The interns of iCarAsia
“Genchi Genbutsu (現地現物) means “Go and See” and it is a key principle of the Toyota Production System. It suggests that in order to truly understand a situation one needs to go to genba (現場) or, the “real place” — where work is done.”
- Wikipedia
There’s something that I kept in my heart for a very long and still thinking about it all this time. I believed that universities such The University of Waterloo which has the biggest internship program in the world, they pushed all engineering students to alternate between school and co-op usually every semester. Even CS undergraduates from UC Berkeley or Harvard University try their best to secure a summer internship, some even ends up in Google while in their sophomore year!
Because an internship is an opportunity for “learning by exposure”
How great is that! I truly agree and stand for it! Unfortunately, it doesn’t apply to my university.
In my first year, I was lucky enough to secure a summer internship in iCarAsia company, not to my knowledge, my university doesn’t provide reference letter for first year students as they only provide it for second year students when they undergo the internship placement program.
I begged and reasoned with that person in charge. I understand that everything has to be law by law, black and white but don’t you think that:
“Hmmmm, why not just give it to a first year student?”
I mean its great for that student to be able to experience the outside world, and gain first hands-on experience. Even written in the university’s website:
“Nurturing Professional for Global Careers — The Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation”
if they truly stand for it, then do allow or even encourage students to gain more meaningful exposures. What if someone loses that learning opportunity just because of one letter. IF there truly is a law within the university or even other university that says that “First year students are not allowed to do internship”, it must be abolished.
Thank God, iCarAsia company allowed me to do it without one and since then, it has been the best summer of my life! I am not sure if anyone encounters this issue before but it would be the best if I speak up. This just one of those “issues” (not complaining but “unsatisfied”), there’s another one but its for another day. Below are the “why” its the best summer of my life!
Company trip to Janda Baik!
Some of us won some free tickets from the company to watch the F1 race
Grandstand view
That’s Kimi Räikkönen!!