by Rick Hübel, an 11th-grade student.

As an 11th-grade student, I used my two-week internship to gain insight into the “Economics and Computer Science” program at Zittau-Görlitz University of Applied Sciences. I spent my time at the university’s continuing education center on Obermarkt. The main task of my internship was to tackle my own software project. This involved going through all the key phases, from planning to development. I started by writing down the project idea, followed by a Business Model Canvas and a use case. These are especially important for successful planning. The idea is a program that calculates a PC’s security level by asking the user questions and assigning a score. Once the planning phase was complete, I began developing the software. Java was chosen as the programming language, and JavaFX for the user interface. It was convenient to click together an interface in “Scene Builder Gluon” and implement the functions later. Unfortunately, the two weeks of the internship weren’t sufficient for a complete implementation, so there’s still work to be done to finish it or further develop it.

I particularly liked that the focus was primarily on hands-on work. I was able to be creative and had a lot of fun doing it. The overall work atmosphere was very pleasant. Everyone was friendly and helpful. The employees introduced me to their projects and provided interesting insights. The lunch talks were also exciting; they were a chance to present and discuss new project ideas from the staff. My internship supervisor took a lot of time for me. For example, he explained in detail the study options at the university and helped me carry out my project. I was able to make some great connections and learn a lot of new things.

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