner of Thai food to casually chat to get to know each other as well as discuss classes and research.

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IAP Workshop

Electronics and food!

An EE workshop over IAP 2017 was held for students, especially underclassmen, to learn about EE skills and make their own simple circuit. Over 25 students were in attendance.

Various companies hold tech talks about topics in electrical engineering which is open to all majors and years.

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Study Breaks

Friends and food!

In the sea of 1000+ Course VI students, it’s hard to find other 6-1 students (~80 students). This is crucial to get advice about course planning, classes, research, and internship opportunities. To help students meet each other, we organized 6-1 specific study breaks inviting current undergraduates and interested freshmen.

Over the course of the year, Voltage organizes five study breaks for the electrical engineering community. Dessert (ice cream, cupcakes), sandwiches, and other snacks are usually served. The study breaks are well attended, and the students and faculty who attended the study breaks enjoy them. The study breaks facilitate meeting students to collaborate on classes and receive advice about EE at MIT. Students also interact with faculty in an informal setting to learn about the classes and research fields.

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