Sabrina Grassmé Hacibey

I was browsing for internships on the internet and found a posting for one in the Communications Department at MAKEEN. My studies are generalistic and span over many different subjects with communication included, and that’s why I applied for the internship. Lillian (Global Head of Corporate Communications) reached out to me to better understand how my studies would apply to a corporate communications internship, as most of my studies are technical or focused on the business side. I elaborated about my studies, experience and interest, and based on that Lillian eyed an opportunity and tailored an internship for me, one that had both communications, technical understanding and homepage building in scope. And that’s how I got my dream internship.

What do you do in your internship?

My internship ended in June, but because I succeeded in executing the project and formed a great relationship with the team at KC ProSupply, they've hired me as a student assistant. During my internship I was made responsible for the development of an improved product section on the website of MAKEEN’s sub-brand KC ProSupply. Updating the homepage was long overdue as it only showcased 11 products of a much larger product range. I needed to gather and structure product information sufficient enough to provide a thorough description of the 111 different products we ended up having on the product pages. Because of the gained knowledge through my internship, I’ve been asked to help structure the existing and future product data for ease of migration to a new ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system.

What have you learned in your time here so far?

The process of updating the KC ProSupply product pages has been literally from scratch. A lot of things had to be re-thought from the beginning, and I’ve learned so much while having great responsibility over the process. As an intern you might think that you’re hired to help with a process that has been thought through already, but in this case, we’ve had to do most the thinking along the way. I noticed several areas which could be improved in the process and really felt like I could contribute with my knowledge and ideas.

I’ve found my place – where I am needed – and I see now how valuable it is to have a generalist and not only specialists in a department. I’ve of course also learned a lot about gas equipment, and I’ve gained heaps of technical knowledge that is also usable in other places.

What is the best thing about your internship – and the most challenging?

The best thing having an internship at MAKEEN was the great variety of tasks I was challenged with, combined with the outstanding colleagues who were always ready to help and guide me whenever I needed it.

The most challenging during my internship was making sense of all the information about gas equipment. As I had no previous experience within this area, it was like trying to read a foreign language for the first time. However, I ended up getting excited about the products and enjoyed gaining all this new knowledge that I can use in my work today.

What comes after your internship?

Before I started here, I thought that I would be working with technical sales or project management somewhere. After starting here, I don’t know. I am definitely open to staying here, so if MAKEEN could see me working on a project - somewhere where I’m challenged – that would be awesome. I really like this place and my colleagues, so staying here is absolutely worth considering.