On 22 September the Stellenbosch University Student Chapter hosted a very well attended (considering it was a Friday night on a long weekend) event at the Reitz Hall. Six companies presented on their internship programmes and provided career guidance to the students. The presentations were very informative and diverse from young engineers reflecting on lessons learnt from being on site or in office, through to engineering veterans reflecting on their careers, to young leaders in the field reflecting on how the industry is evolving and the opportunities that will be available to students graduating shortly.

Key lessons included:
the importance of taking a long-term view on your career,
to pursue great experience over higher pay initially,
the importance of building relationships and being willing to learn from others,
the need to take an entrepreneurial mindset for your career even if working within a corporate,
don’t shy away from doing difficult things as they teach you about yourself and what you are good at,

The companies represented included Zutari, Power Construction, Arable (food production startup), Penetron, SMEC and Struxit. A huge thanks to all those who participated in a very worthwhile event, and a special thanks to the Stellenbosch University committee who organised the event.