My Time and Experience in Summer Internship at the Gulf Centre for Aviation Studies - Personal Statement Example

Status report 1 Student Name: Company: Gcas Date Summer 2015 Introduction This report describes the various activities carried out during an eight week full-time summer internship at the Gulf Centre for Aviation Studies (GCAS). This organization is one of the leading players in specialized training in the aviation industry based in Abu Dhabi’s Al Bateen Executive Airport. Apart from serving the UAE, the institution serves the regional and international market. The report thus details the working processes of this organization and documents my time and experience in this organization in terms of responsibilities and tasks assigned to me, application of theory to tasks, accomplishments, challenges faced, solutions to these challenges, and the learning outcomes from individual tasks and the whole exercise. The report is organized into different sections. The first section that follows this introduction is the company profile. This section contains information pertaining to the organization, the industry in which the organization operates, the organizational structure, and culture. The second section offers the job description and work plan assigned to me. The subsequent section explains personal objectives of the internship and how they were or not achieved. The next section will detail the accomplishments during the period followed by the lessons learnt from the whole exercise. The last section will conclude the report and highlight the overall implications on the internship exercise. Company profile GCAS was established in 2009 by Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), a government body mandated with running the five major airports in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. The institution, based at Al Bateen Executive Airport, is internationally recognized and accredited by the Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) as an aviation training institute and the first to be recognized as ICAO’s TRAINAIR PLUS member. GCAS is the only IATA Accredited Training School (ATS) in the UAE which gives the institution an edge over the competition. The institutions offers over 300 courses offered including courses in language skills, leadership and development programs as well as management in the aviation industry. There are also other minor courses offered to specific airline companies whose curriculum is usually developed in conjunction with the employers for continuing employees. These courses are offered at various levels such as certificate and diploma (GCAS, 2015). In order to offer such a wide range of courses with some of them tailor-made, the institution is organized in to two lose arms; training and administrative. The training arm has five departments; training, training operations, finance, and business development and marketing. As a branch ADAC, much of the administrative roles of the institutions are operated at the ADAC offices where there is an ICT department. However, this does not seem to compromise or affect the operation of the institution in any negative manner. The firms are linked together by a strong organizational structure that gives GCAS a significant level of independence in its operations. As for the culture, the GCAS is guided by Islamic culture as is most government owned organizations and agencies in the UAE. However, there are unique aspects in this culture such as continuous improvement and efficiency. The organization prides itself in always seeking the way forward by adopting the newest innovation in the industry and enabling its employees and students to learn about them and apply them in the workplace. Job description As an IT security and networking trainee, I was introduced into the ICT department in the administrative arm of the facility. The main roles and responsibilities I was served were general in the sense that I was required to assist in any IT security and network situation in the department that would advance my learning and experience during my stay. I was introduced to an internship coordinator with who I discussed my career prospects and expectations of the internships. He indicated this would allow him to design activities that best suited my interests, allowed me to apply theories learned in class, employ my creativity and innovativeness as well as challenge me into employing critical thinking skills. In all these, I would work with a team in the department that created the real-life workplace environment. This would also require me to employ interpersonal skills and contribute as a team member. In the first week, I was to work in the IT security department that is within the ICT department. In the first four weeks, I worked in the security department. My boss at the department assigned to me daily tasks and often engaged me on how I should accomplish them and the expectations he had on the outcome. The head of IT security was also required to assist me whenever I encountered problems as well as supervise me. During this period, some of major tasks I performed included making a presentation on network security, installation of new security software, and testing of the website security among others. In the same manner, week sixth to seventh saw me working under a different sub-department in the networking department under a different supervisor. Here, the job description changed a bit as I was required to learn more about networking such as security passes. In the seventh week, which was last, I was required to interact with any employee at the department and learn about their work. In all tasks, I made it an effort to seek guidance from my supervisors, fellow employees and even learn more about the organization and learn more about the experiences of these employees in working in the IT security department. Internship objectives Prior to commencing the internship, I familiarized myself with the expectations of the internship program as through the Zayed University internship handbook. I also examined several websites and blogs on what internships are expected to achieve. This way, I had a clear mind as to what was expected of an internship and what to pursue. These objectives are grouped into three: professional/technical, academic/business and personal. Professional Under this area, I expected to learn more and advance my skills in IT security and networking. The field of ICT is rapidly changing and the most competent professionals in the field are those that keep updated about new developments and changes in the industry. This not only affects competitiveness in the job market but also competence in meeting workplace needs and increasing efficiency. Additionally, I intended to learn the various fields of specialization available and sample each one of them. In so doing, I would learn in which particular field my strengths are best utilized. Academic/business As I look forward to become a professional, I must align my academic qualifications with industry needs. This will enable me to apply and make use of content and theories learned in class. It is very important for learners to fully understand the connection between the academic aspects of learning and the practical aspects. I will thus seek to make this connection by identifying how different theoretical aspects can be applied or are applied in the workplace. In doing so, I will make views on learned content apply in the workplace and seek guidance where necessary. Personal The internship offered me an opportunity to experience work in a real-life workplace environment. This is a new beginning forward that will launch me into the professional filed to work alongside experienced hands. By interacting with these individuals I looked forwards to network professional and possibly identify a mentor in the field who will guide me in my carrier choices. Furthermore, working in a diverse environment would advance my people skills which I have learned by interacting with my fellow students in campus. Accomplishments Internship programs are supposed to give students some