High school electrical engineering internship and research fellowship
This high school electrical engineering internship lets students in Grades 9 to 12 study how homes, schools and small shops use electricity, with a mentor who checks every measurement. You find where power is wasted, learn how solar systems work and design energy-saving or sensor ideas on paper, with simple cost estimates.
For school students who enjoy IB Physics, Design Technology or electronics and want to apply circuits and solar power to energy use they can measure. Online, with field work near home and a parent or guardian present at every self-guided activity. The fellowship is paid because every student receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders.
Why electrical engineering matters for sustainability
Every light and fan in your home runs on electricity, and in India much of that power still comes from burning coal. So wasted electricity means extra pollution. Electrical engineers design the systems that make and control power, from rooftop solar panels to sensors that switch off lights in empty rooms. Their first step is always to measure where the energy goes.
Earth5R has installed solar panels and solar street lights in Mumbai for a corporate CSR project. It also built a solar-powered river-cleaning machine for the Mithi River with the UN Technology Innovation Labs, now UN Global Pulse. You study the machine through photos, videos, build documents and view-only CAD designs. Then you apply the same design steps to a home or school near you, with your mentor checking your numbers.
This work links to the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 7, Affordable and clean energy and Goal 13, Climate action.
Available projects in this high school electrical engineering internship
Each project fits around school work and takes place near home. Your mentor shapes the final project with you.
Home energy audit
List the appliances in your home with a parent, note the wattage and daily hours of use for each, find where most electricity goes and suggest changes that would cut the bill.
Rooftop solar plan for your school
With your school’s permission, collect its electricity bills and measure the roof area from a building plan or map, then size a rooftop solar system on paper with cost and payback estimates.
How a solar street light works
Study how solar street lights like the ones Earth5R installed in Mumbai work, from panel to battery to lamp, using photos and published guides, and compare their running costs with grid lights.
Sensor design for empty classrooms
Design a circuit on paper or in simulation software that switches off classroom lights and fans when a room is empty, then estimate the energy it would save over a school year.
What you do in the field
- Read electricity bills and meters with a parent’s help
- List appliances and log their hours of use
- Measure roof area from maps or building plans
- Draw circuit diagrams by hand or in simulation software
- Estimate savings, cost and payback in a spreadsheet
- Present your design in a research conversation and answer questions
Skills you build
On a high school electrical engineering internship, you collect your own data near home with a parent or guardian, using the Earth5R app and data forms. Earth5R checks the data on its platform before it goes into your project report.
How a high school electrical engineering internship fits your school programme
For IB, IGCSE, CBSE and ICSE students. Your school decides what counts towards its own requirements.
IB CAS
An energy audit of your school, shared with staff along with ideas to save power, can support a CAS project. Your CAS coordinator decides what fits.
Extended Essay and IA
A physics Extended Essay or Internal Assessment needs a focused question and your own data. Measured energy use from a home or school can give you a starting point.
MYP, IGCSE and CBSE projects
An energy study or a sensor design can fit the MYP Personal Project, IGCSE Design and Technology, and the project work in CBSE and ICSE physics.
University applications
A verified energy study and a design your mentor reviewed give you a specific project to describe in an engineering personal statement or interview.
How the high school electrical engineering internship works
Every student moves through four phases. Your mentor checks each phase before you move on, and sessions pause during board exams.
Observe and Map
Go into the field near home, with a parent or guardian, and collect primary data for your project in Electrical and Electronics Engineering.
Frame and Design
Find the root cause in your data and frame a problem worth solving, with your mentor.
Model
Build a working model, analysis or design for your solution, and test it.
Build and Deploy
Put your solution to work, measure the result and publish a verified record on earth5r.org.
Along the way you take part in research conversations with professors at MIT, Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and other universities, and ask your own questions. See how FIELDWORK works.
Where this can take you
University courses this leads to
- BEng or BS in Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering
- BTech in Electronics and Communication Engineering
- BEng in Energy or Renewable Energy Engineering
- BEng in Mechatronics and Robotics
Careers in this field
- Solar energy engineer
- Energy auditor
- Power systems engineer
- Electronics or sensor designer
- Battery and electric vehicle engineer
Universities to aim for in Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Electrical engineering admissions tutors look for students who use maths and physics to explain how a real system behaves. A high school electrical engineering internship gives you measured data, a design your mentor reviewed and a record that admissions teams can check. Students use a high school electrical engineering internship to build a record of real work for applications to universities like these.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
USA · Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS)
At MIT, undergraduates in EECS can major in Electrical Science and Engineering or Electrical Engineering with Computing. Shared foundation subjects cover circuits and electronics, electromagnetics, and signals and systems. The department’s energy research includes microgrids fed by renewable energy, solar cells, electric vehicles and new materials for storing energy.
USA · Department of Electrical Engineering
Stanford Electrical Engineering offers a BS, an honours programme and a coterminal route that adds a master’s degree. Energy, environment and sustainability is one of its research areas, shaped by the fast rise in demand for electricity and the threats this brings to the environment.
