We are excited to talk about this year's Web3 Internship! We have welcomed two new interns, Toni and Domagoj, and look forward to their progress. Over the past few years, our Web3 Internship program has proven highly successful and beneficial for both us and the interns. In this blog, we'll give you a behind-the-scenes look at the program, guided by this year's mentors, Marija Vuco and Kristina Ramljak. They will share their experiences, motivations, and key responsibilities. Let's dive in!

About Web3 Internship

First let's talk about the program. For a fourth year in a row, we are organizing a summer Internship. Over the years, the format’s changed, but our mission stayed the same: to educate young Web3 enthusiasts stepping into the world of software development.

Web3 Internship is a 2-month program where students get a unique opportunity to become a part of a professional team and work on a product that will go into production.

Our interns are working on the Web3 frontend and getting familiar with smart contracts. A technology stack the interns are getting familiar with includes CSS, HTML, React and Solidity. Moreover, they are mastering Trello, an organization tool, and Figma, a web app that helps them collaborate with UI/UX designers. Chat with the mentors

Sneak peek into the Internship program

1. Can you walk us through the Internship program and your role in it?

Marija: This year, the internship participants are working on our internal project and developing a small web application. They are working on the frontend and backend, and I am the person they can call for any questions.

Kristina: The interns work on a smaller, internal full-stack web3 project, involving both backend and frontend development. My role as a mentor is to provide constructive feedback to help the interns grow and progress by reviewing their code and answering any questions they have, guiding them in the right direction.

2. What will Interns learn through the process? What technologies are they using?

Marija: The plan is for the interns to not only write code and solve tasks but also get familiar with Jira and the organization of the entire project. They should get used to using GitHub, navigating Figma, and being aware of their responsibilities. They are working with NextJS for the frontend and NestJS for the backend. The idea is that through these tasks, they learn the technology, how to write clean code, and get used with working in a professional environment and the main responsibilities of a developer.

Kristina: Interns will learn to write clean and optimized code by adhering to best practices in both frontend and backend development. They will gain hands-on experience with technologies such as Next.js and Nest.js, PostgreSQL, and Prisma ORM. Additionally, they will understand how the frontend communicates with the backend and how the backend interacts with the database. They will also learn how to use tools like Jira and Figma, as well as gain insights into project organization and management.

3. What do you expect from your Interns, and how do you track their progress?

Marija: I expect that by the end of the internship, they will learn to write code according to the Blank principles, become more comfortable with their tasks over time, learn a lot, and have fun working on the projects just like we do.

Kristina: I expect that by the end of the internship, interns will have learned how to investigate and debug code issues, and use research skills to find solutions. They should also acquire foundational knowledge of Next.js and Nest.js. To track their progress, we monitor their development through regular code reviews, by evaluating the questions they ask , and consider their updates during daily meetings.

4. How is the 2024 Internship different from last year's? Are there any changes?

Marija: Last year, the interns joined an existing project, but this year they are starting work on a new project that was only set up. This makes the Internship a bit more challenging, as the interns will be writing a lot of the code themselves (without looking at existing code in the project). This way, they will learn much more.

Kristina: This year, there is no predefined template for coding, instead, interns receive only documentation with guidelines on our coding and structuring practices at Blank. As a result, interns this year need to invest more effort and time in research and problem-solving to complete their tasks.

Diving into the mentorship role

5. What are the main responsibilities of a mentor in the Web3 Internship?

Marija: My responsibility is to organize the project development, prepare tasks to be worked on, answer all questions and clarify any uncertainties, and guide the interns on where and how to find solutions for their tasks. I am also here to provide moral support to ensure that this first work experience goes as smoothly as possible.

Kristina: I would say, these are the three core responsibilities of the role of a mentor in the Web3 Internship:

6. What motivates you the most about being a mentor, and what is the biggest challenge?

Marija: I always enjoy helping others progress and love seeing people improve in their work and learn new things. The biggest challenge is to convey knowledge in a way that others understand, because often we all have a picture in our heads of how something works, but it can be difficult to transfer that to others.

Kristina: What motivates me the most about mentoring is the chance to share my knowledge with others, which in turn allows me to contribute to their professional growth. The biggest challenge for me is providing feedback that is both honest and encouraging, fostering growth and progress without being discouraging.

7. How do you balance your tasks and projects with being a mentor?

Marija: We do the mentoring alongside working on other projects, so we just need to organize our time a bit. Fortunately, I have Kristina, so we organize everything together, and it is much easier when there is someone with whom I can discuss and make plans.

Kristina: I balance my tasks and projects with mentoring by collaborating closely with my colleague, Marija. We coordinate efficiently and organize tasks for the interns together, which helps me manage both my own project and my mentoring responsibilities more effectively.

8. How is being a mentor contributing to your personal career development?

Marija: You can always learn something from everyone, regardless of their level of experience. Similarly, I learn something new every day from the interns, whether it's about communication, technology, or leadership.

Kristina: Being a mentor contributes to my personal career development by enhancing my communication skills, developing my leadership abilities, and deepening my understanding of the field.

Stay tuned

We hope this blog gives you valuable insights about the program and the incredible opportunities it offers, so that you can, if you are interested, apply next year! We are excited about the potential of Toni and Domagoj and look forward to their contributions and learning. Stay tuned for more updates!