ISPA Technology USF Summer Intern Program 2017
As the summer comes to a close and the school year starts up again, the ISPA Technology Internship Program with the University of South Florida is in full effect with many success stories. The primary goal of this relationship is to develop the next generation of the American workforce to fit the needs of a growing market in support of our government. The growth of the interns is the most important task that the university has granted ISPA, and ISPA has responded by educating their engineering students in computer languages and giving them real world experience on direct tasks with strong mentor-mentee direction.
ISPA is teaching students a useful skillset in programming languages not often taught in academia. These languages will give them a leg up on the vast amount of competition that they will face in the workforce. Along with the software skills, real life application is a key component in training students into how to become employees of major companies. The interns are an integral part of the team. They are required to interact, develop and assist in every aspect of the job. They are gaining experience in all the "soft skills" such as communication, teamwork and emotional intelligence. One intern, Collin Asson, reflected on his internship as giving him "every experience an engineering student could ask for."
Collin Asson added: "I got a comprehensive look at the engineering industry and most importantly, I was treated like a professional in one of fasting growing engineering technology companies. Not everything about this internship was glamorous. There was a huge learning curve, and learning to ask for help was a must. I was given tremendous responsibility, real work, connected to real projects, and very challenging assignments. I learned more than I could have imagined, from new coding languages, to the latest in technology. I participated in team meetings, joined conference calls, and was asked for my input, the list goes on. You can't learn this stuff in school."
"I got a comprehensive look at the engineering industry and most importantly, I was treated like a professional in one of fasting growing engineering technology companies."
Many of the interns are working with ISPA year round. Every bit of experience adds value to their education and the University of South Florida is working hard to keep talented students growing in every direction in a competitive field. This budding relationship between ISPA Technology and the University of South Florida will take on many beneficial aspects to help both flourish in the near and distant future.