University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley)
USA · Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS)
Through EECS, Berkeley’s College of Engineering offers two undergraduate majors, the Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences BS and the Electrical and Computer Engineering BS. The ECE degree spans integrated circuits, microelectronics, sensing and communications, robotics and sustainable energy systems.
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
USA · Electrical Engineering, Division of Engineering and Applied Science
Caltech’s Electrical Engineering programme gives both undergraduate and graduate students the chance to study and do research. Energy and sustainability is one of its listed research areas. Others include circuits and VLSI, MEMS and micromachining, and signal processing.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
USA · Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), Grainger College of Engineering
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Illinois teaches undergraduate curricula in electrical engineering and in computer engineering. Its power and energy systems research looks at solar and wind energy, grid intelligence and microgrids, efficient buildings and appliances, and electric transportation.
UK · Engineering (BA Hons, MEng), Department of Engineering
Cambridge engineering students cover every branch of the subject in their first two years, including electrical and information engineering. From the third year they specialise, with options such as Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Electrical and Information Sciences, and Energy, Sustainability and the Environment.
UK · Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Imperial’s Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering teaches undergraduate courses as well as master’s and PhD study. Its Control and Power group works on power systems, and its Optical and semiconductor devices group includes research on energy harvesting. The department names energy among the fields its work serves.
Switzerland · Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (D-ITET)
D-ITET runs ETH Zurich’s Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, which is taught in German. Two years of shared foundations in physics, electronics and programming lead to a third-year specialisation, with electric energy engineering among the options. Electric mobility and the energy turnaround are key research topics.
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Switzerland · Electrical and Electronics Engineering Section (SEL), School of Engineering (STI)
EPFL’s Bachelor in Electrical and Electronics Engineering opens with a foundation year in mathematics, physics and computational thinking. Second-year students study circuit theory, signals and systems, electromagnetics and electronics. In the third year they choose orientations, and one of them is smart grids science and technology.
National University of Singapore (NUS)
Singapore · Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Design and Engineering
NUS Electrical and Computer Engineering offers undergraduate degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering. Electrical engineering students can take a specialisation in Sustainable Electric Transportation. Power and Energy Systems is one of the department’s research areas, supported by its Green Energy Management and Smart Grid Research Center.
This list is for guidance. These universities offer undergraduate study in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. Earth5R has no admissions arrangement with them, and admission decisions rest with each university. Students get help researching universities, scholarships and applications, depending on the programme.
What your fellowship fee pays for
An internship fellowship at Earth5R is time and attention from senior researchers and leaders. Each part below takes staff time and resources that we set aside for every fellow.
Live mentoring with experts
One-to-one mentoring in most fellowships, with regular check-ins on your project.
Dialogues with global researchers
Academics from international universities and renowned scientists, who answer your questions and discuss your work.
Support in the field
Guidance while you collect data and work on your project in the field.
References for your next step
References when you apply for jobs, higher studies and research programmes.
Your work, hosted for life
Your work and data stay on Earth5R’s website and servers for life, where universities and employers can check them.
Time from senior people
Each fellow receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders, set aside for them.
Fee details available on request.
Choose your fellowship
The Multi-Year Fellowship can run from Grade 9 to Grade 12, with more scope each year.
The fee pays for live mentoring, dialogues with global researchers, support in the field, references and lifelong hosting of your work. Fee details available on request.
High school electrical engineering internship: common questions
Will I work with live wiring in this high school electrical engineering internship?
No. You design circuits on paper or in simulation software and never touch mains wiring. Energy readings come from bills and meters, read with a parent. Your mentor checks every diagram and explains the safety reasons behind each choice.
Do I need to know electronics before I start?
No. School physics is enough. You begin with how electricity is measured and billed, then learn circuit basics with your mentor. Students who already know some electronics can take their sensor designs into more detail.
Does my child need to buy any equipment or kits?
No. A phone, a notebook, a tape measure and access to the family’s electricity bills are enough. Circuit designs are drawn on paper or built in simulation software, so there are no kits or tools to buy.
Is the high school electrical engineering internship paid?
Yes. FIELDWORK is a paid, mentored programme. The fee pays for live mentoring, dialogues with global researchers, support in the field, references and lifelong hosting of your work. Fee details are available on request.
Can my child do this high school electrical engineering internship online?
Yes. Mentoring sessions run online, and field work takes place near where you live.
Is a parent or guardian present during field work?
Yes. A parent or guardian is present at every self-guided field activity. Online sessions are for students.
Does FIELDWORK pause during board exams?
Yes. Sessions pause during board exams, so the fellowship fits around school work.
What do students get at the end?
A certificate, a letter of recommendation, a project report and a verified profile on earth5r.org, where universities can check the work.
Related subjects for school students
Already at university? See the Electrical and Electronics Engineering internship fellowship for university students.
Apply for a FIELDWORK fellowship in Electrical and Electronics Engineering
This high school electrical engineering internship is for students in Grades 9 to 12. Work on a live Earth5R project with a mentor, take part in research conversations with global researchers, and build a verified record of your work. Fee details available on request.
