Thomas - Böblingen Intern
Summer 2002

Meet Thomas - Extreme Blue Class of 2002

In the season of 2002, Thomas was chosen to participate in the Extreme Blue™ program at the IBM Development Lab in Böblingen, Germany. Today the former student of Dresden University works as a Linux developer for mainframes in the IBM Böblingen Lab. Thomas sat down with us and shared some insight on why he'd apply for the Extreme Blue program again--and how the internship helped him land his dream job.

What made the internship a special experience for you?

For me, it was special to work in a team that cooperated so well from the very beginning. In addition, we had experienced mentors with exceptional technical knowledge to help us. The best thing, however, was that we had the opportunity to present our projects to prominent IBM managers. I also really enjoyed the Extreme Blue Expo in London.

How did you become aware of the Extreme Blue program?

Actually, I had simply looked on the Internet for practical course offerings from large companies. I'd already worked in some small companies, and I wanted to find out how things work within an "IT giant" like IBM.

How did the Extreme Blue program help you find employment within the company?

During the Extreme Blue internship, I heard that another department had a job opening. I was asked whether I was interested, and through my Extremes Blue mentors, I was able to meet my new manager. It's definitely worthwhile to know the right people--and to be known by the right people.

Did the Extreme Blue experience give you a realistic view of software development work?

Yes. During my internship I learned the entire spectrum of development work: teamwork, nearly daily phone conferences and video conferences, meetings and the Expo. The exciting and provocative facets in the software development process were compressed into ten weeks, but they reflected the real development work at IBM.

Would you apply again for the Extreme Blue internship?

Yes. I would absolutely apply again. The projects are very interesting--they always concern hot topics that IBM is working on now. Above all, the project results are further integrated into products or will lead to patent applications. The teamwork and support by the mentors is super. My advice for anyone interested: simply apply. It's very worthwhile!

Questions by Sven M. Kahn.