workplace experience owing to the fact that they are still green and unaccustomed o the workplace environment. Ideally, it prepares them to experience what it feels to work in their chosen. It presents challenges, learning opportunities and the good and the bad of their professional field (Student Internship Guide, 2015). There are several items I can say that I learn that account as accomplishments. i. Presentation on website security Although I have several PowerPoint presentations in class, making a PowerPoint presentation during my internship to the department of IT security at GCAS was a new experience altogether. This was actually was one of the very first tasks that I was assigned and took place on my second of the internship. The presentation was on methods of ensuring website security and I must say I was very pleased with my achievement going by the response from the employees in that department. ii. Paros Proxy tool This is a regular tool used in testing website security. I was able use my supervisor’s credentials and change the IP address to test the security website. Although I have used paros before, this was the first time that I was using the sectool while logged in as an administrator of a properly functioning website possibly being accessed by other users around the world. iii. Installation of a retina scan system The retain scan system allows the automation of security protocol that assesses a users authentication by checking the IP address. Previously, I was accustomed to scanning and patching of Microsoft but in this case, I learned scanning and patching of third party applications such as adobe and Firefox. iv. Consultation The exercise brought me face to face with new tasks that I am not used such as conducting security passes to ensure safety at the airport. I was given access to data to conduct security passes. This involved every item brought into the airport by individual employees for security concerns. This is task that involved intensive consultations. I was previously shy or was eager to hide my ignorance. However, this task allowed me to overcome my shyness and doc actual consultations with other employees in the department who have the needed experience. My wide consultation opened up space for further debate on some procedures and processes at the institution. v. Networking and friendship This was one of key objectives of my internship. For many interns, the program allows them to work in a real-life work environment and interact with employees. However, doing on a professional and personal level requires a higher level of involvement. Showing interest in the work of others creates an environment that communication happens freely and both implicit and explicit knowledge can be shared. However, it is friendship and social relations that best facilitate sharing of tacit knowledge which is very critical in the functioning of organizations and powering creativity and innovation. This is one area that I mastered in the short period of my internship. vi. Identifying a mentor As a bonus to the contacts I made, I managed to identify a mentor. This was one of the guys that I was required to engage with and learn about their work in the networking department. The man has vast experience in the field and even once for IBM. I was very interested in his achievements in the field and I identified him as a person I can talk to and even consult on matters pertaining to my career and personal choices in life. vii. Specialization Once again, the internship gave me a more detailed preview of the potential areas within IT security and networking that I can pursue. This was very important to me because I have been mulling over this issue for a long time as I would like to advance my studies further and thus having an idea of what to pursue at this moment s critical. From the internship program, I identified database system management as a potential area I would to specialize in and pursue further with time. The area is interesting and faces immense growth as more and more information is needed to be stored in digital formal and available on numerous platforms. Lessons learnt The internship offered numerous lessons on life, workplace and even as a professional in IT security and networking. Some of these lessons were learnt through the problems that I encountered and how I solved them. From a professional point of view, I came to learn about several sectools that organizations in the real world use. From interacting with the employees, I learned about the strengths and weaknesses of these sectools. I noticed that apart from the pros and cons I have encountered about these sectools in class, individual employees had different subjective weaknesses and strengths of these sectools. However, it’s not just individual employees that have subjective views of networking and security matters as I learned from employees. Although this is an integral issue that affects modern day organizations that are increasingly going digital and online, there are some organizations that do not give the issue the seriousness it deserves. This is came to learn through conversations with employees who have worked in other organizations and by reviewing recent cases of cyber security threats and breaches in the UAE, which was one of the tasks assigned to me by my supervisor. I learned in order for organizations to put in place the right infrastructure and skills level in place in terms of IT security and networking, the concept must be well accepted in the organizations culture. For GCAS, the issue of security is taken very seriously going by the skill level of employees working in the department and the infrastructure laid out. From a personal perspective, I learned many invaluable things. To start with I learned the need to take criticism positively. It is very likely that in the very first days of any given employment, one is likely to make mistakes in case of poor induction procedures or a change in rules in that particular organization. As aforementioned earlier, one thing that added to my nervousness in my first days at GCAS was the presentation about website security that I made to the ICT department. After literally stumbling over the presentation, I was faced by a barrage of question from employees. One employee seemed to bully me with unending questions. After answering one question, he was not satisfied and threw me another or accused me of “dancing around the question” instead of giving him the straight answer. This required a lot of patience from my side because I did not know these people and I was not whether they were serious or were just kidding. This was my first lesson in relating with other people by being patience and calm at all times. Conclusion In conclusion, the organization of the internship and the Student Careers Office at Zayed University provided an interesting insight into how student internships should be managed. I received the needed support from the office and my internship supervisor was very helpful in offering practical advice throughout the whole process. At the same time, the exercise was a good opportunity for me to put into practice some of the skills that I have learned and learn how to move around organizational protocols to get things done. In terms of personal and networking skills, I think this is where I benefited most and remain thankful. I got the chance to interact with people of different personalities with different experiences and perspectives on life. As a result, I found myself an experienced professional who is already guiding me on the professional and path as a mentor. On the overall, the internship program has benefited me in many ways. I am now better personal and professional with considerable experience in the field. I am thankful to the university, my supervisor, my supervisor at GCAS, employees of GCAS and all those who made this exercise a success. References GCAS. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.gcas.ae/english/about-gcas/who-we-are Student Internship Guide. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.zu.ac.ae/main/en/ . Read More