Creative internships meet COVID-19 challenge

Lydia Lee is a Simulation Engineer at the Health Care Engineering Systems Center

It's been amazing to see how far UIUC has come as a community in the one year since COVID-19 hit. From transitioning to working from home for staff, to remote learning for students, to pioneering COVID-19 testing, it's easy to understand why UIUC is named as one of the top public universities in the country. 

When the pandemic forced individuals to learn and work remotely, many students lost internship and co-op opportunities. As the economy suffered, companies revoked internships and offers to students whose futures depended on getting industry experience. At the Health Care Engineering Systems Center (HCESC), we knew how important providing such experiences was, especially in the light of a pandemic that necessitated interdisciplinary research. Although our internship program has been held every year, we were in the same boat as many companies: unsure if we'd be able to maneuver the creation of a virtual internship. From onboarding to developing hardware devices and software, it seemed difficult to convert existing projects to allow for remote completion. However, it was evident from the 100+ applications we received that it was important to do our best to offer this experience to students, nonetheless. Our project advisors and students proved they were up to the task of interning remotely, exceeding our expectations and conducting incredible research! 

By the end of the 12-week internship program, they had successfully made progress on several projects in virtual reality, sensor development, and several dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. One such project, the UVBot, is a solution to the problem of sanitizing environments, using UV light to inactivate viruses. Lights are perched on a Roomba, which is programmed to travel around the perimeter of the room and sanitize from the doorknob down. Another project, the Self-Tracking Kiosk, allowed an individual's temperature to be taken from sensors and integrated with an app to store data. Intended placement for the kiosk is entrances throughout campus, where students can have their temperature taken to ensure they are not experiencing symptoms before entering. As internship season is arriving, we are proud and ready to be able to offer another opportunity to undergraduates this year! With one year of remote experience under our belts, we are confident that we'll only make more progress and innovation this year. 

 We at HCESC wish all the best to students looking for internships this year, and hope that we can mentor some of you this summer! The past year has taught us to keep our eyes open for any opportunity and experience; they will only help us to grow and tackle any challenge!