Post-internship: working on new tech solutions

Viola Braams was firstly introduced to Avanade via an internship, working as a Cyber Security Intern for several months. She now is a full time Cyber Defense Analyst, who works on projects for different clients - looking for the best possible solution.

In ‘Post-internship’ we tell the stories of Avanadi who started out as interns and now have a flourishing career in their field of expertise. Each school year, Avanade welcomes a big number of interns who start working in different teams and domains. We harvest young talent and introduce them to our way of working, while boosting growth and skills.

Learning by doing

At the University of Leiden, Viola started her studies with a Bachelor of Science: International Relations and Organizations. To really challenge herself she followed an additional study in Computer Science and Economics, a collaboration with Erasmus University Rotterdam: “I was interested in the dynamics between business and tech, and got involved with IT and programming. I learned a lot during my studies, but wanted to apply my newly learned skills and knowledge into practice. I was contacted by Avanade via LinkedIn, asking me if I was interested in an internship. During this time I also wanted to pursue a Masters’ degree in Cybersecurity Governance, which I would combine with my upcoming internship. In this way, I was able to fully prepare myself for a future career.”

Starting a career in tech

Viola did an interview with Avande and found a suitable graduation project in Application Security: “This project was the perfect mix of human, organizational and technological aspects. In my team, we were dedicated to supporting development teams with automated tools, code and other forms of automation. To speed up the process in a sustainable and workable way. Application Security is something you look at in the initial phase of a solution, and in my work now as a Cyber Defense Analyst, I help build the solution. I started working as an intern during the pandemic, but it didn’t affect the experience and my colleagues were very helpful. I also became the Secretary of the Intern Community at Avanade, which helped me get to know the company, expertises and talents even better in a short period of time.”

Continue to grow

At Avanade, Viola was able to grow her skills and expertise by following courses and other training opportunities: “I gained three Microsoft certificates during my internship and partaken in the Cyber Academy. When I finished my report and received positive feedback, I knew I wanted to stay at Avanade. First, I worked on small projects and overtime I got more responsibility and now I work in an international team and with the best possible tech solutions. I am involved in the whole process, from beginning to end, and have the opportunity to specialize myself as a professional. In the near future, I would like to work with clients on long-term projects and develop myself even more. At Avanade, there is an equal attention to people and innovation, which is rare in the IT business.”

Click here for more information on careers at Avanade.