Ciaran - Dublin Business Intern
Summer 2005

I am from Luxembourg originally and my family cam back to Ireland just before the Celtic Tiger started, which may be a coincidence! When I am not at work I am out sailing, training with the rest of my crew or just talking about sailing. I originally studied English and went to Film School in University College Dublin UCD, whilst working in television companies I became increasingly involved in the IT side of the business.Some friends and I decided that we wanted to get more into IT and so we started a software development company as well.That's still going strong, but after a while I realised that I wanted join a larger global corporation. So I went back to college to get my Masters in Business Studies and am now work working in IBM Education Services in Dublin-managing all kinds of training classes for IBM and its clients.

Why did you apply for the Extreme Blue internship?

I applied to Extreme Blue because it is not just as internship! It's different. With Extreme Blue you conduct original research, business analysis and product development.

How do you think your background and experience prepared you for the internship?

I am comfortable in a hectic team with diverse backgrounds - whether it's a sailing crew, a television crew or team of IT consultants, and so found it easy to fit in.

What have you learned from your Extreme Blue experience?

I have learned to 'not sit there and wait for things to happen'. If you are a 'doer' people will put up with an occasional mistake because you are trying to get things done.

Is there anything about the Extreme Blue program that surprised you?

It was a pleasant surprise that our Extreme Blue project was not a research project , but a real business issue. We were given every chance to make something really useful and show it to the rest of IBM.

Would you recommend the program to other students and why?

I would, if you think it would suit you. It's a very demanding program, and I think you have to have strong drive and ambition to get the most out of it. Other than that, I came out of Extreme Blue with an awful lot more than I came in with, from both a technical, business and experience perspective. This has been, and I know will continue to be, a huge benefit for me in my new position. It changed the way I thought about software and systems development and has left me wanting to learn more and more.

Is there something you wish you had known ahead of time? What other advice can you offer future interviewees?

Had I known the time frame was so restrictive I think we all would have approached this slightly differently - this may have meant that we got more done with respect to the project, but I wouldn't change the way it played out. I would advise future interns to take every opportunity you get to learn about the company, attend talks, meet people from all over the world - but not to take it too seriously! It's a challenge, it can be demanding and it can mean a lot of learning and a lot of work-but it's a bit of fun too.