Being an intern at Endare

Ruben Rooms

One of the things that struck me pretty quickly was the professionalism and how they work with Git and Jira. I was taught how to use Git in school, but in the end, I only used Git because it was useful. I used Jira or Trello because I had to. This made me just fill in the blanks and meet deadlines at my own pace. By joining Endare for three months, I was able to see up close how things work in the "real" world. How they make the cooperation between colleagues run as smoothly as possible. This was a first eye-opener as an intern. It is absolutely essential to use these things properly in a professional atmosphere. That way, you can successfully accomplish your goals.

It was also very interesting to learn more about the Metaverse and more specifically about AltspaceVR from Microsoft. The Metaverse interests me enormously, but I had never found the time to immerse myself in it. Well, now I have.

Finally, I am also very happy that I was able to do many different things during my internship. For instance, I initially came here with the idea of doing pure front-end development. But when I actually started developing, it soon became clear that I was going to create my own project. A project with its own front-end and back-end. I was quite happy with that, because it allowed me to work with both Node and Laravel. Laravel in particular was totally new to me, so I learned a lot from it. If you had told me at the beginning of the internship that I would be working with Docker, I probably wouldn't have believed you. So on that level, the internship really made a very positive impression on me. By doing an internship at Endare, I was exposed to a lot of things I wouldn't have come into contact with otherwise.

I will miss my colleagues after my internship. From day one, I felt I was in the right place. Everyone was friendly, I was well looked after by Camille in the first week and then by Francisco. In short, I knew immediately that the atmosphere here was good and this formed an excellent foundation for the internship to succeed.

After my internship, I immediately have to get back to work on my Bachelor's thesis. When I start thinking about it, I soon realise that I will have to get used to this again. At Endare, I could always count on great help when I was having difficulties. It didn’t matter what I was doing, there was always someone who could help me out.

Finally, what I am going to miss very much are the Boules de Berlin! It's really a coincidence, but when I was little, I loved everything that involved cream. That certainly included Boules de Berlins. It is great that Boules are used to celebrate anything at Endare. I love it!

Stef Bekaert

At Endare, I had the opportunity to experience a real corporate atmosphere and my first steps in the workplace. I learned how things really work in a quality IT company. I learned 2 new frameworks during my internship: Laravel and Vue. Thanks to tutorials, documentation and the help of colleagues, I was able to work with them fairly smoothly. I also learned how much there is still to learn in the field of IT. I may be able to learn the new languages quickly, but I still have a lot to learn about source control, Docker, vm's, etc.

The pleasant company climate is something I will certainly miss the most, because Endare is a pleasant company to work for. The colleagues are the pinnacle of this, they are really a bunch of fun people. Structured and well-organised assignments are also something that you do not really find at Hogent. When I continue my studies, I will definitely miss this.

I intend to continue studying. Probably another bachelor in Applied Computer Science, but then more specifically in System and Network Administration. Another option is a postgraduate degree such as International Management.

Stef Claeyssens

You learn as you go. That is what I have learned in the past few months. After the bachelor's course, you leave school with a solid knowledge package, but that is nothing compared to the real work. As an intern, I worked on real-life projects for actual customers, which improved my technical knowledge and hard skills more than ever. The drive and power to deliver quality projects have also grown along with this.

In addition to my hard skills, I also worked on my soft skills subconsciously. I have got to know myself better, but I have also often had confirmation of my social skills and abilities. I already thought of myself as a decent team player, but here I saw that applied for the first time in a professional context.

As an intern, you are immediately thrown into the work culture. You learn to cope with this very quickly. Before you know it, you are part of the team.

An internship at Endare is 'not your average internship'. There are many things I will miss when the internship is over.

First of all, the vibe. There is a wonderful atmosphere here among colleagues. People get on great and a joke or chat is never out of place.

This atmosphere is often continued over the lunch break, which is the next item I will miss. The so-called 'Fun Food Club' occasionally orders a pizza for lunch, holds a small-scale and spontaneous employee dinner, prepares party snacks in the air-fryer, or simply enjoys a beer at the end of the working day. Nothing is impossible.

Although student life has its charms, I will secretly miss the rhythm that 'work life' brings. You seem to get much more out of your day if you don't stay in bed until noon. Who would have imagined that?

Although the IT sector is a life-long learning sector, I have been through school enough for now. After the internship, I plan to get my bachelor's degree as soon as possible, and then throw myself into the job market. And with a bit of luck, I will stay at Endare!