Lucas, a 4th year Computer Science student, has written about his recent internship experience which was supported by our COVID-19 SME Internship Fund. The aim of this fund was to support local SMEs including charities, social enterprises and start-ups who are operating at maximum capacity as they respond to the challenges of Coronavirus, while giving students valuable and meaningful work experiences in a difficult economic climate.
Here’s what Lucas had to say about his experience.
Introduction 
This summer, I took part in a twelve week internship with Spookfish Innovations Ltd, as part of the COVID-19 SME Internship Scheme. After all the other internships I’d been looking at were cancelled, the scheme came as a welcome surprise! Not only was it a chance to gain industry experience, it was also a way to help battle against the pandemic, something I’d been keen to do.
The Work
Spookfish use computer vision to provide a wide range of solutions across different industries. When the pandemic hit, they created a system called Harlequin that uses a combination of thermal imaging and machine learning to detect whether a user has a fever or not.
Throughout the internship, I worked with their full-stack web team on the portal for Harlequin (and other products). Turnaround was high and we had to adapt quickly to make sure the product met customer expectations. Within weeks, my code was live in Bangalore International Airport, where Harlequin was screening thousands of passengers each day!
Working remotely was new to me, but the team at Spookfish were friendly and ready to help. We communicated via phone calls and Slack, which meant I could easily liaise with the teams in Bristol and India, and weekly meetings helped me focus. I learnt so many new technologies and had excellent opportunities to develop my skills, both technical and professional.
The Experience
I cannot recommend this internship scheme enough! Working with a smaller company gives you a lot of responsibility, but also means you get a much wider range of experience. I was really fortunate to get a paid internship during this pandemic, and want to thank both the Careers Service and Spookfish for the opportunity. To anyone who’s considering applying for an internship, I’d say go for it!
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