Every term, ThoughtWire has the pleasure of welcoming a new batch of interns, providing opportunities for collaboration, and professional development. This summer, we welcomed nine students from Seneca College, McMaster University, Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Waterloo.These individuals, and the work they completed over the term, greatly benefitted not only their respective teams - but all of ThoughtWire as a whole.
In the first part of this series, we have Armeen Talwandi and Christina Liang from the Development team, and Shravani Parandekar and Rashmi Nair from the Delivery team.
What are the top skills you’ve learned while working at ThoughtWire?
Armeen: I’ve learned many technical and soft skills at ThoughtWire. I’ve learned the importance of team work, asking the right questions as well as gained a good understanding of many technologies such as Docker, Azure, and the Spring Framework in Java.
Christina: At ThoughtWire, I definitely learned a lot about how to work with different technologies and how these tools are used in a professional environment. I also learned more about frontend development including how to use React, Redux, and TypeScript.
Shravani: I learned the importance of time management in a fast paced environment, app integration and testing, project management
Rashmi: I’ve learned to prioritize tasks and take advantage of the wealth of knowledge around me. ThoughtWire has such a diverse set of skills within each team that there is always an opportunity to learn something new.
What was your favourite part of your job?
Armeen: My favourite part was how I got to work on various tasks, such as cloud migration, containerization, acceptance-tests, etc. This allowed me to dip my hands in a lot of different areas and truly have the opportunity to learn as much as possible. I loved how I was able to make a real contribution by the work I did.
Christina: One of my favourite parts of the job was the flexibility and availability of support. I was always given the opportunity to try things out on my own and take on tasks independently. There was always someone I could reach out to if I had any questions or trouble.
Shravani: I enjoyed the collaboration with clients and external stakeholders to work on ongoing projects and provide appropriate delivery of TW app/products to the client
Rashmi: I really enjoyed being able to work on several diverse projects from internal design sessions to explorative meetings with clients. Being able to utilize my clinical expertise in insightful ways and steer decisions on products and projects was truly exciting as I felt valued as an intern.
What were your favourite moments from your co-op term?
Armeen: My favourite moments were definitely the Culture Club events such as the escape room games we played online! It definitely brought a sense of unity and I had the chance to talk with new coworkers.
Christina: My favourite moment from my co-op was when I completed my very first individual project. It was my first time using all these new technologies together and it felt rewarding to see a fully functional product. There were a lot of struggles building it but I developed many skills throughout the process and learned a lot from my team.
Shravani: I enjoyed the virtual Game nights at TW, monthly lunch sync with team members
Rashmi: I know I’m here to learn but I really enjoyed the various virtual social events that we had during the summer. It felt great to have an opportunity to learn interesting things about the people who work at ThoughtWire while forming a good relationship with them.
What advice would you give to future co-op students?
Armeen: My only advice to future co-op students is to ask a lot of questions, especially at the beginning. There’s a lot to learn and everyone at ThoughtWire is more than happy to share their knowledge!
Christina: My advice to future co-op students would be to not be afraid of reaching out for help or asking questions. Don’t be afraid of trying out new and unfamiliar things. One of the most valuable parts of a co-op term is the learning experience!
Shravani: Be ready to learn and grow within a fast paced environment at TW. Be open to multitasking and understanding the role of each team at TW and collaborate with them to contribute to vast variety of smart building and healthcare projects at TW. Make full usage of the mentorship experience offered at TW to sharpen your technical and transferrable skills
Rashmi: The best advice I have for future students is to take initiative in creating learning opportunities for yourself. ThoughtWire encourages a learning environment; being open about what you want to learn and want to gain exposure to will bring you closer to your goals.
We thank Armeen, Christina, Shravani, and Rashmi for all of the hard work and success they achieved over the past few months! Looking for a place where you can also contribute, innovate and be inspired? We think you’ll love it here. Check out ThoughtWire's career page.
