A few months ago, I had not even thought of going for a placement. I was worried I would end up serving coffee and donuts during lunchtime or doing some insignificant tasks, unrelated to my studies. However, driven by curiosity I decided to apply for a placement at the University of Edinburgh. Now I am here, at the one of the most prestigious institutions in the United Kingdom, doing my placement year.

How I got here

It was Monday, 6 March 2017; I opened an email saying: “we are pleased to confirm our intention to recommend your appointment to the post of CMS Support Assistant & User Tester”. I had been given a unique chance to accelerate my professional career.

I am replacing the previous Edinburgh Napier University placement student Angelos who successfully completed his 12-month internship. I will continue working on his Docker project that made the EdWeb development process more efficient. I will also work on new features of Snapshot – the new site analysis tool developed by our summer intern, Patrick.

Docker Project

Snapshot site analysis tool

What I learned so far 

On the very first day of my placement, I realised, that my worries were totally groundless. I was introduced to my 12-month studying plan, full of content linked directly to my studies. At university, web technology was the most interesting subject in my course, and it looks like I will have the opportunity to learn it in detail in a real world environment, not just theoretically. 

For the last two months while I am here I had the opportunity to: 

• learn Docker and Vagrant 
• learn configuring Apache Server 
• manage WordPress 
• learn Python, Scrapy and Flask used in the latest UWP product – Snapshot Web Audit Tool 
• learn JavaScript, Angular and PHP 
• work with server environment and its tools  
• feel more confident working with Gitlab repositories 
• write and read documentation on Wiki that helped me to improve my language skills 
• install and maintain Drupal and EdWeb distribution 
• Improve my MacOS and terminal skills.
• learn about User Experience 

I learned a lot about Agile software development methodology on my university course, but only now do I have the opportunity to practice it. I attend lots of meetings, code reviews and user tests that help me understand the development process.   

Snapshot – Try out our previous intern – Patrick’s work

Working in an Office environment was quite new experience for me. My adaptation though, was very smooth thanks to my friendly team and excellent working conditions that the University of Edinburgh provides. I am sure, that using the latest technologies and working in such a modern environment will be very beneficial for my future career. 

Let’s see what the next ten months will bring…

*Waccy Walkers – Website and Communications’ team representation in UoE Healthy University Challenge.

UoE Healthy University Challenge