Digital internships – Giving opportunity to new talent
The tech industry is growing rapidly which makes it hugely competitive. Finding staff who share the same values as a company is a challenge which our Latvian team have turned into a success.
In 2014, we looked outside the usual recruiting approaches to come up with the idea of the Wunder Internship programme. With over 30 wunderers in Latvia, to this day the team continue to expand with interns who become permanent members of staff.
Wunder Internship – an experience to be proud of
From their first day we treat our interns as colleagues, they are involved in company meetings, events and activities.
Under mentor supervision, our interns work on client project throughout their training. Students work in real project teams to experience the full process
- Following Agile methodology,
- Defining project goals and responsibilities,
- Budget planning,
- Client communicating,
- Project development,
- Contributing to key meetings.
Valmiera Art School website re-design, created by second-year students
Our client, the Valmiera Art School, had a clear vision on the new site’s design and content which our interns turned into online designs which are easy to use across devices.
"The students Worked on the website with real positivity and creativity. Work was well organised - concrete tasks and deadlines helped to move forward successfully. Besides the new website, we gained useful tips for our own work organisation."
"In the project, I was responsible for the website design and its transfer into the code. My biggest gain from the internship was the encouragement to turn my ideas into practice."
"Interns get to meet the client every week, present the work and plan the next project steps. Together we search for the best solutions, consider a variety of tools and modules which is great."
Collaboration is the key
Close collaboration was a key part of the success when working with the Engineering department from the Vidzeme University of Applied SciencesOpens in a new tab. Beyond the Wunder Internship programme, we are open for student visits and our employees have been involved in academic work as lecturers, guest speakers or industry experts.
Award-winning internships
In 2016, Wunder Latvia was on the top ten best internship providers in Latvia – alongside the likes of huge organisations including AirBaltic, DHL and Nordea Bank. Receiving the award from the Employers’ Confederation of LatviaOpens in a new tab was a huge milestone for us – demonstrating that our internship programme could compete with larger organisations.
Internships are a great way to understand whether employees share the same values and vision. It is also a great opportunity for the intern to become acquainted with work processes and technologies in the company and to gain work experience.
Web solution for ZAAO that changes along the seasons created by fourth-year students
New website for local waste management company ZAAOOpens in a new tab was a huge project for the student team. Interns turned ZAOO’s vision into a stylish, easy-to-administrate web solution – with the possibility to change the website’s visual look according to the season!
"Working in project management, I added key tasks into a project planning tool and I was the single point of contact with the client. During the internship, I learnt a lot. It was really exciting to be working on a website for a local and well-known company."
"Project development was a challenge but regular client meetings helped us to reach our goal. Sometimes it was hard to express my thoughts in tech talk, but there was always a mentor to help with explanations or advice."
"During the internship, we gave students a chance to work on real projects and to form a useful knowledge base for their career. Internship is an excellent way to understand the student's attitude towards the given tasks, work culture and motivation."
The goal for the future
The challenge for the future is to widen the initiative and start collaborating with universities in Riga and other Wunder countries. Another long term challenge is to develop a Wunder Internship programme so interns can explore business analysis, usability aspects and design development. Watch this space!
Shortly after setting up the internship programme, in 2015, also the Wunder Scholarship programme was founded – we will tell you more about this soon!
Want to intern at Wunder?
We offer great internship opportunities for aspiring students who want to grow their digital knowledge. If you are looking for professional experience and relevant skills to boost your career then we would love to hear from you.