A Meaningful Semester

It’s time to bid farewell to CENGN’s latest group of student interns once again. Over the past four months, the summer students were busy and productive, making meaningful contributions to CENGN’s mission of fostering technological innovation across Canada.

Here’s a complete list of our summer 2022 interns and their roles:

Vrinda Maheshwari – Human Resource Specialist Student from University of Waterloo

Alvis Lin – Video and Design Marketing Student from Carleton University

Gabriella Mazza – Content Writer Marketing Student from University of Guelph

Grace Bagga – Training Operations Student from Carleton University

Sai Vaishnavi Jupudi – Training Operations Student from Dalhousie University

Larissa Hajjar – Cloud Infrastructure Engineering Student from Carleton University

Omar Abotahoon — Cloud Infrastructure Engineering Student from University of Ottawa

Here’s what the students said about their experience working with CENGN. 

Cloud Infrastructure Engineering 

The two Cloud Infrastructure Engineering students had their hands full this summer working on exciting projects. As the company started transitioning to its 2.0 program, much work was needed towards upgrading CENGN’s infrastructure. 

“One of the bigger projects I took on this semester was working on NetBox, the platform the engineering team uses. This was memorable because I contributed to something the team uses daily. I felt like the work I was doing was important, and I’m hoping it could help the team in the long run.” – Larissa Hajjar.

Omar was a returning cloud infrastructure engineering student, completing eight months with CENGN. He was proud of his many accomplishments over the two terms. 

“One of my main tasks was automating a cloud-native application deployment. I’m proud of this work because of my involvement in the infrastructure upgrades of the engineering team and my contribution to the company’s transition to the 2.0 program. In this position, I learned a lot about myself, what I enjoy doing, what I’m good at, and what I see myself doing in my future career.” – Omar Abotahoon. 

When asked what advice he would give to the next student filling this position, Omar said, “When you first join, things can be a bit overwhelming. Don’t be afraid to ask many questions both at the start and along the way. At the end of the day, your team is there for you and happy to help.” 

Training Operations

CENGN Academy works to advance the global competitiveness of the Canadian ICT workforce by equipping professionals, recent graduates, and students with the skills needed to thrive in the ICT industry. 

As the Academy Graphics and Animation Student, Grace enhanced CENGN’s eLearning course catalogue by creating videos and graphics to accompany training modules.

“I developed animated videos using Adobe After Effects to explain the content of the courses visually. I learned many new techniques, and I think I did a good job at doing that in a modern, engaging, and appealing manner.” – Grace Bagga.

Grace will be returning to CENGN for her Fall 2022 work term. Congrats, Grace! 

On the more technical side of things, Sai, Academy Digital Infrastructure Student, focused on developing CENGN Academy’s digital infrastructure. She noted that one of the highlights of the semester was the CCSS Bootcamp where the technical students had the opportunity to complete the CENGN Cloud System Specialist certification which goes over the essential concepts and hands-on skills required to work successfully in a cloud systems environment.

“I loved the Bootcamp because it enhanced my knowledge on cloud, and I got to explore how Kubernetes and other platforms work. I learned to do more intensive research and approach discussion forums and community groups. Every aspect of the training will be beneficial to apply to my future career moving forward.” – Sai Vaishnavi Jupudi.

Human Resources 

Vrinda Maheshwari, Human Resource Specialist Student, enjoyed her time at CENGN. Vrinda worked closely with the HR department, contributing to onboarding and recruiting new students.

“Over the semester, I contributed to the recruitment and selection cycle for CENGN’s student program. Late in the recruitment cycle, we had a last-minute request from the BD team, and my supervisor was on holiday. During this time, I took on the whole recruiting cycle by myself, and I’m proud of what I accomplished. I never thought I would have the opportunity to conduct interviews. With the hands-on, immersive experience I gained in CENGN’s HR department, I realized that this is something I want to pursue in the future.” – Vrinda Maheshwari. 

Marketing 

The marketing team had an eventful summer uplifting CENGN’s brand identity through developing content, planning and promoting events, and working closely with Canadian startups and scaleups to promote their commercialization projects. CENGN’s Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2022 was a main task for the students this semester.

Alvis, Video and Design Marketing Student, noted that the annual report was his most proud accomplishment from the work term. He was responsible for creating the report’s design, including all graphics. The Annual Report is set for publication in September. Stay tuned! 

“The fact that our team trusted me to have my own vision for the design and the layout of the report allowed me to create something I was super proud of.” – Alvis Lin.

Gabriella, the Content Writer and Marketing Student, also had an essential role in creating CENGN’s Annual Report. She collaborated with each department to complete all written content for the report. 

When asked what advice she would give to the next student filling this position, Gabriella said, “Something I learned in the first week of working at CENGN was the difference between a professional versus amateur content writer: a professional doesn’t wait for inspiration to strike. Be creative, brainstorm lots of ideas, collaborate with your team, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.” – Gabriella Mazza.                               

Gabriella also wrote several articles on the most important issues facing the tech sector in Canada. Check out her latest article on sustainable technology and climate change!

The Next Chapter

Over the past four months, each student forged meaningful connections with industry leaders, benefited from the guidance and support of their managers and mentors, and developed professional skills that will advance their future careers. 

As we bid farewell to this cohort of CENGN students, we’re eager to welcome our incoming fall cohort of students who are prepared to acquire new skills and contribute to Canada’s innovation economy.

Are you interested in becoming a student intern at CENGN?

About the Author

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Gabby Mazza is a Content Writer and Marketing Student at CENGN (Summer 2022) and a Psychology Co-op student at the University of Guelph. Her passion is collaborating with others to produce engaging and inspiring content on any topic. Gabby enjoys creative writing, painting, and playing the ukulele in her spare time.

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