Trading a Summer break for work experience pays off for interns
Friday, February 28th, 2020
From November 2019 to February 2020, seven Computer Science and Software Engineering students worked as interns across a range of projects in our Adelaide office, gaining valuable new professional and technical skills, insights and experience for their future careers.
For many of them, being surrounded by people equally as passionate about software development has solidified their desire to pursue careers in the field, which is a fantastic outcome for the already successful annual program.
The 2019/20 Maptek Australia summer interns
Putting theory into practice was a key contributing factor for several students undertaking an internship, including William Kosasih.
‘I thought I needed to gain more practical experience since everything I learned in uni was mostly theoretical with very minimal opportunity to do practical work,’ William said.
Nam Nguyen echoed this sentiment: ‘I saw it as an opportunity to practice my skills in the “real world” and gain an insight into what it is like outside the classroom’.
For Andrew Memma, his decision to intern at Maptek—for a second time—was an easy one.
‘During my first internship, I found Maptek provided work that was a brilliant balance between manageable and challenging, and I was surrounded by colleagues who encouraged and motivated me. I found the work rewarding and a great source of growth, so returning to Maptek after graduating in software engineering was a logical next step,’ Andrew said.
Andrew isn’t wrong—the work we provide our interns can be challenging, but it’s also a true reflection of the nature of the industry and highlights some other important realities, such as the importance of teamwork. Working alongside the Graphics team, Justin Lee contributed to the implementation of a Juxtaposition Tool. While a little daunted at first, he found great support in people around him.
‘Working with an existing code base was never going to be easy, and it has definitely proven itself to be infinitely complex and intimidating at times. Getting started felt arduous, but over time you do learn the techniques people use to get stuff done and who to ask for certain things,’ Justin said.
Working with the Evolution team, Rui Qi Sim also learned the value of teamwork as she helped develop a way to optimise hardware resource allocation in mine scheduling.
‘My biggest challenge was feeling underprepared for my task, but I think this is also why it has been great being an intern at Maptek. It would be boring if I already knew how to do everything. Everyone here has been really supportive and helpful in helping me complete my project,’ Rui Qi said.
Jackson Dearing’s internship has helped him feel more prepared for the rest of his degree and his future career.
‘Industry experience as a university student is absolutely invaluable. I’ve now got a better understanding of my own interests within the field, which is helpful for selecting elective classes to take at uni. I’ve also expanded my professional network, which is excellent for future career opportunities,’ Jackson said.
Ryan Swiggs delivering his internship presentation
Ryan Swiggs couldn’t speak more highly of his internship, giving it a solid recommendation to his peers.
‘The internship was fantastic and I would absolutely recommend anyone with 2+ years of university software experience. It was intimidating at first being surrounded by incredibly smart people, but everyone was so helpful and supportive in sharing their knowledge,’ Ryan said.
Maptek Head of Development: Mine Operations, Will Reid, continues to be impressed by the quality, passion and drive interns show year after year.
‘Maptek has been offering internships to university students for some time now. We’ve continued to see the benefits of supporting the universities by providing real-world scenarios for students to apply their learning,’ Will said.
‘We commonly find that students are not only completing industry level projects, but are also taking on the experience of working full time in their field—something of a culture shock they wouldn’t have done before, but have approached with open arms.’
You can read more about Maptek University Partnerships here: www.maptek.com/university
