An internship that takes the leap into technology
Tekniksprånget 2020
The Swedish initiative Tekniksprånget (Technology Leap) is a four-month paid internship program where upper secondary school graduates get to join Sweden's most renowned organizations. The goal? To show young people what career opportunities there are within engineering.
Through Tekniksprånget, organizations are investing in preserving Sweden’s engineering tradition and improving our long-term competitiveness. During the program the interns gain a better understanding of the profession and get inspired to study engineering or pursue another form of technical education.
Today, more than 200 employers offer internship positions through Tekniksprånget. Mycronic is one of them.
The project has been up and running since 2012 and the results are clear:
- 60% of all applicants state that they feel hesitant to apply for a higher technical education.
- 80% of all former interns are studying or intend to study a higher technical education.
- 75% of former interns that are today studying a higher technical education say that the internship affected their choice of education.
- 50% of the interns that are admitted are women.
Mycronic and Tekniksprånget
Mycronic’s first interns joined us in 2014, and since then we have received interns every semester (Fall/Spring). In total we have had the pleasure to coach 32 interns!
It is important for us to be part of the intern program, and be part of encouraging young people to pursue a career within engineering. At Mycronic we are in the position to show many aspects of engineering, and let the interns experience several disciplines, such as; mechanics, electronics, mechatronics, software, physics, industrial economics and others.
The making of a popular internship
Being an intern at Mycronic is highly sought after. And we work hard to develop internship positions that create real value, where the intern can learn, grow and develop a deeper interest for engineering.
When we plan for our interns we always see to it that the work is developing, where they get to perform qualified tasks. And an internship at Mycronic typically offers;
- Dedicated coach
- Broad insight to different fields of engineering
- Deep understanding of Mycronic, the electronics industry and our products
- Training and technical education
- Opportunity to grow with the role
- Perform tasks that are necessary for our R&D-projects
- Take on the responsibility to develop own experiments, analyze results and come with suggestions
“We take great pride in our internships. We put in a lot of time and effort to make their experience here as insightful as possible. And we get so much in return. They are highly talented and create great result. They also come with a young mindset, creating a new dynamic in our teams.”
Peter Björnängen, Director Technology Development and Physics and manager for the interns.
Tekniksprånget Spring 2020
During Spring Peter Björnängen, together with Andreas Bergström, are managing four interns. They work in teams of two, which each have one coach who supports them in their daily work and see to it that they always have something to do.
Meet the interns
Gustav, Disa, Martin and Irma
Gustav Kopp Sundin
Team at Mycronic:
Ejector team, Jet Printer
The best thing so far?
The best thing so far is that we get to see what engineers may work with. This has earlier been very abstract to me, but I have here at Mycronic met several engineers with different backgrounds and been able to see and hear what they work with. This is great inspiration for future choice of education.
Disa Berlin
Team at Mycronic:
Ejector team, Jet Printer
The best thing so far?
The best thing so far has been my co-workers who have been very patient, understanding and helpful at all times.
Ilma Aase
Team at Mycronic:
Optics team in Pattern Generators
The best thing so far?
I really like the people here at Mycronic. Everyone is so friendly, curious and willing to help. It’s also very exciting to get to work in the cleanroom!
Martin Macak
Team at Mycronic: Optics team in Pattern Generators
The best thing so far? Getting to see what engineers actually do, seeing what tasks they perform and how their schedules look like. Another thing is working towards the complex pattern generators and in the process developing skills in areas such as programming, which I find the most entertaining part. Also floorball (innebandy) on Mondays, the highlight of the week :)
We asked managers Peter and Andreas a few questions
Can you describe a typical intern at Mycronic?
We usually get around 60 applicants, and when we choose we have a few criteria;
- 50% female / 50% male
- are undecided on what they want to study
- have high grades
- strive for a geographical spread and with different backgrounds
Can you give an example of what they get to do?
Being an intern at Mycronic means that you get a broad experience from different fields of engineering, to help the interns to choose what area to study. A natural task when developing products is to test, and something that is part of our everyday work. And the interns get to create their own tests, analyze the outcome, and present the results to the entire team and suggest improvements etc.
What are the main benefits for Mycronic?
The interns contribute to actual tasks that are necessary for our operations, and they do it well. So the value is great. Also, our teams get more diverse, both from an age perspective, but also gender. Our teams get stronger.
Why is Teknisprånget important?
Taking the perspective from our society, the gains are huge. Tekniksprånget encourages young and competent people to develop further and pursue a higher education. The need for well-educated engineers is increasing, and for companies to keep being competitive we need highly skilled engineers. Through the internship companies can show what choosing engineering as a career path entails.
