Internship Spotlight: Amazon

Adarsh Agarwal

MS/IM student Adarsh Agarwal discusses his summer internship at Amazon.

What is your research focus at the iSchool?

I am majoring in information management with a focus on data science and analytics.

Where do you intern, and what is your role?

I am currently interning at Amazon-Seattle as a software development engineer intern. In this role, I am working on building software as services and AWS cloud infrastructure to support those services.

How did you find out about the internship?

I found out about this internship during a campus career fair in fall 2019, when I attended Amazon's booth.

What new skills have you acquired?

Some of the skills include building software as a service and working with AWS CDK (Cloud Development Kit) to build scalable infrastructure to support my service. The internship project will help me enhance my design thinking abilities. Amazon interns are given complete ownership of their projects, from requirements gathering to delivery, so ownership and successful delivery are important qualities to gain.

What do you like best about working at the company?

Amazon enforces their fourteen leadership principles. Everyone strongly adheres to these principles, which is a big factor in why Amazon is so successful today. Also, they greatly support the professional development of their interns.

What would you advise current students who are interested in an internship opportunity?

The job application process is almost entirely virtual now and is heavily dependent on a good resume with decent projects and work experience, especially for technical roles. I recommend working on some solid technical projects to build a good profile. Work experience is optional, although it definitely adds brownie points. The University of Illinois Research Park has multiple opportunities that provide both work experience and interesting technical projects.

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Spectrum Scholar Spotlight: Guadalupe Castillo

Twelve iSchool master's students were named 2024–2025 Spectrum Scholars by the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services. This "Spectrum Scholar Spotlight" series highlights the School's scholars. MSLIS student Guadalupe Castillo earned her BA in international studies and Spanish and Latin American literature from the University of California, San Diego.

Guadalupe Castillo

iSchool researchers to present at CHI 2025

iSchool faculty and students will present their research at the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2025), which will be held from April 26 to May 1 in Yokohama, Japan. 

Kemboi receives the Research and Advocacy Social Justice Award

PhD student Gladys Kemboi has received the 2025 Research and Advocacy Social Justice Award from the Office of Diversity & Social Justice Education in the Office of Student Affairs. She was presented with the award at the Social Justice Awards Ceremony, which was held on April 8 in the Illini Union. The annual event honors and celebrates the work and dedication of University of Illinois community members seeking to create a more inclusive and equitable campus.

Gladys Kemboi

Undergraduate Research Symposium features iSchool students and mentors

Several iSchool undergraduate students will participate in the 18th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. During the event, visitors will learn about undergraduate research projects through oral and poster presentations, creative performances, and art exhibits. All are welcome to attend the symposium, which will be held on April 24 from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. in the Illini Rooms and South Lounge of the Illini Union. Oral presentations will be held on the second floor of the Illini Union.