Ashwani Singla is employed as a Software Develop intern at Drinkfill Beverages Ltd. headquartered in Vancouver, BC. The internship lies within the Clean Tech program stream, funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), and implemented via Career Launcher.

His work in the internship includes developing software that control operational aspects of machines impacting two environment focused projects i.e., zero-waste drinks and zero waste cleaning products. The internship has been an excellent experience and has helped him to understand real-world conditions. He learned how to translate technical language to business language for stakeholder communication. He understood how scalability and business suitability influence coding language selection when software is built. Even though the team did not have many technical personnel, they were happy to collaborate and share insights. People are approachable including the space to share and bounce off ideas with the CEO.

He is happy to have secured this internship with Drinkfill Beverages Ltd. through Career Launcher. He acknowledges that it is difficult to get a job but an internship like this opens opportunities. He has been able to showcase his skills and obtain a verbal job offer with the company. He would recommend this internship to more people as both employers and interns benefit from the experience.

Interview Questions

1. What was a problem or task that you were assigned at work and how did you overcome it?
   • During my initial time with the company, I was tasked with the responsibility to work on the operational aspect of a software that controlled other machines. I was new to the organization but took up the challenge as a learning experience. I gathered information and communicated with the team and the Chief Executive Officer to develop my understanding and helped resolve the issue.
2. One tip you could give employers on how they should onboard their intern.
   • The organization should maintain documentation and records of work completed, including what aspects worked and what did not to avoid duplication of work and waste of resources. This would serve as important reference materials for a new employee or intern.
3. Did the internship make you feel prepared from school/academics to the professional space?
   • The internship has been an excellent experience for me and helped me to understand real-world conditions. At school, projects were mostly academic whereas in the internship, real issues are managed. I learned that course deadlines at school are different from business deadlines. The internship also allowed me to work on relevant projects.
4. How inclusive is the workplace or the team?
   • Even though the team did not have many technical personnel, they were happy to collaborate and share insights. People are approachable, and in certain situations I had reached out to the CEO to discuss work items. There was space to share and bounce off ideas with the team.
5. Are there any new skills that you developed/are developing while you are at the worksite and what are they?
   • I learned how to translate technical language to business language for stakeholder communication. I learned how scalability and business suitability influence coding language selection when software is built.
6. How will your work during the internship make a difference to the community?
   • The organization is working on two environment focused projects i.e., zero-waste drinks and zero waste cleaning products. Currently they are able reduce the use of 800 single use bottles every month. They aim to increase this number to 2000-3000 bottles for the next year. Moreover, through these projects profit sharing is done with the local community.
7. How did the Career Launcher internship program encourage you to begin/ grow a career in content creation?
   • I am happy to have secured this internship with Drinkfill Beverages Ltd. through Career Launcher. It is hard to get a job but an internship like this opens opportunities. I have been able to showcase my skills and obtain a verbal job offer with the company. I would recommend this internship to more people. Both employers and interns benefit from the experience.