School of Information Sciences

Internship Spotlight: Tesla

Shivani Dhavala

MS/IM student Shivani Dhavala discusses her internship with Tesla. According to Dhavala, her iSchool coursework and internship experience is preparing her for a career as a product manager, where she can "contribute to some really fascinating products that people would use."

Where are you interning, and what is your role?

I am interning at Tesla as a product manager. I work on enhancing and bringing to life their internal tools to enable suppliers and planners to maintain the supply chain.

How did you find out about the internship?

A dear friend referred me to this role. LinkedIn job postings have also been very useful in my internship search.

What new skills have you acquired during your time with the company?

I have been able to gather a lot of industry knowledge, expertise in creating user stories, and advanced SQL [structured query language] queries.

What do you like the best about working at the company?

I love to see how my work has an impact on the business. It's also the people that make me feel so motivated to work here.

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

Apply, apply, and apply! Make sure to prepare your resume, and that’s half the battle won. Always be on the lookout for opportunities and reach out to people on LinkedIn to build your network.

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Christine Nguyen Awarded Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship 2026

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has awarded Christine Thuy Minh Nguyen the Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship to attend the 2026 ARL President’s Institute. Christine is a master of science in library and information science (LIS) student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign specializing in digital archives and data stewardship. She currently serves as a graduate assistant in the Research Data Service Unit of the University of Illinois Library, where she has developed a strong commitment to inclusive user experience and accessible digital design by leading a project to innovate change in current technical workflows.

Christine Thuy Minh Nguyen

Koval Scholarship validates Mohammed's challenging academic journey

As a middle school student in Accra Newtown, Ghana, Fatihi Mohammed put his education on hold. Through renewed focus and efforts, the student has shown remarkable academic growth and is now working toward his MSLIS degree at the University of Illinois. Mohammed is receiving support for his studies through the Anna Mae Koval Scholarship Fund at the iSchool. 

Fatihi Mohammed

PhD student Meng Li wins iSchool T-shirt design contest

PhD student Meng Li's research focuses on neuro-symbolic AI, with an emphasis on using syntactic analysis and large language models (LLMs) to understand Python notebooks. This cutting-edge research keeps Li "super busy" for much of the term, but in August, she took a brief break from her work and shifted her focus to designing the winning entry for the iSchool T-shirt contest.

While the idea of the design "just popped into my mind," Li has been thinking about the contest for years.

Meng Li wears the T-shirt with her winning design. The shirt is dark blue, with a hand-sketched wave in white, while the figure and surf board are in Illini Orange.

Jiang defends dissertation

PhD candidate Xiaoliang Jiang successfully defended his dissertation, "Identifying Place Names in Scientific Writing Based on Language Models, Linked Data, and Metadata," on November 10. 

Xiaoliang Jiang

Vaez Afshar named APT Student Scholar

Informatics PhD student Sepehr Vaez Afshar has been named a Student Scholar by The Association for Preservation Technology International (APT). Each year, around ten students are selected worldwide for the scholarship program based on the quality and innovation of their research abstracts, as well as their contribution to the field of preservation technology. Scholars are paired with mentors from the APT College of Fellows, prepare and present their research during the association's annual conference, and enjoy opportunities for long-term professional networking and mentorship within the preservation community.

Sepehr Vaez Afshar

School of Information Sciences

501 E. Daniel St.

MC-493

Champaign, IL

61820-6211

Voice: (217) 333-3280

Fax: (217) 244-3302

Email: ischool@illinois.edu

Back to top