As we believe that there are many layers to education, a lot of variables that define it, we focus on one of them – internships. As internships have shown, they’re great ways of kicking off your career and they’ve been very useful for a great number of students, graduates, and scholars alike. Today, we showcase some of our very own interns, who have successfully used the opportunity to learn, expand their knowledge, and grow independently!
Education – a process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, morals, beliefs, and habits. Hopefully, a lifelong process!
To us, at Walter Code, education is a journey full of challenges, opportunities to grow and evolve. One of the many aspects of education is practical knowledge, actual work experience, a chance to put your theoretical understanding into action! We are more than excited to share with you our efforts, and our take on the topic that is “Investing in Education”.
Say you’ve graduated high school. For many, college is the next logical step in obtaining specific knowledge. But at one point it is vital for everyone to put that knowledge to test, so to speak. Only a few companies will hire you without previous work experience, so the alternative is an internship.
However, we believe an internship is an amazing way to facilitate your personal development! Walter Code has a very successful internship program, focusing on the acquisition of perspective, young people, and nurturing them into what is the professional business world. An opportunity to have the interns work side-by-side with experienced mentors in order to expand their skills and competencies in the real world.
Through the years, we’ve had plenty of interns. A lot of them have, in fact, continued working at Walter Code after their successful internships. Now, an internship is just the tip of the iceberg in the education process, but we feel like it’s an important part, a step in the right direction, as it offers a monumental chance to experience work for what it actually is. Collaboration with colleagues, teamwork, constant innovation and transformation, going from a student(intern) – to a valuable asset in the company, and adding real value to projects. That is what we believe makes internships an essential aspect of an individual’s education.
For this occasion, we’ve gathered a couple of our interns to tell their stories. Their insight aims to shine a light on the actual benefits of internships, all while explaining their path from interns to full-time employees at Walter Code. The interview contains textual and visual interviews on the particular topic of internships at Walter Code, through the “Invest in Education” prism.
Let’s start with our dear colleague, Admir Šahman, and his take on the internship. He believes an internship is a great way to get a head start in a software development career…
How did your collaboration with Walter Code start?
I was searching for a company that is offering high-quality internships to get a head start in a software development career. Since Walter Code is a company that is always looking for motivated and ambitious people and because I heard only good experiences from other people about Walter Code, I decided to begin my career here.
What was the most valuable part of your internship?
The most valuable part of my internship is without a doubt the incredible knowledge gain and the huge leap that I took in further bettering myself as a professional in the IT world.
What is your current position at Walter Code and what do you do?
I am currently working at Walter Code as a software developer. I am working on WordPress projects for multiple customers depending on the needs.
What do you enjoy the most about Walter Code?
The thing that I like the most is how friendly and welcoming the people working at Walter Code are. Since the start of my internship, there has been an incredibly generous amount of help from other more experienced colleagues. This positive work environment motivated me and made me push myself even further.
Are you happy with the opportunity for private and professional growth within the company?
I took the opportunity that Walter Code gave me very seriously and gave it my best shot to make my cooperation with this company a fruitful experience and to take in as much as possible. Because of this, I am really satisfied with where this career path has taken me. Working with such a friendly and always helpful group that makes up this company, made me better, both professionally and privately.
Dear Admir, your efforts at Walter Code so far have been quite evident, but most importantly, your will to always improve and learn has been a rather pleasant site. Keep up the good work and thank you for always giving it your best!
Continuing forward, we have the internship at Walter Code from the perspective of Stefan Grujičić, and his investment in education. He gives us great insight into his journey with Walter!
How did your collaboration with Walter Code start?
My collaboration with Walter Code began in 2018. I was present at the presentation for Walter Scholarship holders, which interested me a lot, and after which I decided to apply for a scholarship. After that, I was invited for an interview which passed very successfully, so I was chosen as a Walter Scholarship holder.
The scholarship process lasted one year and included an internship lasting 2 months, as well as the possibility of employment after its completion.
Throughout the process, I had a mentor, now a colleague, who helped me a lot with very useful advice on various technical problems that I encountered during the development of the project in practice.
What was the most valuable part of your internship?
The most valuable part of the internship is actually the project development process itself. The project was demanding for me because I had never worked in Laravel (PHP framework) before. I think that the principle of practice, which I had in Walter, was very good because the student gets a project for which he has to go through the process, from modeling the database to the implementation of the appropriate solution, and if he needs help there will be a mentor who will always be happy to help.
