CSIP Internship Description

Duke student: Eric Jewart
Company: Research Triangle Institute
Period: January 1997 - August 1997

Research Triangle Institute (RTI) is an independent, not-for-profit, research and development organization that focuses on meeting customers' needs with cutting-edge technologies. As an intern with RTI for 8 months, I was exposed to the entire process of developing new capabilities, marketing them, and applying them to meet customers' needs.

I was originally hired to implement a prototype Competitive Intelligence System (CIS), a web-based, client-server application implemented in Java. The CIS is designed to provide convenient, timely access to relevant business information for all of RTI's 1450 employees, who work in widely diversified areas. My job included working with an information specialist to specify information requirements and the user interface, designing the system, and actually writing all of the code for the prototype. The goal was not only to develop a system that would streamline and unify RTI's new business acquisition process, but also to develop a new capability that could be marketed to potential customers.

Soon after work on the CIS was begun, the opportunity arose to design and implement a similar system for a public utility. I helped write a proposal and market the system to this customer. After we won the proposal I became the lead programmer on the new project. Here I gained experience in dealing with a serious customer who expects high-quality, on-time results. This pressure showed me how much truth there is in my boss's saying, "In the business world, every week is exam week."

The most valuable aspect of my internship was that I learned where my programming expertise fits into the grander scheme of things. I found out that actually designing applications and writing code is just a small part of holding down a job. I also had to be able to relate well with clients, communicate with coworkers, learn new skills on the fly, write and review proposals and contracts, manage my time to meet many unrelated and often unexpected constraints, and much more. This internship provided me with experience I would not have gained in school, and taught me what to expect after I graduate.