Revving up for success: our Summer Internship - 2022/23

The Aye-Aye summer intern team celebrate successfully delivering their project!
Left side, front to back: Hao, Zin, Rahul, Gareth and Jeff
Right side, front to back: Natalia, Mark, Michael, Elliott and Maeve

This summer, we challenged our Developer and Tester interns to tackle an ambitious project, affectionately named “Automate all the things”. In a world where artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way we work, we recognise the need to modernise our processes, practices and technologies. To stay competitive, we needed to automate more of our manual tasks, and that’s where our interns came in.
Their 10-week mission was to take a handful of those manual tasks and develop end-to-end streamlined solutions. The results did not disappoint!

We’re thrilled with what our interns accomplished this summer. In just a few short weeks, they demonstrated an impressive combination of technical skill, creativity and collaboration, to develop solutions that have already begun to make a real impact on our customers and business.

Read on to hear all about their own personal experiences and what they learned this summer.

Hear from Amanda

“During the internship, I learned much about data and business knowledge management, which made me grow professionally.”

Amanda Luo - BI Developer

What was the most rewarding thing about working with us this summer?

I gained a lot of knowledge. I also learned that teamwork and collaboration are key when finishing a project. Most importantly, I made many friends here. I received help, respect and knowledge from everyone. I appreciated everyone.

Tell us about any new skills, techniques, and knowledge you gained this summer.

I gained more proficient knowledge in Tableau and learned how to transfer data from Snowflake and use DBT to view data. In addition, I learned more ETL knowledge and the PartsTrader business workflow. Specifically, my internship task was to rebuild the Looker dashboard into Tableau. During the internship, I learned much about data and business knowledge management, which made me grow professionally.

Hear from Elliott

“The most rewarding part of the internship was getting to finish a project that will actually be put to good use within the company.”

Elliott Nicols - Developer

How would you describe this internship experience to others?

My internship at PartsTrader was phenomenal! It gave me a strong understanding of the industry I have been studying to work within and the support in place for us was incredible! I felt immediately welcome and my questions were always well answered.

What was the most rewarding thing about working with us this summer?

The most rewarding part of the internship was getting to finish a project that will actually be put to good use within the company. We went through the full development lifecycle of our project and got to see it grow as we did.

Tell us about any new skills, techniques, and knowledge you gained this summer.

I learned an incredible amount about application development, working within a full stack environment, and working within a team. There was a whole lot about testing and deployment that I had never encountered before but now I have a good appreciation for these other factors in app development.

Hear from Fugo

“I was able to gain perspectives that have influenced my personal and professional growth.”

Fugo Takefusa - Data Engineer

How would you describe this internship experience to others?

It was an amazing opportunity to enhance my collaboration skills and gain exposure to technologies utilized in the field of data engineering.

What was the most rewarding thing about working with us this summer?

Meeting amazing people in PartsTrader. I was able to gain perspectives that have influenced my personal and professional growth. The people at PartsTrader are very supportive and responsive; they have always been available to assist me with any inquiries or concerns, no matter how numerous they may be.

Tell us about any new skills, techniques, and knowledge you gained this summer.

I have learned to use tools used in the data team (DBT, Snowflake and Tableau). Besides tech skills, I have learned how important it is to plan things out before jumping in straight to work.

Hear from Gareth

“The knowledge I gained while working this internship is going to kick-start my development career”

Gareth McIntosh - Developer

How would you describe this internship experience to others?

I think working at PartsTrader was the perfect way to be introduced to the industry. Mentors supported us along the way as we learned all the steps involved in the application lifecycle. Our intern team had a lot of freedom to make decisions on our own but we always had someone to fall back on when we were unsure of where to go next. The knowledge I gained while working this internship is going to kick-start my development career.

What was the most rewarding thing about working with us this summer?

Definitely the culture here at PartsTrader. I was surprised by the sheer amount of social events that happen here. Ranging from go-karting to weekly football games to even just going out with your team to grab a feed and catchup. There's always something happening and everyone is encouraged to join.

Tell us about any new skills, techniques, and knowledge you gained this summer.

I went into this internship with minimal .NET back-end knowledge and came out of it as a full-stack developer. I also learned countless tips & tricks to make my life easier while working on frontend features, so much so that I can't list them all.

Hear from Hao

“I have learned so much from each person I have interacted with, and their diverse perspectives and experiences have broadened my understanding of the software development industry.”

Hao Li - Developer

How would you describe this internship experience to others? 

This internship helped me to develop important skills such as communication, collaboration, and problem-solving. It also gave me a better understanding of how software development teams work and how to effectively contribute to such a team. Additionally, it allowed me to gain hands-on experience working on real-world projects and applying the knowledge I had gained in my studies.  

