Source: https://blog.intact-systems.com/somethimes-an-internship-is-just-the-beginning/
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 12:34:59+00:00

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Today, we would like to introduce Vanessa and Dominik. Two young interns who took the time to tell us a bit about their work at Intact. Of course, we also have a few questions about areas that go beyond work—enjoy reading!
Q. How did you find out about Intact and why did you apply here?
V. I was searching for companies that were looking for project managers in general and hoped that they might be interested in giving me the opportunity for an internship. I came across Intact’s website and the job advertisement, applied, and got a call the next day, which was great!
D. For me it was the same thing. But I wasn’t as lucky as Vanessa with my research in the way that I did not find Intact right away. Luckily, I am studying with her and she told me about Intact and that she got an interview, so of course, I applied too.
Q. You are currently studying at FH Joanneum, right? What is your course of study?
V. We both study Information Management and shared the same curriculum until the fifth semester, where you decide on your specialization. For me, it was clear from the beginning; I always wanted to be a project manager because I love to work with people, make plans and see them come to life.
D. I don’t like people that much… (laughs), that is why I decided to focus more on the development sector and put my energy into this field of study—Digital Media Design to be precise.
Q. What did you learn during your internship here at Intact? In percent, how much was new compared to what you have learned at university?
V. I actually learned a lot of things. Before, I had heard about a lot of things in theory only. To experience it in practice is something very different, an invaluable experience. How is to work with breakdown structures and how are they really used? The same is true for Gantt charts and all that stuff. I think it was really awesome that I had the chance to get in touch with our customers right from the start and that I had a fairly free hand and could organize myself without being left alone. I always had help from my colleagues and someone to answer any question I had.
D. For me it was to learn how to handle a completely new system that I wasn’t familiar with. The software I was dealing with here, ECERT, has more than 1.3 million lines of code—that is something, as you might imagine! It took quite some time to understand it and get a feeling for the code. At the FH Joanneum, we do not code that much, especially not C#. I am used to SQL, but C# was a challenge at the beginning. Also, I learned to connect the database with the code of ECERT, which was something completely new to me. But I had great support from my colleagues at the development department.
Q. Have you had other internships before? How do they compare to this one here at Intact?
V. I had one where I was coding—great way to realize that this is nothing for me! (laughs) One thing I can say is that Intact is really interested in educating its employees and help them in any way possible.
Q. If your friends asked you if you would recommend applying for a job at Intact, what would you say to them? How would you describe the company to them?
Q. On a lighter note— If you could only choose one song to play every time you walked into a room for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Q. What is the most memorable class you have ever taken?
D. Coding with Prof. Salhofer—because it was really, really hard, some might even say it was a torture, but we learned something.
V. That is true. It was for sure the hardest class we had so far and a lot of our classmates failed it, unfortunately.
Q. Which item would you take with you on a desert island? Only one, so choose wisely.
D. Yeah, that’s a good one. I might take a flare gun.
Q. How would you describe your job to a child?
V. I plan how to build a sandcastle and tell other people how and where to build it. If they have any questions about how to build it, they can always come to me and I will explain them what to do and what the next step in the building project will be. Like what wall we will be building next or what castle moat we will be filling up with water. And in the end, I must check if we haven’t used too much sand or time for building the castle.
D. I am the guy who builds the castle for Vanessa. (laughs) But not with sand, but with 1s and 0s on a computer with my keyboard. And if everything goes according to plan, in the end there’ll be a castle!
Q. What do you work toward in your free time?
D. Survive another day! (laughs) No, joke aside, I am working on getting my Bachelor’s Degree ASAP! Also, I need a new car.
V. I am also working on getting my Bachelor’s Degree and afterwards on my Master’s. Besides that, I am also into sports, like ballet and dancing in general.
Q. Who would win—Spider-Man or Batman?
D. I don’t like the Marvel Universe… so I guess it could be a deathmatch and both would die.
V. My money is on Spider-Man.
Q. If you woke up and had 2,000 unread emails and could only answer 300 of them, how would you choose which ones to answer?
V. First of all, I would choose the ones that are from customers and invites for meetings that I have to attend. Most of these 2.000 mails would be newsletter spam anyway, right?! Oh my god, how long was I gone?
Q. Do you consider Monopoly to be a game that you play with friends or enemies?
V. To be honest, I never played Monopoly in my life.
D. That is wise. So that is why you still have friends?
Q. Would it be ok for you if we blast your „recently played“ list on Spotify in the office?
V. Sure, Gummi Bears all the way!
D. No problem for me. The rest of the office might be a little appalled.
Q. Do you plan to continue working in your field of study after graduating from university?
V. Oh yes, this is what I always wanted and I am looking forward to keeping to work as a project manager here at Intact.
D. Same for me. I will also stay at Intact as a software developer and hopefully learn a lot more in the coming years and add a few more lines to the ECERT code.
Q. For how long have you two been with us now?
D. It’s been three months now.
V. Yes, the internship is over now, but that is not the end of our time at Intact. We both got the opportunity to stay and happily accepted. From this day forward, we are going to be a part of the Intact family.
R. Thank you both for your time. We are happy to have you two aboard the Intact team!

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