Vardaan Monga, MS '20

photo of Vardaan Monga.

"The prime reason for choosing UB was the flexibility and the variety of coursework offered in the Department. This flexibility really helped me find my true interests. "

 

 

Hometown: New Delhi, India. 

Why did you choose to study electrical engineering at UB?  

The prime reasons of choosing UB was the flexibility and the variety of coursework offered in the Electrical Department. This flexibility really helped me find my true interests. The research facilities in UB are all top notch backed by the immense amount of research funding it receives.

Tell us about your internship experience.

I had the privilege to work with Shift Energy (a start-up company) in Troy, New York. Initially it was a 10 week internship but later it got extended into a Co-Op through the next semester. 

What did you do in the internship?  What did you learn? What surprised you?

I was a System Design Engineer and was responsible to design the Solar Systems using AutoCAD and PVSyst. Getting acquainted with these software packages in a short period was a heuristic process. It was a great experience getting to do everything from designing sites to running models to optimize the orientation to obtain the best Solar resource. The multi-culture diversity in the company surprised me the most. Being a Japanese company we were in regular touch with the Japanese Team and the effort they used to put to help us get through the challenges was amazing.

How did you get the internship opportunity? 

The company HR posted a vacancy on LinkedIn for the position of Electrical Engineer. I reached out to the contact person. They directly considered my profile, impressed by the versatility of my academic projects and leadership roles in the past. I cleared the upcoming rounds and got the internship.

What advice would you give students interested in internships?

"Never Give Up". I got this opportunity just a week before the last date to file for a CPT. I could have easily given up by then thinking the process will never get through that quickly, but everything fell into place just right.