International engineers: Reflecting on a summer spent in Taiwan

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A Penn State education can offer work opportunities around the world — and not just after graduation. Amelia Espada and Carolina Diaz-Matos, two third-year mechanical engineering undergraduate students and Clark Scholars, spent their summer abroad through an internship based in Taiwan. The students’ experience was supported through a scholarship from the Clark Scholars Foundation and a stipend from the Engineering Entrepreneurship (E-SHIP) program at Penn State.  

The opportunity originated from a conversation Espada and Diaz-Matos had during a networking trip to Taiwan for their Entrepreneurship Business Fundamentals class, ENGR 411, a course requirement of the A. James Clark Scholars Program at Penn State. The pair left such an impression on the founder of Amomii, a startup company specializing in buildable electronics kits for students with an interest in engineering and design, that he organized a 12-week-long internship for the students. 

Over the course of the summer, both students oversaw a diverse set of tasks and projects at Amomii, from filming product demos to coding and documenting the design of a new flagship product. According to Diaz-Matos, the program allowed them to accurately experience the breadth of responsibilities that come with working at a small company. 

“Altogether, we completed six projects, including four smaller design and coding tasks and two larger builds that had students use recycled material such as boxes or bottles in their designs,” said Diaz-Matos. “I focused primarily on the design and building aspects, while Amelia handled more of the coding. We collaborated to refine our work and make sure what we created was not only high-quality, but approachable for students.” 

According to Espada, one of the initial hurdles of starting at Amomii was understanding the hardware and coding language powering their products, which operate using Arduino microcontrollers. Although it was a challenge, she explained how the documentation provided by the company, alongside what she had learned through her classes at Penn State, helped her quickly pick up the language. 

“The first couple of weeks of the internship were dedicated to me learning the basics of an Arduino, using a book written by our boss,” Espada said. “After I was proficient, we got to design and format ‘extension projects’ that students could use to become more familiar with the sensors and how to code them, allowing for teachers to reuse the kits and instructional booklets in them, even after the primary projects were built.” 

Aside from their work at Amomii, the pair spent time exploring two different parts of Taiwan — the capital city of Taipei, and the smaller city of Taichung, where Amomii is located. According to the students, the Amomii team did an outstanding job of making them feel welcome in the country and helping them explore over the course of the summer. 

For Espada, the feeling of working with a company dedicated to supporting and inspiring the next generation of engineers stood out as a highlight of the experience. 

“Before coming to Penn State, I wasn’t introduced to engineering or STEM much in school, so having the opportunity to work with a company that is so passionate about inspiring youth to support STEM was amazing,” Espada said. “I find playing a role in supporting underrepresented communities important, both as an engineer and a Clark Scholar. The fact I’ve been able to do this before even graduating means a lot to me.” 

Both students encouraged other engineers to take advantage of the study abroad opportunities offered by Penn State, while offering some words of advice to prospective travelers. 

"My biggest tip for other students is to stay open minded and flexible — you need to accept that discomfort is a part of the process of learning and discovering new things,” Diaz-Matos said. “There was considerable culture shock coming to a place where I stood out more than normal. At times it was isolating, but over time I learned how important it is to get comfortable being uncomfortable.” 

Espada encouraged students to do their research prior to their internship, not only to learn about the size of their host company but learn about the culture they would be entering. 

“You should ask as many questions as you can: where are you living, what’s your budget, who are you working with, what will you be working on,” Espada said. “Make friends with people at work and explore with them, especially if they are locals who can show you around. You will face many challenges throughout the experience but do as much as you can to put yourself out there and enjoy the experience.”