My Internship at Systems and Technology in Mexico
My name is Aranza, I’m from Guadalajara (Mexico), and I’m about to finish my 6 month internship as a requirements engineer in the Systems and Technology (S&T-C) group.
The S&T-C group in Guadalajara was started last November with 3 people, (Diego, Jakob and me), so we lived the experience of creating a new group with the help of our manager Manuel. I won’t say this has been easy, we are still looking for the best way to optimize our processes and every day we are learning how to do the right things the right way, we all work together to give the best to the project . Today we are 8 members on this side of the team (Berenice, Marco, Francisco, Miguel, Manuel, Jakob, Diego and me) and we work very very close with rest of the team in Auburn Hills, Michigan (US).
Berenice, Aranza, Diego – Members of S&T-C Guadalajara Team
The first time I got to meet the rest of the team in Auburn Hills was a very nice experience. Everyone had a very positive attitude and we help each other when needed. There are also new members of the team in Auburn Hills so the learning process is enriched with the multicultural thinking of the complete team. When I traveled to Auburn Hills this February we had the kick off meeting for two of the projects we are working on right now, BUA & TRA, it was a very nice experience, It was my first workshop where I learned how the project is planned and also about the importance of knowing all the people you will work with in the near future.
The Project I’m currently working on follows the ZERO VISION in Continental where we want to reduce to zero the fatalities that occur while driving a car, following the SENSE PLAN ACT structure where we, S&T, are the PLAN part and we provide really cool algorithms that with the SENSE and the ACT parts we achieve a complete and capable system. For example the Backup-Assist (BUA) project utilizes Surround View algorithms, as a SENSE Part, to detect objects representing a hazard for the driver when driving backwards, then BUA algorithm makes a smoothly brake request in order to have minimum intrusiveness, which makes BUA a very trustfull system for the driver, the ACT part is handled by the brakes team.
Systems & Technology Group. Kickoff meeting
Another project the team is working on is the Trailer Reverse Assist (TRA) that provides a robust system that helps the driver to park when a trailer is attached to the vehicle in a very easy-to-use way. The Advanced engineering part of the group is working with the Highly Automated Driving (HAD) project which is an autonomous system targeted for vehicles in highways. Cool right?!
I am very grateful that I have the opportunity to participate and collaborate in a group like this as an intern, the fact that I have big responsibilities makes me feel part of something real and I can see how the work I do is reflected into the final project. It makes me keep looking forward to learning new things and challenging myself to be part of the new technology that is changing the way we normally drive around. The team has very interesting projects to develop so the near future path of this group looks so exciting! This has been a great opportunity given to a recently engineering graduated girl!!
Besides the good working and learning experiences I have from Continental, the working culture is something else I like from here, In both sites, Santa Anita and Auburn Hills North, the working culture is very fresh and you can feel welcome by the rest of the team when you visit them. Here at Santa Anita you can find a very nice building with paintings in the walls , nice areas to work when you need fresh air, it is a place that inspires you to have creative ideas.
So, now that I’m a day from my first 6 months in Continental, I want to say thanks to all of my colleagues, I have enjoyed this so much and I would like to learn more from this multicultural and revolutionary group in Continental!
You are interested in becoming an intern in Mexico yourself? Check all open positions here: www.continental-jobs.com
This article was written by our employee.
