The Cloud sector is growing fast. At Solvinity we believe it is important for IT talent to have the chance to grow accordingly. That is why Solvinity is a proud partner of the Cloud IT Academy. Since the beginning in 2018, we have given students an opportunity to acquire practical work experience with us while simultaneously focusing on theoretical knowledge at the Utrecht University of Applied Sciences.
We are interviewing Damian van den Berg, one of the earliest Cloud IT Academy students, who has been an intern at Solvinity since September 2018.
Damian, why did you choose Solvinity out of all the participating companies?
For me, Solvinity stood out as an organisation that offers a stable work-study programme. Solvinity offered me challenging work that I can combine well with my study. In addition, their office in Amsterdam is easy for me to reach.
The first year has almost come to an end. How do you look back on this period?
The initial period was quite strange because the Cloud IT Academy process was still new for all parties, but we have learned a lot from this. In addition, it was very busy. I wasn’t used to the high speed and the amount of learning required for a higher vocational education course. Fortunately Solvinity gave me the opportunity to get used to the situation and make adjustments. The Academy also devotes considerable attention to the personal development of the students in order to train them optimally to become ICT professionals at a higher vocational education level. The skills acquired can be put into practice straight away.
What does your average day at Solvinity look like?
At Solvinity, no two days are the same and innovation is the central focus. I work here as a Customer Engineer, which mainly means that I am occupied with the technical management of all kinds of customer environments in order to ensure that the business of our customers remains up and running 24/7. The activities vary from creating user accounts to upgrading certain software packages or updating a platform designed by the customer. My tasks also include building a PoC (Proof of Concept) or the ad-hoc resolution of incidents. An average day is therefore extremely varied.
Practical training, combining work and study – it all sounds very serious. Can you tell me something about the atmosphere at Solvinity?
In my team we laugh a lot. It is almost always fun, although not at the expense of productivity. Everyone is very driven when working on good solutions for customers. What is also noticeable is that everyone is willing to help.
Is there anything you would like to say to new interns?
Finding a good balance between work, school and private life was quite difficult at first. Fortunately I was given the opportunity to find my way. I am now in the flow. My school results are good, and I have a nice job in a dynamic organisation. Everything’s great.
