How We Created An Effective Online Internship Program
“Information is not knowledge. The only source of information is experience. You need experience to gain wisdom.” -Albert Einstein
Interning in the is highly advantageous for those trying to work in the software development field as it opens many doors through the experience one gains throughout the process. Internships can play a huge role in how an individual utilises the knowledge that he/she has obtained in the classroom while surveying the various practical ways of applying this knowledge. A proactive individual who has adequate internship experience will have higher fluency in in-demand coding languages as well as other technical skills from the exposure that he/she has gained in the industry. Internships in the development vertical has long since been a thing, but as the pandemic brought about unprecedented problems many companies found themselves shifting to online measures to create internship programs that can provide them with a deep learning of the industry as well as value-added experience to hone them to be the future of the industry.
The GeekyAnts Internship Program
Started three years ago, GeekyAnts offers an exceptional opportunity for college-going students who are aspiring to innovate and create magnificent things in the development industry by providing them with a platform to polish their skills by exposing them to the industry through well-crafted internship programs. This unique initiative, spread over a contract period of two years, offers students not only an opportunity to test the waters of the software development industry, but also the opportunity to work with the organisation post the completion of the internship program. Having been the early adopters and working with various trending technologies such as Flutter, React and React Native, this enriched program is a guided learning experience with the chance to work with excellent mentors who are well-versed with the technologies. GeekyAnts is also a strong contributor to the development community having presented many of their unique innovations in various international meetups and conferences. The end-to-end exposure that is acquired through the various options to participate in these tech talks guarantee that the internship is a marvelous opportunity for long-term learning for a productive career growth path.
The Online Shift
GeekyAnts’s primary goal was to provide its family with an inventive work atmosphere where research and innovation are highly regarded and as the pandemic brought about unprecedented problems, the internship program was shifted online to provide a safe learning environment. Over the past year, GeekyAnts has restructured their internship program to make it futuristic as was the need of the situation and many changes were implemented to ensure that the process achieved perfection.
The key challenge that was faced while shifting the internship program online was in finding a way to impart training without any hassles, especially as the organisation believes in providing an individualistic environment where beginners are encouraged to experiment and learn. To ensure that this was done, training modules were recorded and cropped into sessions to make it available to interns at their disposal at training.geekyants.com. Meanwhile, the organisation also made extensive use of online meeting software platforms like Google Meet to ensure flexibility when connecting with team members. An added bonus of being able to conduct meetings online is that it provided flexibility to the existing system as it was made frictionless while also providing for increased inclusivity during sessions.
While it is without a doubt that the remote culture has restructured internships and the way learning is perceived, an added boon that came with shifting the program online was the ability to document. Interns are now able to record meetings and other sessions, which was previously not possible, to conduct their learning activities at their own pace making way for greater information retention. While it is true that the social factor which is essential to any workplace has taken a hit in light of the turbulent times, the HR department at GeekyAnts have made attempts to bridge this divide through various online activities and games to provide a forum for those who are new to the family to interact and get to know each other.
Moving Forward
As the future seems unpredictable with the pandemic wrecking havoc across the globe and changing the way industries and businesses function, it is critical to ensure a system that is permanent and modernistic while being able to withstand the throes of change which seem inevitable. The online shift has enhanced the internship experience at GeekyAnts by making it more efficient and mobile by harnessing technology to ensure a system that runs like a well oiled machine and the company has worked on perfecting the remote working culture to ensure an accessible environment where learning can be conducted regardless of distance acting as a barrier.