What was the most rewarding thing about working with us this summer?

One of the most rewarding aspects of this internship has been the opportunity to meet a fascinating group of people. From my mentors and supervisors to my fellow interns and colleagues, everyone has been incredibly welcoming, supportive, and passionate about their work. I have learned so much from each person I have interacted with, and their diverse perspectives and experiences have broadened my understanding of the software development industry.  

Tell us about any new skills, techniques, and knowledge you gained this summer.

Git good at git, “we’s” in PRs, and how to effectively communicate with others to deliver outcomes.

Hear from Maeve

“I got lots of help in improving my technical skills and becoming a junior tester is a big step toward my goal…”

Maeve Mai - Tester

How would you describe this internship experience to others?

The internship experience was perfect! Everyone is so nice and happy to offer help. I won't forget to mention the “newbie run” and the free lunch each week. Don't hesitate to join PartsTrader!

What was the most rewarding thing about working with us this summer?

I got lots of help in improving my technical skills and becoming a junior tester is a big step toward my goal - TO BECOME RICH (just joking).

Tell us about any new skills, techniques, and knowledge you gained this summer.

Cypress is definitely a new skill that I learned this summer. Getting to know the Octopus deployment suite, LaunchDarkly feature flagging, and actually getting the chance to use them in our project to solve a real problem was really exciting.

Hear from Rahul Patel - Tester

How would you describe this internship experience to others?

Working as a tester intern for 10 weeks and being part of a team of 6 interns was an incredible experience. We were tasked with creating a project from scratch that would solve a real business problem for PartsTrader, which meant that every day was a new challenge.

As a tester, my role was to ensure that our project was functioning properly, so I had to work closely with the developers to understand the code and the functionality of the product. Through this collaboration, I learned about the software development lifecycle, including how the code was developed and how it could be tested thoroughly.

Overall, this internship was a great opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge and to gain real-world experience working on a project that had a meaningful impact. I'm appreciative for the chance to have been part of this year's intern team and to have learned much from my teammates and mentors.

What was the most rewarding thing about working with us this summer?

One of the most rewarding aspects of this internship with PartsTrader was having the opportunity to directly engage with the end user. Through this, we gained valuable feedback on how our project could be improved and ensured that we were addressing their needs. Being able to see the impact of our work firsthand was incredibly motivating and reminded us of the importance of our project.

In addition to user feedback, I was involved in the project's evolution from ideation to implementation. Seeing the team's ideas come to life through collective efforts and commitment was inspiring. Knowing that our project would make a real difference for the business was incredibly rewarding, and it showed me the potential of teamwork and collaboration.

Tell us about any new skills, techniques, and knowledge you gained this summer.

During my internship as a tester, I learned how to use Cypress automation for testing which was a significant addition to my skillset.
In addition to Cypress, I gained experience in Postman automation testing and manual testing, both of which were crucial in ensuring the application met the user's requirements. Working on creating user stories for a project from scratch was another opportunity I had, which helped me learn about requirements gathering process, understanding user needs, and converting them into clear, actionable user stories.
Working in a team environment was also an essential part of this internship, and I learned how to collaborate, communicate effectively and coordinate efforts to ensure that everyone was on the same page.

Overall, the skills, techniques, and knowledge I gained during this internship will undoubtedly be useful in my future endeavours.

Hear from Zin

“I really enjoyed the working culture at PartsTrader as everyone is super friendly and supportive”

Zin Hoang - Developer

How would you describe this internship experience to others?

I had a great journey throughout the internship that was filled with lots of learning, challenges and excitement. There were times when we got really close to completing a big ticket and then realized another giant blockage was ahead of us, but there were also moments of relief and happiness when everyone in my team high-fived each other after having delivered a top-notch presentation.

What was the most rewarding thing about working with us this summer?

The most rewarding thing was the opportunity for me to work with and learn from experienced developers. With me transitioning from science into tech, there was a massive gap of knowledge that needed to be closed, and I have learned a lot from speaking with senior staff. Also, I really enjoyed the working culture at PartsTrader as everyone is super friendly and supportive and there were plenty of social activities that facilitate the bonding between people across different teams.

Tell us about any new skills, techniques, and knowledge you gained this summer.

From communicating with business-focused teams to working closely with a designer, from managing my workload to learning to solve complex issues - my skill set has been significantly honed and expanded.  I also had the opportunity to reinforce my frontend development skills using React and pick up new skills such as conducting Cypress tests or building a backend with .NET.