Q&A with Kamil on his internship at Kiwee

Our two Developer Interns 2019 absolutely rocked! It was great to have them at Kiwee 🙂 And did they enjoy it too? You can find Kamil's answers in an interview-style post below and Piotrek's answers here.

1. Quick intro:

Hi, my name is Kamil. I'm currently studying Control Engineering and Robotics at Wroclaw University of Science & Technology. I had an opportunity to be an intern at Kiwee during summer 2019.

2. Why did you choose Kiwee for your internship?

At first, all I wanted was to find any internship just to pass a course at the University. I discovered Kiwee stand at the job fair and I had an opportunity to talk with Konrad. During this quick chat, I was observing the rest of the team. Their positive attitude and friendly atmosphere they were creating, which differed from any other company I met that day, truly surprised me. Because of this difference, I kept Kiwee in mind after the event and decided to send my application. Everything that happened after only strengthened my belief that this was a good decision.

3. What was your work scope and set of tasks?

Together with Piotrek, the second intern, we were working on internal projects including Kiwee website and Technology Radar. Our first significant job was to develop a German version of the company webpage. It turned out to be a quite complex and comprehensive task. We worked on a broad set of various aspects using a variety of technologies. Thanks to this we had a chance to acquire a lot of new skills. We had to cooperate with other developers, designers and indirectly even with translators. There were many moments when we had to use all our creativity and imagination to resolve a particular problem. Eventually, after over a month of hard work, we managed to successfully release the German website: kiweeagentur.de. Afterwards, we focused on ongoing tasks regarding internal projects, most notable being helping with the implementation and release of the brand-new Kiwee website.

4. What’s one thing you did not expect to see in Kiwee that positively surprised you?

All the things I've read on the leaflet from the job fair and the company website turned out to be true in real life or even better. During the first week, I met with every team member to learn about them and their work. I appreciate the fact that everyone found some time to describe himself/herself and were truly kind to me. I was astonished by their attitude to life and work. Kiwee somehow manages to combine great professionalism of work with a casual atmosphere in the office and true, friendly relations between people. I also didn't expect to be that much involved in the company's life, not only related explicitly to work. As an intern, I had the same right to take part in all meetings, to discuss and share my thoughts.

5. What was the biggest challenge you had to tackle during the internship?

Real job and university courses differ in many aspects. I had to shift my mindset in order to make my daily work more organized and productive. This required learning how to cooperate with other team members and manage tasks effectively. I've been accustomed to be working on my own and because of this internship, now I also have receiving and giving feedback an essential part of my toolkit. After these three months, I feel much more comfortable working on a team, asking questions and discussing ideas. It was challenging, but I'm satisfied with how it turned out.

6. What are the biggest learnings you have after this experience?

These three months were pretty intense. I had to learn a lot and adapt swiftly. Apart from mastering various technologies, I acquired valuable insights on teamwork, Agile methodology and the software development cycle in general. Being an influential part of the project allowed me to participate in all aspects of the workflow. Besides that, I also improved my interpersonal skills, which for me was an important topic. The knowledge I gained during an internship at Kiwee will for sure pay dividends in the future.

7. A LOL moment you will never forget?

Every day at Kiwee is packed with funny situations. Lunches, which we ate together in the garden, almost always resulted in some stories that made everybody giggle. Much of the laughter was also caused by our animals and their brilliant ideas on how to make our days more interesting. I think it's impossible to choose only one thing – I will never forget about many of them.

8. What would you say to future Kiwee’s interns?

First of all, I would like to congratulate you on making the best possible choice. Now focus on learning, listen carefully and don't hesitate to ask for help. This is the first step in your career and it's obvious that you don't know many things. I can promise you that everyone at Kiwee will do his best to support you and help you overcome all possible obstacles you will run into during your internship. Good luck!

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