MSEM students pursuing internships in the fall or spring semesters take the course MSEM Internship, where they discuss and reflect on their professional experiences and meet individually with the instructor, Bill Smedick. These meetings are tailored to each student to relate to their specific internship and professional goals.
“Internships are invaluable to MSEM students as they gain practical experience and apply what they learn in all their classes. Many of the students are clear that they benefit from the MSEM classes they have taken during the internship experience. Two courses are mentioned often are Professional Communications and Strategies [for Innovation and Growth],” Smedick said.
Atif Akhtar is in his second year of the MSEM program, pursuing the Sustainability Leadership technical track. He is currently a sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) intern for Nexteer Automotive and previously served as a research and operations intern with the Johns Hopkins Office of Climate and Sustainability during the 2024-25 academic year. We spoke with him about his experience at Nexteer, how the MSEM program has helped him succeed in this role, and his plans for the future.
What kind of projects have you worked on in this role?
I’ve worked on two main projects: First, I served as Project Manager from Nexteer Automotive for a JHU Capstone project with a student team from Prof. Pamela Sheff’s [Strategies for Innovation and Growth] class. This involved developing a framework to evaluate the engineering feasibility and carbon impact of material substitution in Nexteer components, specifically analyzing the Powerpack and Motor Assembly from the REPS product line. Second, I’ve been involved in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) work, which focuses on analyzing the environmental impacts of products throughout their entire lifecycle, from raw material extraction and manufacturing through use and end-of-life disposal. This work supports Nexteer’s carbon footprint reporting requirements and helps identify opportunities for emissions reduction across our product portfolio.
Nexteer Automotive offices, where Atif is currently working as a sustainability and ESG intern.
How has what you learned in the MSEM program contributed to your success in the role?
The Strategies: Innovation and Growth course was particularly valuable, teaching me to apply engineering-based thinking to qualitative business challenges. I learned to bridge technical feasibility with business value, viewing material substitution not just as an engineering problem but as a strategic innovation opportunity that drives competitive advantage. The program equipped me to translate between technical and business languages, making complex sustainability initiatives relevant to diverse stakeholders from engineering teams to executive leadership.
What is the most valuable thing you have learned throughout your internship experience?
The most valuable lesson has been understanding that successful innovation in established manufacturing companies requires balancing multiple stakeholder perspectives, engineering reliability, cost control, sustainability goals, and customer requirements. I’ve learned that technical merit alone doesn’t ensure adoption; effective implementation requires stakeholder engagement, change management, and creating frameworks that people will actually use rather than viewing as administrative burdens.
What are your goals once you leave the MSEM program, professionally or otherwise?
Professionally, I aim to pursue a full-time role in Sustainability and ESG, particularly in big-tech companies where I can continue driving the transition toward low-carbon technologies and circular economy practices. I’m particularly interested in positions that integrate technical engineering with strategic decision-making, helping companies navigate the industry’s transformation toward electrification and sustainability. Long-term, I want to become a leader who can translate complex technical challenges into strategic opportunities, building organizational capabilities that create both business value and environmental impact.