A note to our interns

We have had more than 10 interns in the last 3 years and I thought it will be timely to set some expectations during this internship and also share some observations. 

How much you learn is up to you

Unlike MNCs, your supervisors do not have time to hand hold you for tasks and allow you ample time to learn from him. And because he is most likely busy with his own tasks (which are probably very tough), he does not have much time for you. 

When we set you tasks to do, it is also likely that we have not done it before. This is not surprising as there are only so many of us and so many new things we try to do. Therefore, you alone determine how much you want to learn and that has to do with the standards you set yourself. 

For example, you are given a task to design a canopy for a drone. This is easily done by looking at the drone and do a CAD of a dome that covers the electronics. But you can also do things the "hard" way by finding out:

1) What is the flight characteristics of this drone? How is it used? Does drag matter in the design of the canopy?

2) Must the canopy be water resistant? Why exactly is the canopy needed besides aesthetics reason?

3) How do I design a canopy that is strong yet light within the budget? (is there even a budget?) 

4) What are the components that a user need access to? Did my canopy cater to this? 

By the end of this exercise you might have learn CAD design, material, flow analysis , 3D prototyping instead of just CAD. How much you learn is dependent on you. 

Nothing too insignificant

You might be asked to do small tasks like top up pantry, buy ink cartridge, help out with mundane work. Nothing is too small or insignificant. This is a small company and everyone chips in to do small tasks, interns are no exception. Learn to do small things well and prove to be trustworthy and reliable.

Learn to voice opinions and doubts

If you do not have a habit of voicing your thoughts then nobody will know what you are thinking about. Perhaps you come from a school environment where you are not expected to challenge your teachers. Here you do not assume that your seniors in the company are always right (sometimes we are very wrong). Learn how to validate assumptions especially technical ones by reading and doing some research. Always go back to first principles and form your argument from there. Then we can have a fruitful discussion regarding technical issues when everyone is grounded by facts instead of opinion or experience. 

At the end of the internship, we hope to learn as much from you as you have from us. I wish you have a fruitful internship with Avetics!