“Inventing an internship”
How did I get an internship that never existed in the first place and during the pandemic?
I was telling a friend about how I landed an internship over the phone but halfway into our call, as curious siblings do, their brother asked who were they on the phone to and this was how they introduced me:
“This is Mai, she invented her own internship”
Hence, the name of the article.
I was in my final year of university and the easter break was around the corner and Corona (who knew). I returned back to be with my family thinking that once the Easter break was over I’d return back. But…that wasn’t the case at all. I received an email from my university, informing all students that the last term of university would be delivered online. The most important term of the year! The final term is a time where students would produce their final major projects, but for the first time having no access to studios and workshops due to the safety restrictions as a result of the pandemic. Students were limited to what they could create unless they had owned the required equipment or could afford to outsource facilities such as photography studios, 3D printers, VR headsets etc. This was not the only worry for students… at the end of the year, graduates get to showcase their work in their college in an event open to the public and people within the industry. Year after year students have been able to network through this major event and even be offered jobs. Also, graduation was cancelled!
Great
Fortunately, I can code and had enough time to explore a new medium submitting my final major project #Stand4Sudan https://maielamin.com/stand4sudan-final-major-project. Achieving an A+ and First class honours (BA) Information and Interface Design. I was in constant contact with my lecturers, technicians and classmates on Slack, blogging my research and progress: www.workbymaielamin.online, user testing on social media, presenting my prototypes on XD and Miro. All my hard work had paid off.
So, how did I get the internship?
I was applying for jobs on LinkedIn and as I was scrolling down the news feed I came across this post:
M-XR 3D captured a Nike air max shoe and uploaded the video above which went viral. I replayed the video time and time again, trying to understand how this shoe was AR! I became so curious about how it was done that I had to reach out to the company that was able to create this. So, I found one of the co-founders on LinkedIn but since I was requesting a connection I only had a limited number of characters to leave a note. I had to give my elevator pitch (you could say) so this is what I wrote:
Hi Elliott, I saw a post of your work and I thought it was incredible! My name is Mai Elamin, I’m studying information and interface design (UI/ UX design) at UAL. I would love the opportunity to intern for your company or to speak to you. Here is a link to my portfolio www.maielamin.com. I look forward to your message and best of luck with your future. Kind regards, Mai Elamin
I didn’t know what to expect and even if they were offering internships. A couple of weeks go by and I got a response. They were happy to take me on board as their first-ever intern! I did a remote internship whereby I was mentored in the field of XR, being taught the relevant skills such as 3D modelling, 3D scanning, machine learning, python and even did some UI / UX design for R&D.
M-XR allowed me to build upon the knowledge I had gained in university, with a valuable insight into a booming industry and the skills I would need. They took a risk as a company bringing me on board despite the pandemic and shown me what good company culture is; allowing me to share ideas and to diversify teams.
I hope this gives some people the courage to reach out to companies and for companies to open more doors.
