What makes an internship worthwhile? Our team of interns quickly agreed: When you can learn something new, put theoretical knowledge to practical use in your professional life, and get the first taste of a particular industry.

“I never got a closer look behind the scenes before – during the internship it was made possible and I could find out how the whole thing works in the first place” – Gian Luca

At xalution, we cooperate closely with colleges and universities, such as the Georg-Simon-Ohm University of Applied Sciences in Nuremberg and the Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Amberg-Weiden. Thereby, we are not only connected to the scientific and technical study programs but also offer excellent internship and working student programs, which combine theoretical knowledge with practical experience and open more than one door for the participants…

xalution: Hello Gian Luca, hello Adrian, hello Arthur! You have been together at xalution since last October now, – please introduce yourselves briefly and tell us: did you always want to be in the IT world or what was your dream job as a child?

Adrian: My name is Adrian and I am from Amberg in the Bavarian ‘Oberpfalz’. I am studying Industry 4.0 Computer Science at the East Bavarian Technical University Amberg-Weiden. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a spaceman because I watched a little too much Star Wars.

Gian Luca: My name is Gian Luca, I’m 24 years old, I’m from Schwabach near Nuremberg and I’m studying Business Informatics at the Georg Simon Ohm University of Applied Sciences in Nuremberg. I have always had an affinity for numbers, but also a creative streak. Accordingly, my dream job as a child was to be an accountant at Wirecard AG. (laughs ironically)

Arthur: I’m Arthur, 26 years old, originally from Ansbach, but currently living in Nuremberg for the internship. Like Gian Luca, I’m also studying Business Informatics at the Technical University of Georg Simon Ohm Nuremberg. My dream job as a kid was a rock star.

xalution: You have already done an apprenticeship before your studies. What does the internship at xalution offer you? And how can this broaden your horizon of experience?

Gian Luca: In my previous job, during my apprenticeship, I already came in contact with ERP and BI systems. However, I didn’t have a background in the IT industry back then and therefore I have only been working with them as a user. So, I never got a closer look behind the scenes before, you know?! But now I do, and I was able to find out how the whole system works, understand the logic behind it, and improve my understanding of these systems. Furthermore, I was able to practically apply my knowledge and skills, which I had previously only learned theoretically in college, for the first time.

xalution: Adrian & Arthur, you are working together on a pilot project that you are implementing as a team. What exactly is it about?

Arthur: The project is called “x4association”. The basic idea is to offer a solution that is as all-encompassing as possible for clubs, associations, youth rings, etc., which is then ultimately delivered to the customer.  The idea is to create a modular system that covers several sub-areas. These include, for example, event bookings, leisure bookings, the loan of equipment and games, and grant applications. The entire solution shall be individually adaptable to the respective customer and easy to use, without the need for extensive training. In the end, the project should consist of several modules, two of which will be completed during our internship.

Adrian: That’s right, we’re developing an app and a website that can communicate with each other and manage events and contacts for a company. On the website, people interested in an event should be able to see the details, i.e. costs, start, end, etc., and also register for it if necessary. In the background, there is a web application for the employees of the company, which should support the maintenance and administration of events and registrations. In addition, it should be possible in the application for the company to manage and organize its contacts. We are trying to reduce the paperwork of the associations and to optimize their processes since they still work in a very analog way.

xalution: How do you organize and split the workload among yourselves? Who is responsible for which tasks?

Arthur: The project includes two parts: The administration view allows the user to define settings, display data, and manage them. This is provided in the context of a web application and is only accessible to the employees. Adrian takes over here and creates a web application. His tasks can be ascribed more to classic development. The customer view is addressed to the end-user and is freely accessible via the website. All information is published here, and it allows the user to interact with the system. For example, it is possible to register for an event previously entered in the administration view. After the data has been entered into the system by the end-user, it can be viewed and processed in the administration view. I take care of that and create this website.

Adrian: To sum it up, I’m more responsible for the backend, i.e. the app for the employees, while Arthur creates the website that the customer sees at the end.

Arthur: Yes, so we work independently of each other. However, we plan and design both layers in collaboration and implement each in such a way that communication between the layers works smoothly.

xalution: Gian Luca – you were involved in a completely different field: What topics did you focus on? What did you do exactly?

Gian Luca: On the one hand, I was involved in a few customer projects, in which I supported the project management and got an insight into consulting. Since we converted our time recording system to D365 in October 2021, it was also one of my tasks to set up a type of reporting with the help of Microsoft Power BI. For this purpose, I process the data from D365 and make it visible to employees and management in the form of reports/dashboards. There are different levels here: the employee level, the project manager level, and the management level. I create reports for each hierarchy, starting with Employee Self Service, where you can enter working hours or vacation days, for example, and get a kind of overview, through to detailed evaluations for project management. I accompany the whole process, from exporting the data to designing and implementing the final dashboards.

xalution: What are your plans after the internship regarding your career? Can you imagine staying in this environment?

Arthur: Since the IT sector is in a constant state of change, I try not to set up too concrete aspirations. However, I find the mix of development and consulting very exciting and varied. During the internship, I found the initialization and planning stages of the project in particular and the associated consulting environment. Both are very interesting and challenging at the same time. I can well imagine a career in this direction in the future, as the idea of working on different projects appeals to me very much.

Adrian: For now, I’m concentrating on completing my bachelor’s degree with good grades. After that, I would then like to either find a job or start a master’s program to further pursue my interest in AI. I think I will stay in this environment, but still want to “put my feelers out a bit further” to try many other things, after all, we are still young.

Gian Luca: Currently I’m in my 5th semester, so I still have (at least) 2 semesters to go. For now, I will continue my studies, but I will also continue to work as a student trainee at xalution and deepen my knowledge in the area of BI systems.

Are you also interested in an exciting new perspective? Would you also like to gain practical experience as an intern or working student at xalution? -Then simply contact us and apply at xalution today!