In June, we marked the end of the ninth edition of the Astea internship program for software developers, QA engineers and DevOps engineers. We are happy as we continue the countdown to this initiative, and the achievements of the participants tell us that we are on the right track. Astea interns start developing key software development skills in just 4 months.

Is it possible for interns to enter the work environment with confidence?

In the past edition of the internship, 13 motivated future IT specialists took part. As usual, each participant had a different background in the field and individual expectations for their role. Anxieties about the unknown were many, but our tried-and-tested curriculum allowed for a smooth adaptation to the real work environment.

Astea trainees started their training in a group – within 2 months they went through a wide range of lectures together, supported by lots of practical exercises. The goal was to get a smooth introduction to current technologies and concepts in software development before focusing on actively working on real products.

Great credit for the good adaptation of the internship participants also went to the experienced mentoring team. Colleagues tried to convey not only technical details, but also to create the necessary atmosphere of support that predisposed the trainees to mutual cooperation and exchange of experience and ideas.

What are the key elements to creating a quality software product?

During the remaining 2 months of the internship, participants focused on building software products from scratch in smaller teams according to their respective roles. Thus, they became familiar with the entire spectrum of software development, which included not only implementation and testing, but also clearing the concept, requirements and design of applications. It was also the time when the trainees faced the challenges of teamwork and learned to achieve common goals together.

And this time the trainees pleasantly surprised us with their creative projects, proving once again that software creation is a combination of logic, creativity and mutual support. Split into two teams of four developer interns and one QA intern, they built two complete web applications – YouBid and Time’s Up. You may already guess from the name that YouBid is an auction platform. And Time’s Up is another addition to Aste’s collection of fun indoor projects – it’s an association game app.

While learning about different types of technology, the Astea trainees saw for themselves the importance of teamwork and constant communication – both the benefits and the accompanying challenges. Another great example of this was how during the second part of the DevOps program, the interns became a kind of “shared resource” for the two separate teams, just as it would happen in a real work environment. All this helped the interns to consolidate what they learned, self-organize and build on their soft skills so that they develop a deeper approach to software development.

Can interns become an indispensable part of the company?

At Astea, we are proud that over 80% of trainees choose to continue their career with us. Already on a solid foundation from the program, these junior professionals have everything they need to successfully fit into the company’s current projects.

Another proof of this is how colleagues who have gone through one of the past editions of the internship take an active part in its implementation. Some of them are entering the unusual role of clients for the internship projects, and others are starting to get involved as technical mentors.

Thanks to daily meetings, demos and retrospectives, Astea trainees subtly become part of the collective. Achieving such synchronicity is key, because it is during teamwork that real innovation occurs.