I like this way of practice the most because it requires research, good preparation, and requires a lot of thinking, but in the end, it gives the best results. In addition, I love internal workshops that colleagues organize and share their knowledge.
What is your current position at Walter Code and what do you do?
After completing the internship, I received an offer to establish a permanent employment relationship, so I am currently at Walter for a year and 6 months. My current position is Software engineer and I am working on a very interesting startup project, as a Full-stack developer.
In addition to the Laravel framework, which I encountered in practice and during the first months after employment, I currently use React.js and Node.js to implement project tasks.
What do you enjoy the most about Walter Code?
Walter code is an environment with great organization, from teams through management, and with many learning opportunities. Extremely pleasant working atmosphere, without pressure, stress. More experienced colleagues always in the mood to help, you learn a lot every day, very challenging and interesting. Everyone’s opinion, suggestion, criticism is heard and we always strive to improve everything we can, we work strictly on quality and that is one of the main things. Knowledge, commitment, and every independent initiative are valued. People are motivated, they do their job out of love and all problems are easily dealt with. Great benefits and great working conditions, from the first day you feel like you are a family member.
Are you happy with the opportunity for private and professional growth within the company?
I am overwhelmed by my progress since starting the job, I learned a lot of new things and got acquainted with various technologies, and I continue to improve professionally every day.
Because Software Development basically comes down to solving different problems on a daily basis, one day almost never looks like the previous one, and it’s never boring. The job of a developer requires a good blend of analytical and logical thinking and creativity. On the one hand, it is necessary to solve the problem in the best and most efficient way possible, and on the other hand, it is necessary to come up with something new and give the software some new value.
Stefan, you successfully made your mark at Walter Code, continue to do your great work! Thank you for your effort and consistency!
We did say it was a combination of textual and visual interviews, so here’s the first video interview, with our dear fellow Emir Zukić! We’re not all software developers at Walter Code, there are some other positions to fit! 😀 Take a look at his sum-up of the internship.
Emir, to have young people that strive towards greatness and aren’t afraid to step outside of their comfort zone in order to learn and improve is something you make us proud of! Thank you and good luck with your future challenges!
Our dear colleague, Dragana Ćajić, has been a part of Walter Code for over two years now, having a great influence on the projects she dealt with. She began her journey as an intern, as well!
How did your collaboration with Walter Code start?
At the beginning of 2018, Walter announced a scholarship competition for students of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in East Sarajevo. In that period, I was a fourth-year student in the study program Computer Science and Informatics, and that was a really good opportunity for me.
What was the most valuable part of your internship?
In my opinion, the most valuable part of my internship was the opportunity to experience a real working atmosphere. During my internship, I finished one small (but big for the beginning 🙂 ) project with my mentor, who helped me to go through different phases of one project.
What is your current position at Walter Code and what do you do?
My current role is Software Engineer and I have been mostly working with PHP programming language and frameworks built on top of it. My current framework is Symfony – PHP framework. I am a part of one big international project, thanks to which I had an opportunity to visit Oslo and Stockholm (of course before the Corona period 🙂 ).
What do you enjoy the most about Walter Code?
There are many good things about Walter Code, but people come first. Walter Code is full of amazing and kind people and I am honored to work with them. Also, we have a very nice place to work, with relaxing activities to take a break from work every now and then.
Are you happy with the opportunity for private and professional growth within the company?
When I compare my professional skills which I had two years ago and today, I see a big difference. I joined Walter at the very beginning of my carrier and they provided me to grow as much as I could, both enhancing my professional skills and everyday life.
Dragana, we’re really happy that you chose to join Walter Code as an intern. It gave us a chance to meet your spirit of never giving up, your meticulous approach to all projects, and your overall friendliness. Thank you, and we look forward to future successes!
To wrap up the interview phase, Emin Beganović gives us his highlights of the internship focusing on the most valuable bits from his perspective. We are delighted to have him on the team!
Dear Emin, your creative approach to the problems at hand, and your hard work go great with your overall “comfortable” temper. Again, we’re grateful to have you on the team and we look forward to seeing your work!
And we’ve made it through the interviews and we hope you found them insightful! Internships are a great way of meeting the needs of young people, offering them a chance to kick off their careers, and supporting them throughout the internship. We have young people who are eager to learn, eager to prove themselves in a competitive environment and eventually, succeed. It is with great pleasure that we choose to nurture their growth from interns to experienced employees.
Alas, we take this chance to congratulate our interns for their excellent achievements during the internship. You proved yourself, and rightfully became a part of Walter Code. We’re looking forward to all the future challenges along the road, wishing you great success!