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Being an embedded software intern at Cambridge Consultants has allowed me to get stuck into lots of projects and broaden my engineering knowledge. I have had the opportunity to collaborate cross functionally with other engineers from all offices. As I finish my intern semester and head back to Northeastern University to complete my computer engineering and computer science major, I want to shine a light onto some cool things I have been up to.
The tech scholar project was fun and quite different in comparison to the other work I have been involved in. The team was made up of myself, another Boston intern and a few of the UK placement year students. Our project team was called ‘Too clean or not too clean’ and we made a product that could help with symptom management or self administration of treatment without the need for a therapist for obsessive compulsive disorder. Our solution was a novel machine learning driven detection model, paired with a popular off the shelf smart watch, enhanced by location data. It is designed to guide the user through self administration of treatment by providing in the moment interventions and positive constructive feedback.
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We were given a budget and had to factor in cost, the marketing behind it and whether the product was feasible. We were able to use the same hardware as the rest of the project team in the UK and when we needed to discuss specific parts, it was easy enough to do over Microsoft Teams. The time difference wasn’t an issue and it was productive to be able to get things done outside of each other’s working hours. I was able to approach the tech scholar project with a corporate commercial mindset which was new and intriguing for me.
Other projects I have enjoyed working on is Porto (our robotic foosball table) and this has greatly improved my coding in Python and I have been able to delve deeper into the Linux operating system. I was able to help develop the user experience by simplifying the actions to start a game. After this, I wrote scripts to collect data during games to eventually train a machine learning model in the future.
When being involved in one specific client project, I engaged with systems that assessed the reliability and quality of satellite communication devices. I enhanced my coding skills and discovered a lot more about remote development and virtualization.
Highlights of my internship at Cambridge Consultants
Each day has taken me down a new avenue of learning at CC. There has been huge diversity within the projects and I have been able to alternate through all three of them with ease. I haven’t been overwhelmed by the amount of work and the level of challenge has kept me busy and interested.
I love working in the Boston office, everyone is so friendly and it has a welcoming culture. Colleagues are always available to answer questions and are there to talk to without judgement. It’s helpful to speak with individuals outside of my team as it allows me to see things from a unique perspective.
The office has a social atmosphere and it is great to get involved in different activities like games and trivia nights. Also, the Christmas party was an exciting way to bond with other colleagues and celebrate the holiday season. Most weeks there is a ‘lunch and learn’ session where free lunch is provided and people hold presentations on several topics. There was recently one for Pride month which I thought was an important and impactful way to support the LGBTQ+ community.
As my internship ends, I’m looking forward to being on my last summer break before going back to university. I will be traveling to Louisiana to visit family, heading to the beach in Delaware and then to California for a wedding.
My time at CC has been awesome. I have gained a lot of engineering knowledge, alongside bonding with my colleagues and the flexibility to work on some really impressive things.
If you’re interested in Cambridge Consultants and would like to find out more, take a look at our website.
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