Summer 2019 was my second summer at itslearning working with the Engineering department. My focus this time around was to learn more about the test environment where the engineers evaluate existing and new features in the itslearning platform.
It’s crucial for students like me to get some real world work experience so we can apply the theories from our textbooks to problems in practice. So, I was fortunate to get the opportunity to be an intern at itslearning – twice!
All the schools that I have attended in Norway have used itslearning as their learning management system, so for many years the platform was something I visited almost daily. That’s one of the reasons why I chose itslearning, because I thought it would be interesting to work on a platform that I knew quite well and get the opportunity to learn more about how the itslearning platform is further developed and improved, as well as see how the company works from the inside.
Working at itslearning has been great and I learnt a lot.
After a short, but thorough, introduction period, I was integrated into a team and got to participate in the daily workflow just like any regular employee of the Engineering department. I got to work with tools that itslearning wanted to further develop, as well as features that I found interesting, and this kept me really motivated throughout the summer.
Other interns were working on similar and completely different elements than what I was working on, so I can definitely say an internship at itslearning gives students plenty of opportunity to learn. You are treated as part of the team all the time.
For the most part, interns are given a lot of trust and expected to work independently, but any time I encountered a problem or ran into difficulties, or even just wanted to know more about a feature or product development aspect, I could just ask my colleagues and they were always happy to help. It’s easy to reach out to anyone, either through internal chat, email, or by simply stopping by their desks. It is a friendly and open work environment, which I really liked.
This summer has been very educational and interesting for me. I came away with a good understanding of the path from idea to production and the processes that happen along the way to create the final product. It has also been great to be in an environment with other developers who were genuinely interested in teaching me the best techniques and practices in programming. The company and their products have a much bigger scope than I had imagined before I started working here, and they continue to grow. I have learnt a lot and I am happy to have had the opportunity, once again, to be a part of itslearning through their summer internship programme.
Sander Østvik is pursuing his Master’s degree in computer science at NTNU in Trondheim, Norway. If you are interested in an internship at itslearning, ask your university or contact us at [email protected].
