UTA Libraries Student Employee Selected for Coveted Tesla Internship

Vikram Gupta, University of Texas at Arlington graduate student in computer science and research assistant in the UTA FabLab, has been selected for a coveted Tesla internship.

The internship will take place at Tesla’s headquarters in Palo Alto, California and last for at least the spring 2021 semester, with the possibility of extending beyond that.

“Our student workers make us proud day in and day out,” said Rebecca Bichel, dean of UTA Libraries. “We have had students leave our employ for internships at the Smithsonian, Getty, and now Tesla—all just in the last year. But no matter where they go when they graduate, we are grateful for the opportunity to work with them as they pursue their Maverick educations.”

Eric Olson, FabLab Technician and Gupta’s direct supervisor, expressed pride over his placement and well wishes for his time at Tesla.

“I hope he absolutely kills it while he’s there and is, at the very least, invited back for a second internship round,” Olson said. “I also hope Vikram is groomed for and then offered a permanent position once he’s completed his master’s. This could end up being a golden opportunity for him.”

Olson says the work experience students like Gupta receive in the FabLab prepare them for similar high-level internships.

“Student workers in the FabLab should expect to learn a lot of critical-thinking, design-process, problem-solving, and CAD-oriented skills,” Olson said. “Our student workers also become very skilled at effectively educating others. Most of their day-to-day job is to break down complicated ideas and processes into basic concepts and discrete steps and orient those pieces into information someone new to the entire concept can successfully digest and apply—all important to qualifying them for the work that top-tier internships will ask them to do.”

Gupta says his specialized training in the FabLab was crucial to his Tesla application.

“My main purpose with this job is to keep all the machines working and have minimum down time for our learners,” Gupta said. “All of the things I learned to do this job, if not directly, indirectly helped me get this internship.”

For Gupta, working at UTA Libraries was more than just a job—it was part of his college experience.

“Working here makes me feel more like I’m part of the university than just a normal student going to school here,” Gupta said. “This job not only helps me monetarily but also helps provide me a sense of contribution, purpose, and belonging. I’m proud and grateful to have such a nice university experience.”