Alexander Brocanelli, UNI/FH Internship Program

"Leaving the lecture hall to find out what tools the "best in class" of technology work with"

Making coffee? As a native Italian, this would be one of my strengths, but it had nothing to do with my tasks during the internship for university students at CANCOM Austria. My mentor and my colleagues from the Solution Development & Consulting department were interested in my expertise, my independence and my motivation. From day one, I was given the opportunity to organize my tasks independently and actively participate in the department's projects.

I was immediately welcomed and valued as a colleague in the team.
The coffee remained the responsibility of the coffee machine.

Contributing to the digitalization of companies.
During my engineering studies and thanks to my previous experience, I already dealt with digitalization topics and decided to continue my education in the field of electronics and IT. The internship offered the perfect insight into the world of innovation in industry. My expectations were exceeded: Things went much further at CANCOM Austria. I was able to fully develop my passion for technology: Data structures, artificial intelligence, transmission protocols, microcontrollers, electronics, sensor technology. I was able to learn a lot and in six months I was involved in the implementation of several projects. I had the opportunity to put the knowledge I had acquired during my studies into practice: for example, in the production of 3D models or the optimization of industrial processes. Even more interesting was the immersion in other specialist areas, such as planning a cloud infrastructure, selecting electronic components or writing firmware for CANCOM Austria products.
I found the continuous coordination with my mentor Mathias, who always made sure that I was able to pursue my professional interests, to be very important.

Not just technology
Communication skills are very valuable for us engineers, which you can hardly acquire during your studies. My department "Solution Development & Consulting" has the development of innovative solutions at its core. But to do this successfully, you have to interpret the requirements and expectations of customers and colleagues correctly and then communicate the added value of these innovations properly. With the support of my experienced mentor, I was able to successfully improve my ability to share results and research and create effective presentations of solutions. The most valuable "skills" of a management consultant. What I found really interesting was the good insight I got into the dynamics of a consulting firm.

Jumping into the outside world
The experience at CANCOM Austria gave me valuable insights that are not possible during my studies alone. I got a good impression of what the structures in large companies look like and what these companies really need. This information is the foundation for achieving my professional ambitions: I have been given the tools to better assess and adapt my future career path so that I can achieve my goals faster and more successfully!