Keeping Curious
Audey Shen (EDI '25) shares how her internship focused on sustainability at HP reinforced key lessons she learned in Northwestern's Master of Science in Engineering Design Innovation (EDI) program.
Audey Shen (EDI '25) enjoyed her first three quarters in Northwestern's Master of Science in Engineering Design Innovation (EDI) program, but her fourth quarter was the one she had looked forward to since starting the program.
It's during that summer quarter when EDI students spend at least 10 weeks in a design-related internship. Shen knew she wanted an internship focused on sustainability, so she was ecstatic to secure a role with HP as a product sustainability intern.
"HP's strong commitment to sustainability was a major draw for me," Shen said. "During my interviews with other companies, sustainability often seemed like a secondary concern, but HP's dedicated sustainability team convinced me to choose them for my internship."
Shen was specifically excited to learn about life cycle analysis and ways to reduce scope 3 emissions, but beyond that, her goal was to keep an open mind. She was particularly interested to learn how a company as big as HP prioritizes sustainability goals.
In her role, Shen focused on several projects to reduce carbon emissions by combining her past experience in design for manufacturing and packaging, while gaining insight into the supply chain by collaborating with HP's strategic partners.
In EDI, Shen learned the importance of being curious and excited to learn. It's a mindset that enhanced her internship experience and is essential for anyone looking to be a problem solver.
"Being able to conduct proper user research will inform the problem, and afterward, gathering insight from your research will get you closer toward a solution," she said. "Fundamentally, this all comes from having a curiosity mindset where you go into a situation digging deeper about the problem until you find the root cause."
Shen's internship experience reinforced why she was so excited about the opportunity in the first place. She valued and appreciated the knowledge gained from her classmates during her first three quarters in EDI, but she also realized there is some information that simply can't be taught in the classroom.
"Having real world experience is important," she said. "Working with a team that's different from the EDI cohort broadens your thinking. At a big company, there are many individuals who have been working for 30-plus years and are experts in their field, and industry knowledge and insight from them is invaluable."
One of the key takeaways from her time at HP was a lesson first taught in EDI, and that was the importance of teamwork. Shen said she saw firsthand the benefit of being connected with the right people and knowing how to communicate with one another — particularly at a large company where it's likely multiple people are involved in most projects.
It was great to learn that lesson in EDI and then see it for herself during her internship, Shen said.
"I've learned the importance of collaboration, connecting with the right people, and staying proactive, skills that I can directly apply to group projects and research at EDI," she said. "The internship has also reinforced the value of curiosity and critical thinking, which are central to both the EDI program and my future career goals."
