- The STEP project I participated in was an internship at Simlat Inc., a leading provider of innovative, next generation training solutions for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). As a product manager intern, I helped to bridge the gap between the company’s products and our American clients/prospective clients. The tasks I handled included site visits to one of our biggest partners, Sinclair Community College, and their UAS department to educate and train their team on various Simlat UAS training softwares, as well as brainstorm potential new softwares that they and other clients could benefit from. In addition, I improved Simlat’s current marketing materials to widen their reach and was a main point of contact for various companies interested in collaboration with Simlat.
- Prior to beginning my internship, I did not feel very confident in my ability to work with other professionals in a technical field, and was worried that as a young woman engineer, my ideas and work would not be taken seriously. As I reflect on my internship now, I am able to recognize a major growth of confidence in myself as both a person and an engineer, and feel comfortable approaching new internships and experiences in the professional world. In addition, my outlook on my future as a female engineer has changed in a positive way, as I have learned to feel comfortable in uncomfortable situations, such as being the only woman in a room and still choosing to speak up for myself in order to have my ideas heard.
- An experience that I gained during this internship was attending the I/ITSEC Modeling and Simulation Conference in Orlando in November 2023. I attended this conference with Simlat’s president and was responsible for running Simlat’s booth in a trade show designed to find new and existing clients for partnerships and collaboration.
Before attending this conference, I was very apprehensive to attend. Many of the participants and show-goers in this conference were highly ranked military personnel and/or defense companies with professionals who have been in the UAS/Modeling and Simulation field for many years. I felt as though I lacked the professional experience required for this type of event and would not be able to confidently communicate with potential clients. However, as the conference progressed, I felt my confidence grow exponentially and was able to secure several international clients through discussions and demonstrations.
Another experience I was able to have during this internship was directly assisting in a professional research literature review, which was contracted out to Simlat by Sinclair College as an official Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) project. This project required me to work directly with Sinclair’s UAS research team, as well as an international drone company and another university. My responsibilities for this project included creating an outline and timeline for the literature review portion, as well as reviewing research on the UAS market and writing several sections of the paper, to be turned in to the FAA for official review.
These experiences forced me to come out of my comfort zone and find that I was able to communicate and form connections with many different people and professionals. In addition, I was able to see firsthand how much of an impact I was able to make as an intern for not only my Simlat team, but for various other companies and groups, which instilled in me a new confidence I never thought I’d have.
- The confidence I have gained from my internship experience in the last year has allowed me to expand the scope of what my future career and goals looks like, as I have developed new interests in fields/topics I never thought I’d be able to pursue. Upon completing my internship I decided to add a Robotics and Autonomous Systems minor to my degree so that I could continue learning about the principles that created Simlat and were used throughout my internship.
Overall, my internship experience I was able to pursue because of STEP has given me a newfound sense of confidence that I have carried with me through both my personal life and work/school. My outlook on myself as a person and an engineer have changed for the better, and I can now confidently say that I truly look forward to my career as an engineer because of this internship experience.
I/ITSEC Conference, Orlando 2023
I/ITSEC Conference, Orlando 2023
Simlat Main Office in Petach Tikvah, Israel