Gen Z Speaks: After spending most of my poly life at home, a year-long internship in an actual workplace is a welcome change

I am one of the many young adults who started tertiary education in 2020 during the pandemic — a Covid-19 student, in other words.

As a result, most of my first two years studying information technology at Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) was a solitary experience. 

Projects and presentations were all done virtually, while we attended lessons from the comfort and safety of home.

It was only in my final year, after my internship began, did I discover what I was missing from my polytechnic experience.

For most, tertiary education is the bridge between childhood and adulthood, learning what it takes to become a financially independent individual entering the working world for the first time.

But with everyone studying or working in silos from home due to the pandemic and lacking the rich physical interactions that a polytechnic environment can bring, I did not realise that I gave little thought to what life could have in store for me in the working world.

That was until I joined a year-long internship with OCBC Bank in 2022, which is considered to be quite a lengthy programme.

Known as Ignite, it is a new scheme meant for third-year polytechnic students in the information technology field.

The selling point for this internship is that it is specially tailored to every student’s interest, be it data analytics or mobile app development.

Having honed a keen interest in mobile app development for a while, my interest was piqued when I first found out about the internship.

DOUBTS OVER A YEAR-LONG INTERNSHIP

But then, I had lingering doubts about registering for this programme.

When I mention to others that this is a year-long internship, I usually get looks of astonishment and disbelief. Most internships in polytechnics are typically four to six months long.

I also had reservations about spending my last poly year in an internship, after already having spent the last two years studying from home.

I wanted to, at the very least, experience the “normal” poly life by studying and hanging out with friends on campus before my graduation.

And while my peers are on their semester breaks, going out and having fun, I would still be at work.

Nevertheless, after giving it much thought, I decided that an internship would be good for my career, especially in today’s competitive environment.

In a time and age when working adults are heading back to schools as part of Singapore’s lifelong learning push, I thought the other way round — with students building their careers early in actual workplaces — was also important.

I felt that a year-long experience in the corporate world would greatly benefit me as I could put into practice the skills I learnt in school.

With only 20 spots available for the Ignite programme’s pioneer batch of interns, securing a spot was rather competitive and all interested students had to demonstrate coding abilities and project management skills through a hackathon organised by NP.

Thankfully, my team and I managed to do well in the hackathon with the help of my lecturer, Dr Joel. We developed a website and mobile solution that shortened the time needed to create a joint banking account.

WHAT I LEARNT ON THE JOB

It is now my 10th month into the internship. 

As part of the mobile development team in OCBC’s group operations and technology division, I get to work on introducing new features to the bank’s business banking mobile apps, develop skills learnt in school, understand industry standards and get the latest updates on enterprise technology.

I was able to apply the things I learnt from my polytechnic modules like the mobile application development and solutions design and development classes I attended in my first and second years in NP.

These skills I learnt from school helped me to understand technical concepts and the process behind designing an IT solution.

Several months into my internship, I was given a task to revamp one of the features in the OCBC business banking mobile application, and I worked with my colleagues to create a better user experience for customers using the application.

One thing I have learnt, coming from the perspective of a “Covid-19 student”, is the mantra that work happens in person.

My colleagues and I have the option to work from home, but on most days, I choose to commute from my home in Jurong to OCBC’s offices in Tampines every weekday, despite the long commuting hours. 

There are so many benefits: from being able to discuss difficult coding tasks in person, to the celebrations shared when my colleagues and I solve a bug on an app.

Despite being a “mere intern”, I felt a sense of pride that I have participated in something bigger than myself by helping to improve something that actual customers use. 

It is not something that I would have experienced had I just stayed in school, and is certainly an experience I can take with me and speak about in future job interviews.

In any case, it feels as though I have already embarked on my first “real” job, since I no longer need to return to school for classes once I complete this internship.

The past ten months have been invaluable to my personal growth into adulthood, all thanks to the guidance of my colleagues at the bank and my academic supervisor at NP, Mr Andy.

It is their spirit that drives me forward, and I will cherish these experiences when I begin my actual career elsewhere.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Chua Jun Hong, 18, is a third-year Ngee Ann Polytechnic student studying information technology, and is also an OCBC Ignite intern.