EUMETSAT social media takeover by our recent work experience students
We’ve been hosting two Prakitikantinnen (work experience students) within our Strategy, Communication and International Relations Division (SCIR), so that they could learn more about our outreach efforts, communication activities and partner relations.
Malak Kamel (16) and Marta Lean (14) are year-nine students at the State International School Seeheim, Hessen.
They’ve been able to get a great overview of what the organisation does as a whole by spending a bit of time with various divisions over two weeks and were kind enough to share their experience with us - here’s what they had to say!
What have you seen/done so far at EUMETSAT?
Marta: So far, we have been visiting all the different departments of EUMETSAT. The first two days Phil Harvey (Operations Analyst) showed us around the building and introduced us to some of his colleagues. We spent some time in the Geostationary Mission Control Centre where we sent a NOP (non-operational) command to a satellite. We spent another day in the technical building where we learned how the data of EUMETSAT is stored.
Malak: I’ve seen different departments including the control centre, where they went into detail about the satellites and the ground segment.
What were you most looking forward to seeing/learning at EUMETSAT?
Marta: I was personally interested in how the organisation runs as a whole and what each department is responsible for. I also wanted to understand better what the work environment is like and how employees communicate with each other.
Malak: I was interested in finding out what all the different departments are and what they do. I was looking forward to meeting the workers and getting to know their personal views on EUMETSAT.
What has been your favourite thing here so far?
Marta: So far I have been most interested in the control centre and the satellite commands, however I have been having a great day so far in the SCIR department so that may change.
Malak: My favourite thing so far has been the control centre because it was really interesting to send commands to the satellite and communicate with it. I’m also really enjoying the communication department.
Why did you choose EUMETSAT to do your Praktikum?
Marta: In previous years I took part in a Girls’ Day here, plus both my parents work here so I thought it would be nice to really understand what they do every day.
Malak: I chose to go to EUMETSAT for my Praktikum because I came here for Girls’ Day and I wanted to find out more about it.
How did you hear about EUMETSAT?
Marta: I have been attending the Christmas parties and summer parties for a very long time so I basically grew up here.
Malak: My dad works here so I’ve known about it for a while now, I also attended some of the Christmas and summer parties.
What would you like to study after high school and what are your favourite subjects?
Marta: I really enjoy art and I have a love/hate relationship with maths depending on the topic. I also enjoy physics and chemistry.
Malak: I’m not exactly sure what I want to study after high school but I’m interested in architecture and design. My favourite subjects at school are geography and art.
What would you like for a job in the future?
Marta: For some years, I have wanted to become an architect but I am not so sure anymore as it might be a fairly routine job and I’d like to do something that’s varied.
Malak: I’m still not sure but I’m interested in interior design at the moment.
Now that you have spent some time at EUMETSAT, would you also consider a career within the space industry?
Marta: Definitely, the two weeks here have been very exciting and full of action so I would love to work in this environment in the future.
Malak: I would definitely consider working here but I am also open to other options.
What have you learnt during your time here?
Marta: It is really hard to sum up in a short paragraph but I have definitely learned more about how the organisation runs, how satellites function and what important components fit together to form the system of how data is collected, processed and distributed.
Malak: I’ve learnt how to send commands to satellites, where they store all their data, how EUMETSAT helps their users, about the polar system spacecraft/flight dynamics system and about the ground segment overview.
Thank you very much to both Malak and Marta, who did a great job taking care of our social media channels for us! You can see their stories over on our Instagram channel.
Do you have any interesting work experience stories? Let us know in the comments!
Originally published at https://l-zone.info.
