by Maria Bennett

When I first heard KBC were launching an internship through Enactus, I knew I had to apply and have the opportunity to gain valuable work experience outside college. I applied for the internship online by uploading my CV and a brief description of my digital banking idea.

Thankfully, I was one of the lucky  students to be shortlisted to the final round of the Enactus KBC internship in KBC’s HQ.

The interview day was challenging but very enjoyable and all of KBC’s staff put us at ease.
To start the day, I had an interview with two members of the Data Analytics team. The interview was very relaxed with plenty of laughs and this continued throughout the day itself.

In the afternoon each candidate had the opportunity to pitch their idea on a digitally led banking product to KBC’s staff where we received on the spot feedback and questions. Although the process sounds daunting, it was surprisingly my favourite part of the day.

Being in a professional environment that encourages innovation and students to share their thoughts and ideas was refreshing. This really opened up my eyes to KBC as an organisation and I continued to see this throughout my internship. I was always treated as a member of the  team and my opinion was valued in a place that encouraged me to question ways of working and why we do things the way we do.

I started my internship in June and I joined the Innovation Hub team who is responsible for the delivery of  KBC’s Mobile Banking App. When I first heard what this entailed, I was excited as I’ve always had an interest in technology. I was also apprehensive though as I don’t have a background in Computer Science or development.

The iHub was a completely new experience for me; it was an environment that I never experienced before. Two days in the iHub are never the same, from meetings with various parts of the business, to testing of the app and spotting bugs, to getting to see new functionality that the team have worked on for months being finally implemented. Work never felt tedious and I always enjoyed developing new software skills and using my problem solving skills on a daily basis.

A highlight of my internship was getting to experience new functionalities getting added to KBC’s app such as the new Student Account. I got to experience the pressures, timelines and deadlines that come with updating an app on app stores and the end-to-end process of implementation.

After my summer internship, I was lucky to have the opportunity to return to KBC for my work placement during college. I’m back working with the same team and I’m excited to have the opportunity to explore more parts of the bank.

Through this process, I’ve taken away some key learnings which include:  

• Be patient: You won’t know how to do everything straight away—you are an intern, so take this opportunity to learn and develop new skills.  
• Ask questions: The first day of my internship; I was told that there is no such thing as a stupid question, only the one you don’t ask.