26 · 12 · 2016

Life of two interns

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How 2 interns at TenForce used the knowledge embedded in the ESCO taxonomy to present relevant online courses for people looking to improve or gain certain skills. Ankatrien and Lennart, both aspiring civil engineers from the KU Leuven, told us how it felt to work with semantic technologies and deliver results that have actually been presented to the TenForce customers.

Lennart Degraeaf

Internship @TenForce – SemTech Department
4 weeks – 6th of July start

Why did you decide to intern at TenForce?

I didn’t really have an idea of what a software company’s exact activities were at the time, so I wanted to see what it was all about. The idea of Semantic Technologies seemed quite cool, so my friend, Ankatrien, and I decided to give it a shot.

What did you work on?

We built an application! An online platform which allows you to easily find the skills that you need to acquire for your future job and links you to offered and available courses on Coursera. I got to learn JavaScript as well, which is a definitely a plus.

What was it like working here?

Working here was great. The company is a big open space, and you can easily talk to anyone at any time. The CEO’s door was always open as well, which makes you feel at ease. I also had a lot of flexibility, thinking outside of the box was encouraged, so trying new things was something that came naturally.

The assortment of drinks and cookies was great!

Anything that you would change or do differently?

No. There were a few times where being independent was necessary of course, if I didn’t understand a certain part of a language or a database, I’d simply do a bit of research. But I know this is part of the experience. I’m sure I could have easily asked anyone around if I really wanted to.

Would you recommend this to others?

Yes I would. It teaches you a lot and you work with young and passionate professionals. It’s not your typical 9 to 5 job, and it doesn’t become repetitive. I was figuring out bugs and algorithms!

And what happens now?

Now, I have to write a paper, 10 to 15 pages, explaining my experience at TenForce and how the company works.

Ankatrien Demarsin

Internship @TenForce – SemTech Department
4 weeks – 6th of july start

Why did you decide to intern at TenForce?

I’m from Leuven, so TenForce’s location was a big advantage. Also, it was on the vtk (engineering students) site, I had a read and thought it was very interesting. I am studying to become an electronic engineer so I thought I’d try this out. I had arranged it so that I would be working together with Len.

What did you think about SemTech?

I think it’s really useful – it was a domain I didn’t know much about. I think there are some great things to learn. Learning JavaScript was very cool, you can make nice websites! SPARQL was also fun to learn, I had a good base on SQL before so that really helped me too.

Tell us about the application you and Len built…

We called it the Skill-o-Tron, Len came up with the name. I think it’s a really nice application if you want a (new) job and you’re prepared to learn something online. If you already have a job but you think to yourself: “Mmh I want to move into another area”, then you can use the application we built. You’ll easily find which courses you can take and when they are being offered.

What was the rollout plan?

We knew what we wanted to do. Karel (Karel Kremer aka DnD Dungeon Master aka Semantic Software Engineer) gave us an intro to the languages. By the second week, we were already working on the backend of the application. Week 3, we learnt JavaScript which allowed us to wrap the application together.

Anything that you would change at TenForce?

No. The people are really open, the open space feels right, the kitchen area is great and the beverages are a nice touch.

Would you recommend it?

I would but I would also recommend working with another person, it’s always more fun to have someone working with you on a project.

And what happens now?

I will be presenting my application to my class!