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EECS-MISTI Student Testimonials

 

This past summer, I worked at Honda Research Institute in Tokyo, Japan. I worked in computer vision where I improved upon software that derives human emotions from human faces. The ultimate goal was to connect this software to Honda's robot ASIMO so it could interact with people based on their facial expressions. Finally, we hooked up this software to a reinforcement learning program that trained a robot to learn English grammar. The work environment was very relaxed and welcoming, and I had many opportunities to practice my Japanese during lunch. I was also able to take the time to experience Japan's very exciting and unique culture. On the weekends, I got explore Tokyo by eating delicious (and healthy) food, singing karaoke, shopping, and meeting up with other interns. One of the highlights of the trip was meeting up in Kyoto with all the other MISTI Japan interns; we had a fun-filled weekend of food, temples, and roaming deer, and MISTI paid for all of it!

Alexandra Jiang, 2011
Japan

 



My MISTI Madrid internship at Telefónica I+D was really a multinational experience as I was exposed to not only the Spanish and their methods of product research and development, but I also had the opportunity to become close with many international interns from around the world.  This experience gave me a more globally informed perspective on research in my field.
I worked on a project called SmartAccess for Microsoft Surface.  I dealt with the aspect of the applications that controlled the Bluetooth connection between the Surface and cell phones. Among other things, I programmed features of the application that allowed access to information about the specific cell phones in the area, such as the model type and manufacturer and phone number.  I also implemented a file browsing method that found the images in the phone so they could be transferred and displayed on the Surface.

Claire DeRosa, 2011
Spain

 

Presenting MIT OpenCourseWare in Dalian and Hangzhou through the MISTI China Educational Technology Initiative and developing wireless mesh technologies in Fuzhou through the internship program gave me the opportunity to not only immerse in another culture, but also gain new perspectives.  For me, these perspectives have been crucial to understanding how we can apply MIT technologies to global challenges, such as extending Internet access to rural communities. The programs also exposed me to new culture as I traveled from the cities of Beijing and Shanghai to the deserts and sand dunes of Dunhuang.  Coming back to MIT, these experiences have given relevance to my studies by showing the potential for technology to impact globally.

Sean Liu, 2010
China

 

My project involved wrapping a code library so that it follows a standard interface specification. The result is a working set of codes that still needs further refining and testing. MISTI Israel is more than a mere internship; it allows us to dwell deeply into a new culture. The preparatory trainings and the seminar ensure that we utilize our time in Israel in the most effective way.

Pangus Ho, 2010
Intel-Jerusalem, Israel

 

I had an amazing IAP working at a Casa Telmex in Mexico.  Every day,
children would come in to hang out and take classes to learn how to use
computers.  With MIT's Leadership Training Institute, a few other students
and I ran a leadership program for a dozen kids and some Casa Telmex
employees too!  We engaged them in a wide variety of activities, including
teaching some basic MIT-style programming and robotics for a few leadership
lessons.  The work alone was fun enough, but doing it in Mexico meant
enjoying a whole new cultural experience ripe with friendly people, plenty
of tortillas, and the most amazing weather one could hope for.  Thanks,
MISTI!

Kyle Knobloch, 2011
Mexico

 

Through MISTI, I found the perfect match at Siemens Healthcare in Erlangen. There, I was introduced to MRI image processing, which fully utilized my MIT background in both physics and electrical engineering. At Siemens I had the opportunity with an extremely focused team (neurology), and was given clear, applicable goals to strive toward. Each and every day of work was meaningful; I never felt that the project languished. Ultimately, our project was extremely successful. With just 10-weeks of work, we filed two patent applications in Germany based on our newly developed algorithm!

Tony Kim, 2009
Germany

 

During the summer of 2009 I interned in Bordeaux, France at INRIA, France’s national computer science research institute. I worked on computational statistical methods for analyzing the spread of measles and cholera during epidemics. The experience was every bit as academically stimulating as if I had been doing research at a top American university. But it was the cultural interactions that truly defined my summer: I had the opportunity to meet applied mathematics students and researchers from all over the world, and we routinely had four or five nationalities represented in our lunch group. I spent many weekends exploring Bordeaux or traveling around southern and central France, including the beaches on the Atlantic coast, the Pyrenees, and the Loire Valley (pictured: an inner facade of the Chateau de Blois). MISTI gave me a great opportunity to see these places where no cursory visit of the country would have ever taken me, all the while being involved in an incredible research project!

Gregory Durrett, 2010
France

 

The MISTI program provided me the opportunity to use my skills in EECS from MIT toward improving the lives of others through social change and environmental protection in China during Summer 2009. By working with communities in need to design a solar concentrator for household energy use in high altitude areas of the world, we have co-created a heating, cooking, and electricity generation platform that can be used by rural peoples to decrease their biomass fuel use and increase income generation opportunities.  Using locally available materials and traditional craft, this device will benefit its users by reducing the collection time of biomass fuel and the incidence of respiratory diseases. We have now formed the non-profit One Earth Designs to assist with the production and dissemination of this technology to the people who need it. This opportunity has helped me to find a capacity through which I can make a positive impact and help democratize engineering such that others can continue innovating for a better world, today.    More information: http://www.OneEarthDesigns.org

Scot Frank, 2009
China

 


I spent my summer as an intern in Regensburg, Germany at Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH, where I programmed a conversion tool in C++ for optical ray files. My internship was planned through the MISTI MIT Germany program, and the program's coordinators made the internship search extremely easy. My main reasons for working abroad included strengthening my German language skills, living in a different culture, and understanding how engineering is done in another part of the world. My boss had high expectations, but I left the summer with more practical experience than any semester at MIT. In addition to gaining a new skill set, I had an incredible time visiting Salzburg, Austria for the Eurocup and driving 1700 km around Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg on a major roadtrip.

William Near, 2010
Germany

 

 

 

 

 

Gilwoo Lee, Ricky Savjani, Jijun Chow & Yifei Wu | Japan, summer '08