Kandarp Gandhi

Did you always know you wanted to do co-op/internship?

I always knew I wanted to get engineering job experience before I graduated. My main reason for wanting to do co-op/internship was employers now ask for relevant job experience for new graduate positions and without co-op/internship experience it becomes almost impossible.

Did you have any concerns or hesitations before you started?

My concerns before starting were stopping my studies for a year and making sure I would still be able to graduate when I come back from my internship. This was because engineering program maps are always changing to better the university curriculum to provide students with the most up to date courses related to the industry.

What were your expectations?

I was expecting to learn from other engineers by shadowing them on their projects and eventually complete a small portion of an engineering project myself towards the end of my internship. I was also expecting I would be able to get hands-on experience by visiting the site during construction.

How did your experience compare with your expectations?

My experience exceeded my expectations many times over. Not only did I get to shadow engineers to work on projects, but I also got to run my own small Telecom project to replacing legacy SONET systems. On top of that my expectation of going to the site at least once was exceeded as I got permission to attend most site meetings for the projects, I assisted on.

How would you say you enjoyed your experience?

My experience has been incredibly rewarding thus far. I have learned a lot about engineering and management, which I will be able to apply to my schooling upon my return to UOIT as well as to my future career. I have also connected and built working relationships with my supervisors and many industry professionals.

In a few sentences, explain your position. Please provide details about your daily tasks, projects, and responsibilities.

My position was of project engineer/officer where I would manage the engineering portion of the project. My daily tasks would include making sure the engineering team is on task to deliver the drawings as per set deadlines, coordinate with the project manager to keep him in the loop for any obstacles that we may encounter during the design stage, coordinate with field personal for any questions they may during construction regarding any engineering drawings, and many more. One of my main responsibilities was making sure the engineering team delivers their drawings on time as the responsibility fell on the project engineer and assist the team with any obstacles during the design phase.

What was your work atmosphere like? (flexibility, formality, team-centric, supportive)

My work atmosphere was very flexible, team-oriented and supportive at the same time.

Did you feel that any training and/or support available to you was helpful or beneficial to you?

I did not receive any formal training, but by shadowing engineers on multiple different projects I learned the different aspects of the engineering project from beginning to end. I had always the support of my manager and my mentors in the department who assisted me during my time at the internship.

What advice would you offer to students thinking about pursuing co-op or internship?

I would recommend all students pursue an internship as it will allow them to grow professionally and gain industry-related experience that they would not get from a university course. Also, I would offer all students to try to take January start internship as you getting an extra opportunity and getting a chance to beat the competition of students going out for internship.