Emma - Dublin
Business Intern Summer 2005

Can you tell us a little bit about you?

I am originally from Drogheda, a town north of Dublin, though I have lived in Dublin for the last 5 years; studied Digital Media Engineering in Dublin City University and graduated in 2005; am currently working as an application developer in IBM's Application Services division.

Why did you apply for the Extreme Blue internship?

IBM conducted a recruitment drive in my university, and upon hearing about the Extreme Blue project I decided that it was a great opportunity. I saw the internship as a challenging way to bridge the gap between education and industry, and a great first step in starting my career in the IT industry.

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

I think I was prepared up to a point, I was familiar with the technologies we used Java™, XML etc. As the Business Intern on the project, with a degree in engineering, there were some challenges in picking up the business role coming from a technical background.

What have you learned from your Extreme Blue experience?

To put it shortly, I learned a lot. The projects are completed over a 12 week period and in that time my technical knowledge improved greatly. Our project was centered around text analytics a topic I knew very little about, but by the end of the project I understood greatly. As the business intern I picked up extremely valuable information on how to really sell a project and pick out its best qualities.
,br />On a personal level I feel that my confidence and especially presentations skills improved by an amazing amount over the 12 weeks.

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

The biggest surprise was the amount that each team achieved in the short time, especially as the teams start as four strangers. The achievements were only made possible by all of the help and support that we received not only from colleagues in Ireland but from across the globe.

Would you recommend the program to other students and why?

Of course I would recommend the program to other students. It was the most enjoyable, challenging and rewarding way to spend a summer. It gives you great experience, and you make life long contacts in the industry.

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

As the program has been running for a number of years now there is a wealth of information available on-line, so I feel that if you use these resources you can't be better prepared.