A look inside the major: How ECE students build a rich undergraduate experience

In the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at UW–Madison, the student experience reaches far beyond the classroom. While ECE coursework lays the foundation of a strong academic journey, students also flourish through participating in hands-on lab work, unique research opportunities, collaborative student organizations, and impactful internships that allow students to learn and apply real-world skills. 

Electrical engineering senior Sukriti Somvanshi’s path through the program is one example of how students can build a well-rounded experience in the major. After connecting with an employer at the College of Engineering’s Career Fair, Somvanshi spent the summer of 2025 as an Electrical Engineering Intern at Westwood Professional Services. Excited by the idea of working on renewable energy projects, Somvanshi collaborated with multiple teams at Westwood to produce construction-ready documentation while helping to ensure compliance with utility and code standards. 

Somvanshi shared that the course ECE 427: Power Systems was the catalyst that initially introduced her to the fundamentals of power systems, while her involvement with the ECE-affiliated groups, Wisconsin Power Systems (WISPO) and Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium (WEMPEC), deepened her interest.

“At WISPO, I was exposed to more advanced grid concepts, and at WEMPEC, I worked on a project retrofitting Little Free Libraries with solar panels. These experiences gave me both the technical foundation and the real-world context I needed to contribute meaningfully in my role,” Somvanshi explained. 

While ECE courses and research opportunities are a great way to explore and pinpoint specific areas of interest, they also help students develop skills that translate directly to internships and industry roles. During his summer as a CDS Systems Software Engineer Intern at aviation and defense tech giant Collins Aerospace, computer engineering junior Eddie Lin wrote software code for the company, a skill nurtured by his ECE coursework.

“My coding skills from my programming courses definitely came in handy, especially ECE 353 (Introduction to Microprocessor Systems) since I develop C code for embedded systems,” Lin said. While utilizing the skills he learned in class, Lin also learned and applied new programming languages, project management software, and networking skills to his work at Collins Aerospace.

Like Lin, electrical engineering senior Riyaa Vakharia applied concepts from ECE coursework during her time as an Engineering Intern at Schreiber Foods last summer. Drawn to the position by the dairy company’s prioritization of environmental responsibility and forward-thinking solutions, Vakharia worked with the controls and automation team to improve production efficiency and troubleshoot plant systems. 

“My coursework at UW–Madison has really prepared me to approach every challenge at Schreiber with a problem-solving mindset,” Vakharia said. “Classes like Signals, Information and Computation, and Digital System Fundamentals gave me a strong understanding of how hardware and software interact, which I’ve been able to apply directly while working with sensors and machine data at Schreiber. When I worked on fault detection projects, I realized how much those fundamentals helped me not only understand what the data was showing, but also think about how to use it to make the process more efficient. It has been really rewarding to see what I learned in class come to life in such a practical way.” 

In addition to coursework that ignites curiosity and builds upon skills, ECE student organizations are also valuable experiences that can be leveraged academically and professionally. Electrical engineering junior Maritza Santiago-Martinez credits her involvement in Badger Solar Racing as the driving-force of her interest in power engineering, leading her to an engineering internship at Electrical Consultants, Inc. working on design projects for substations.

“My experiences in engineering competition teams at UW–Madison have helped me in many ways. The top two are learning how to work in multilevel teams and work with more technical and long-term projects. The type of teamwork skills put into practice at work are very similar to what I learned when being part of an electrical sub-team at school,” Santiago-Martinez said. 

From exploring their interests in introductory courses to getting involved with research and competition teams, to applying those interests and skills in real-world industry settings, these four students highlight the many opportunities available within the ECE program to build a rich and personalized undergraduate experience. 

Current students who wish to apply for internships are encouraged to connect with Engineering Career Services for resources, tips, and career-building events.

Top of page photo: Left to right Riyaa Vakharia, Eddie Lin, Maritza Santiago-Martinez