Looking for guidance on preparing for HEP instrumentation as an undergrad
Hey everyone :D
I am currently pursuing my 2nd-year undergrad degree in the field of Electrical & Electronics Engineering at a state university in India.
I've been interested in pursuing a research career in Quantum Engineering in the long term, but right now I am particularly interested in the field of High Energy Physics Instrumentation and the hardware side of experimental physics.
I've started building my foundations and strengthening my knowledge in the fields of FPGA, Control Systems, Scientific Python Programming, etc. Trying to specialise in a specific field rather than many, and I'm also currently working on a small particle detector project.
But realistically, I don't really have anyone to guide me; it's kind of like a void of unanswered questions. I have professors at my college, but most of their work is in Electric Vehicles, Control systems, low-power electronics, etc, so the specific area I'm interested in isn't really represented around me.
I would be applying for the Short-Term Internship & Summer Studentship at CERN in the later years of my UG, and I'd like to understand how I can best prepare myself for opportunities like these.
Again, getting into CERN isn't the end goal for me; what I truly value is the research exposure, diversity and learning opportunities.
I would be grateful if someone here is willing to guide me on what I should focus on for this field; until now, it has mostly been self-research, but that has its boundary conditions too, after a certain point.