In this interview, Tim van de Kamp talks about his last internship at CrossBreeze. He talks about his assignment, highlights and how he ended up at CrossBreeze. He also shares what he is currently working on and what his future plans are.
Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Tim van de Kamp, I am currently in the third year of the Computer Science program at the Avans University of Applied Sciences in Den Bosch, with a major in software development. In my free time I like to explore new things and techniques, I also code and game a lot. I also like skiing and I play hockey three times a week, including a standard match on Saturday.
How did you end up at CrossBreeze for the internship?
After searching for multiple internship addresses, I ended up at CrossBreeze through an acquaintance. Based on that, an introduction with Harmen and Willem was planned to see if there was a suitable fit. I was very interested in the aspect that I did not know yet, data engineering in general. That is why I thought it would be fun and interesting to do something with this at CrossBreeze, in the form of an assignment.
What was your internship assignment at CrossBreeze?
CrossBreeze has a code generator called CrossGenerate . This generator developed in Java has a built-in template engine. However, the wish is to be able to support various existing template engines and to connect more technologically to another product that is being developed within CrossBreeze: CrossModel. CrossModel is developed in TypeScript, and is intended to run as a Cloud application. With this innovation, CrossBreeze wants to renew CrossGenerate, so that in the future they can create a possible ‘tool suite’ or combine CrossGenerate with CrossModel. My assignment was to see if it is possible to control various template engines from a central location. I have conducted a research for this and made a prototype to prove the results of the research.
What was the outcome of your internship assignment?
I successfully completed the internship assignment and delivered several products. I created a prototype implementation of CrossGenerate in TypeScript. At the end of my internship, I presented my results to the team. During the presentation, I demonstrated the CrossGenerate prototype in TypeScript and showed how multiple template engines are used to generate templates. The CrossBreeze team seemed very impressed and happy with the result. I also successfully completed my internship for school, so those credits are in! 😊
What were the highlights of your internship at CrossBreeze and of the assignment?
First of all, the company outing, this was a completely new experience for me, since I have never had a company outing at another job before. We all went bowling and out for dinner and I beat everyone at bowling! 😊 Furthermore, I always enjoyed Thursdays at the office – which is a regular office day. I also enjoyed the Christmas celebration, when everyone at the office came together in the canteen for a Christmas lunch, and I went home with a nice Christmas package. Furthermore, during my assignment, I enjoyed it most when I could finally start programming the prototype. In addition, every day has been interesting, because I learned a lot. Especially a lot of new insights and how things are done in the business world.
Were there any challenges during your internship, and if so, which ones?
I have been offered a part-time job at CrossBreeze, as a Junior Software Engineer. Then I can continue working on what I started during my internship. In addition, I have not finished my studies yet, after this internship I have a semester with a group project. I have already put together a group at school for this. After that I will look for a nice minor and a company to do my graduation internship at. I will also definitely continue to delve into new technologies that seem interesting to me. How do I see my future? Studying, working, moving, working and continuing to work. My ultimate goal is to create my own place abroad.
Why do you think CrossBreeze is a suitable place to do your internship or graduation internship?
I think it is a suitable place purely because it is reasonably varied. They experience a lot externally because it is a consultancy firm. In addition, you have to be reasonably experienced to be a consultant. That is why I also think that there is good guidance here. In addition, the company is small-scale and that ensures that you see your supervisor every day and can simply speak to them and/or ask for help whenever you want. CrossBreeze is also innovative, because they are always working on new techniques and innovating, of which CrossModel is an example. That ensures that CrossBreeze is a relevant place to do your internship.
