Brendan Maguire - Summer 2007

Can you tell us a little bit about you?
I recently graduated with a BSc. (Honors) in Computer Science from UCD. I am now working at IBM in the High Performance Computing team.

Why did you apply for the internship?
IBM is well-known as a leader in technology and I viewed Extreme Blue as a chance to learn about new and exciting technologies. Extreme Blue provides a great opportunity to learn about the inner workings of IBM and become involved with some very innovative and interesting projects.

How do you think your background and experience prepared you for the internship?
My background was very technical but Extreme Blue also places a great focus on the business aspect of technology. My technical background was very useful when working on the development aspect of the project while I learned a great deal about the business aspect of the project.

What have you learned from your Extreme Blue experience?
I learned about the more business aspects of the project which has proven to be useful since working at IBM.

Would you recommend the program to other students and why?
I would recommend this program to others. It was a lot of work but it was very interesting and I learned a lot.

Is there something you wish you hand known ahead of time? What other advice can you offer future interviewees?
I came into Extreme Blue with an open mind and really enjoyed myself so there is nothing in particular that I would have wished to have known ahead of time. For future interviewees, the only advice that I could really give is to be passionate about working at IBM and show that you are a hard-worker who can put in the effort to complete very cool projects in a short amount of time.