Every year, we welcome a couple of summer interns to our team, and this year was no different. Over the past few weeks, Fredrik and Frederik (sharing a name was not a job requirement), have been getting a taste of what it’s like to work with us, diving into the start-up world and gaining experience we hope will create value for them in their future career.
In addition to Frederik and Fredrik, Daniel and Line has made a comeback this year! We will make sure to catch up with them later in the summer, so stay tuned!
We had a chat with Frederik and Fredrik to learn more about the insights they've gained, the challenges they’ve faced, and their plans for the future. But first, let’s get to know them a little better.
Fredrik Hansteen: I was born in Oslo and lived here until I began my studies in Trondheim. Currently I’m beginning my final year of bachelor’s in informatics at NTNU, Trondheim. I think Trondheim is an excellent place to study, the people are friendly and a lot of people including myself is involved in student volunteering. There is always something to do, and someone to do it with.
Having little prior experience with programming before my studies, I’ve learned to love it. My favorite courses so far have been the courses involving programming and data structures, I especially enjoyed the course: algorithms and data structures. I’m currently the leader of the application committee in my student organization, where we are a team of 17 people developing mobile apps and websites for students. Which is a role that has allowed me to pursue my passion for software development.
Prior to this internship, I wanted to gain practical experience in a professional setting and see how the concepts I've learned in class apply to real-world problems. Which is why this internship has been a perfect match for me.
Frederik Stalheim Hellstenius: I come from Snarøya in Bærum, but currently I live in Trondheim where I am studying electronic systems design at NTNU. During my time studying I have learned a lot about programming in different languages which is something I have come to really enjoy. When I learned about Maritime Optima and the opportunity to get an internship I was very interested since I already had some familiarity with shipping from my dad, and also because I wanted to learn more about working with software development.
Fredrik Hansteen: My career aspirations are to work in software development. I’ve found that I love creating meaningful software that has an impact on users. I think of it as a sort of art, where writing lines of code can create something functional and beautiful. ShipIntel and ShipAntlas is a good example of that.
When I write code, I find it easy to abstract away the end goal, which is the user experience. By getting a solid introduction to regression testing, this internship has helped me immensely in taking the user perspective into account when developing software.
Frederik Stalheim Hellstenius: At this point I haven't decided for certain what I want to work with in the future, but I know that it has to be something technology related. I think this internship will be a valuable experience on how to work independently and as a team towards a common goal and how to innovate using software.
Fredrik Hansteen: I’ve been getting a solid introduction into Maritime Optima’s software and products, how it is made and what it’s used for. My main task this internship has been regression testing of the products. I’ve learned that testing is a key part of software development, especially in a company like Maritime Optima, which has rapidly growing features and innovation.
Frederik Stalheim Hellstenius: So far I have been getting familiar with ShipIntel and ShipAtlas and testing that the different features of the products works as intended. I have also started on writing new and updated regression test documents for ShipIntel.
Fredrik Hansteen: The most interesting thing I’ve learned has been the importance of a collaborative environment in an agile team. No problem is too big when the team works great together, I think the company culture is a beacon of what agile development is. I've seen firsthand during this internship how effective communication and continuous feedback can lead to rapid problem solving.
Frederik Stalheim Hellstenius: The most interesting thing I've learned about has been the idea and history behind Maritime Optima and the ambition and dedication in the company.
Fredrik Hansteen: I have really enjoyed the whole atmosphere of the company culture. Everyone on the team has a direct and significant impact on the products. The collaborative environment where everyone works together towards the same goal has been very inspiring. I have sincerely appreciated how open and supportive everyone has been. Especially my mentor Dag, who has taken a keen interest in guiding my development. There has been no wrong questions, and I’ve never been too afraid to ask a question.
Frederik Stalheim Hellstenius: The work enviroment has been very open and relaxed and I have felt welcome since day one, something that makes it motivating to go to work every day.
