Here at SEDNA, we’re always on the lookout for great people to join our team, even if that can only be for a short time! One of the most rewarding ventures we offer is our co-op schemes, where we get to enjoy a fresh new perspective and, with any luck, provide some real-world experience!
One such co-op student was the lovely Esha, who joined us briefly during the summer this year. Here’s her experience of SEDNA:
I was fortunate enough to intern at SEDNA for two weeks this summer. As a soon-to-be Grade 10 student with an interest in the STEM field, this was a great opportunity to learn more about software development and the types of careers within the world of technology.
During my internship, I worked with one of the backend teams known as Team Gold. I was immersed in the day-to-day activities of a developer which included sitting in on meetings and learning about best practices. I was also given a behind-the-scenes view of the technical aspects of agile development.
Throughout my time at SEDNA, each day was different. In the first few days, I learned about the product, target customers and familiarized myself with the company’s procedures, especially in Sprint planning. I was able to view tickets that the team received—usually bug fixes or new features—as well as the workload that each developer took on, which was monitored daily during the daily Standup call.
At the end of the two-week Sprint period, a Refinement call allowed the team to organize new tickets for the upcoming Sprint, and a Retro meeting took place to reflect upon the past Sprint and the progress achieved. I also learned about the different stages of a ticket, the conditions needed for testing, how to access a testing environment, and the importance of GitHub.
Aside from Team Gold-related meetings, I also attended a Development Meeting, the Ladies in Engineering Meetup, and a reading group focused on discussing Google’s Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) book and Software Engineering within SRE. Lastly, the company-wide Show & Tell call allowed SEDNA employees to share developments, new product features, or productivity tools with the rest of the company to ensure all employees were in the loop and working efficiently.
Combined with social gatherings, Codenames game sessions (go Team Gold!), and workout/yoga sessions mixed in, the positive work environment SEDNA created was unbelievable and allowed me to see the benefits of striking a work/life balance.
As a woman interested in STEM, I understand the importance of having more women in technology and applaud SEDNA for encouraging women to choose a career path in software development. I believe that women bring a unique perspective and different viewpoints to the table, ultimately helping to create a higher quality end product. Hiring more women also means providing more opportunities than what currently exists and helps combat the stereotype that women are less capable than men.
Overall, my internship experience was more insightful and rewarding than I could have ever expected. I wanted to say a big thank you to the entire SEDNA team for making my experience memorable, with special mentions to Lakshmi for facilitating this opportunity and being such a strong advocate for women entering the STEM field, and Tajinder and Spandana for planning out my schedule in detail and fully integrating me into all activities. I would also like to thank the entire Gold Team (Ammar, Kevin, Andy, Tajinder, Reza, Zohar, Saurav and, Spandana) for including me in discussions and making me feel like part of the team, and Cindy, for the heavy lifting to onboard me and ensure the experience was seamless.
I am very grateful for the opportunity and the support I received during my two weeks. Aside from technical knowledge, I learned the importance of fostering a positive work environment for developers to thrive and a collaborative workspace for employees to communicate. It was a testament to how welcoming an environment SEDNA has built and its motivating culture.
In my opinion, SEDNA’s efforts to change the way email is utilized and encourage productivity and efficiency are vitally important to creating a better way of working. I will certainly be watching and cheering for SEDNA as they grow and change the way businesses operate and employees collaborate globally.
Looking for a career with SEDNA? Why not take a look at our open roles page and see what catches your eye.