Last year we told you all about our Summer Internship program, why & how we’re creating it to be different from other similar ones and how it works. But don’t take our word for granted! Why not read ahead and find out how it feels from the inside?
Trainers, mentors and interns talk about their experiences with the 2016 edition of the internship! 7 weeks, 10 trainers & mentors, hands-on learning, development & testing, one perfectly functional app prototype built by the interns: that’s how the Summer Internship can be summarized. Still, what did participants think about it?
A different experience
Mihai, intern
“I’m passionate about programming and technology, so the internship experience was one of a kind for me. Q people work with next-gen technologies and I had a lot to learn. It’s great to escape from the classic theory format that’s used in most programs. The most awesome thing is I got to build an entire app prototype of my own, that I can add to my portfolio”
Shaping people’s lives
Dragos, QA & trainer
“We identify career opportunities for the students and try to guide them in setting a professional path for themselves. It’s amazing to know you can influence not just their career, but their life and attitudes. Also, as trainers, we get to learn ourselves new things. Before I started being a trainer at QUALITANCE, I was completely terrified of talking in front of an audience”
Overachieving
Ovidiu, front-end dev & trainer
“Like any other trainer, I create an initial agenda of topics that I want to approach during class. Funny thing is we always get to surpass it and build an app way more complex that we had initially planned due to the intern’s interest, enthusiasm and the fresh ideas they bring along”
The second stage of our internship program is the Shadowing phase. Interns that prove to have the best results during the first 7 weeks get the chance to “graduate” and get integrated into our team for another 5 extra weeks.
Each of them gets a personal mentor and are able to complete real tasks on a real project with one of our clients, be it an exciting startup or a Fortune 500 company. In the Shadowing phase, students get assigned a particular role, be it development or testing and get hands-on with the cutting edge technologies and new working frameworks.
Full integration
Bogdan, front-end dev & mentor
“The experience is challenging as a mentor because the project we’re working on is a big and complex one. It’s interesting to try and integrate someone that has no experience and make them feel useful and productive about the project to give them confidence. But we’ve been doing this for several years now, and the results are amazing. The interns learn really fast and constantly surprise us in positive ways.”
Real tasks, real learning
Miranda, intern
“The Shadowing program was the first time I ever got the chance to work on a real project, communicate with a client (a foreign one as well), had real responsibilities and have taken decisions that actually influence the final product.”
Exceeding expectations
Alexandra, intern
“Both internship and Shadowing stages exceeded my expectations. The Q headquarters is such a fun place to be: the Game Room is a great idea! Also, I never thought I’d find a team where literally everyone is always willing to help you out.”
Want to have your own experience as a QUALITANCE intern? Follow us on Facebook to stay update with our next sessions or read our blog to find more about us, our team and office mood!
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