INTERVIEW

I have always been interested in Japanese culture and mentality. These days, many European firms are learning from Japanese working methods. As such I have always desired a professional working experience in a great Japanese multinational company to learn the different manners of working and thoroughness. Furthermore given my fascination with hot scientific topics, in particular artificial intelligence, I am currently specializing in robotic and embedded systems. The Sumitomo Electric Global Internship Program was for these reasons, a motivating challenge and fantastic opportunity with great possibilities to work on new and advanced technologies.

With the rapid progress of autonomous driving, vehicles are becoming more intelligent and less reliant on human operation. Self-driving car development is today based on the emergence of V2X (Vehicle-to-everything) communication, a wireless technology aimed at enabling data exchanges between a vehicle and its surroundings in order to satisfy road safety, traffic efficiency, and energy savings. My project at Sumitomo Electric consisted of implementing a collection and sharing maneuver data system in a vehicular networking simulation framework to code Vehicle-to-Vehicle functions, such as a collision avoidance and a cooperative lane change. In addition, I also worked on DSRC and C-V2X communications, simulated and analyzed company products for high frequency related to autonomous driving.

On a technical side, I have learnt many technologies related to autonomous driving on top of the simulators I worked on for Vehicle-to-Everything communication. In general, the experience of working in the Advanced Automotive R&D Center was very stimulating and allowed me to develop my curiosity, autonomy and problem-solving process. I gained precious skills and knowledge, besides the confidence and professional communication I developed during this twelve weeks internship. I was also fascinated with Japanese culture and mindset and had the chance to meet people from all over the world with different backgrounds.

Immersing myself in the working environment of Sumitomo Electric was a unique opportunity that helped to strengthen my motivation of learning new things and challenging myself. Moreover, working in the Advanced Automotive R&D Center was a fantastic experience that provided me a lot of different skills. I felt that participating in this internship developed my flexibility and truly expanded my field of vision. It certainly opened new doors for my career in the future.

The ability to adapt to different situations and new environments will be unique skills you will learn by joining the Global Internship Program. It is an incomparable opportunity to experience work and life in Japan, to learn new ways of working through interesting projects and to live the company culture. Working at Sumitomo Electric on high technology projects with experienced people will definitely improve yourself, both professionally and individually.