🛠️ My 8-Week Internship Adventure at YWL Engineering

When I first joined YWL Engineering as an intern, I expected to face technical challenges. What I didn’t expect was the incredible pace, breadth, and diversity of experiences that each week would bring. Here’s a personal reflection of what those eight weeks looked like, one learning curve at a time.

Week 1: Dipping My Toes into Bridge Engineering

My first week was all about learning the ropes—literally and figuratively. I got to learn from seasoned bridge engineers and discovered the magic behind mega structures. Feasibility assessments, material decisions, load calculations—suddenly, all those engineering principles I had studied became alive and tangible. I also dabbled in setting up Windows AD policies, spinning up Ubuntu virtual machines, and managing databases. It was a crash course in how digital infrastructure supports real-world engineering.

Week 2: Automating the Basics (and Not-So-Basics)

With my foundation laid, I dove into development work. I helped build and improve user and rule management features—think import/export, sorting, and bulk actions. I created a dynamic email template system that made automated notifications feel human. On the systems side, I wrote bash scripts to automate Syslog installations, detect issues, and raise alerts for server metrics. I also learned to keep systems running under pressure—fixing overheating servers, reinstalling broken OSes, and even upgrading RAM and GPUs. The week ended with a call with the international team to discuss how our Syslog platform could go global. That was exciting.

Week 3: From Scripts to Systems

This week was all about depth. I fine-tuned GPU drivers for better VM performance and swapped out noisy mini fans—because sometimes, fixing lag involves a screwdriver. I overhauled our role-based user system to support multiple roles and added interface tweaks to make everything more user-friendly. SMTP went down, so I built a backup notification system with popups and shared notice boards. I also rolled out a single-page app for library room bookings and added an alert system with email assignment and resolution tracking. Oh, and I built a group chat system from scratch. Not bad for one week.

Week 4: Security, Permissions, and a Portal From Scratch

By now, I was managing user access and real-time device monitoring. I automated the syncing of intranet devices and made PowerShell fetching smarter using request headers. One highlight was integrating Samba Active Directory data into our database using Python scripts. I also built a searchable, assignable project portal and migrated old project data into our new WCI-compatible system. It was messy, but seeing it come together was so rewarding. I even got to help plan VPN and login service integrations during a handover meeting.

Week 5: A Better Drive, Smarter Users, and First 3D Prints

This week was feature-packed. I revamped our file drive with drag-and-drop, nested folders, real-time updates using SSE, and even rectangle-based bulk file selection. I added role descriptions, made user-role mappings searchable, and supported multi-location assignments. On the logging side, I started tracking user interactions on a page level. The cherry on top? I calibrated our office’s 3D printer and successfully printed a test model I designed in AutoCAD.

Week 6: AI Meets Infrastructure

Things took an AI turn this week. I built a file upload system that handled everything from .txt to .docx, and connected it to a Flask server running the BLIP model for image captioning. I integrated pgvector for semantic search, reorganized the database schema, and added safeguards for integrity. Overclocking the CPU was a bit intense, especially when it crashed and I had to reset it via PuTTY. But it worked. I also improved system monitoring with real-time alerts and ran a web framework shootout between Flask and Django.

Week 7: Semantic Search & Auditable Workflows

I connected our file uploads directly to the embedding engine, enabling near-instant semantic search results. Built a workflow and audit system from scratch—complete with progress tracking, drag-and-drop steps, and comments. Explored local AI models but dropped them due to resource issues. On the security side, I ran some CVE scans and helped tighten defenses across firewalls, databases, and servers. One fun tool I built checked for available IPs during device onboarding—no more guessing games.

Week 8: Reflection, Integration, and Thinking Bigger

This final week was the most intense. I dealt with frontend/backend validation issues and inconsistent audit logging. Fixing them taught me a lot about staging, data hygiene, and designing with intent. I implemented real-time ARP scans to manage IP conflicts and added a recommendation engine for IP allocation. But what stuck with me most was how much these systems mirrored society—logs for accountability, permissions for fairness, and workflows for efficiency. I started to realize that meaningful tech work isn’t just about features; it’s about anticipating needs and making systems that reflect values.

🧭 Closing Thoughts

This internship wasn’t just an engineering experience—it was a masterclass in how tech, systems, and people come together. I got to build, break, and rebuild. I learned how to think critically, plan carefully, and act decisively. Most of all, I learned to care—not just about code, but about the people and problems behind it.

To the mentors, teammates, and late-night debugging sessions: thank you for shaping my journey.