4.1 New Skills Gained
The working environment at DBFF facilitated the development of several soft skills such as communicating with senior staff and higher-ups, solving any problems that arose during the trials, keeping up a good work ethic and situational awareness, developing better analytical and critical skills, managing the hours of the day to maximize productivity, building interpersonal skills to learn to overcome language barrier and be able to work with people of different work ethics, and adapting to a new, unfamiliar environment. In addition, coming from a research-based university backed with lots of hands-on lab work definitely provided a push to further sharpen any hard skills involved during the internship period. Such sharpening of the skills definitely ranged from simple activities such as pipetting and weighing, to running machines and setups, sterilizing lab equipment, and maintaining proper lab safety. It was a remarkable experience to be able to work with and be exposed to new instruments, such as that of an industrial-production-sized spray drying machine, a small-scale ultrasonic instrument and a factory production-scale ultrasonic setup, high-shear mixer or homogenizing emulsifier machine, and a pilot-scale aluminum-based packaging machine. Having gained experience in running these setups will surely show employers the diverse handling experience when it comes to creating various products in the lab. Being able to be given a chance to hone the skills possessed and gain newer, relevant skills will undoubtedly benefit myself when applying for employment after graduation.
An internship opportunity like this has facilitated the development of an understanding of how the flavor industry works and permitted increased awareness of all the skills and abilities in the laboratory. Not to mention, it facilitated the familiarization of the implementation of practical works acquired at i3L from both courses and lab subjects, the environment, processes, and workflow in a flavor company, and possible career paths from the chosen study program at i3L. Academic skills are surely critical; however, being able to demonstrate to future employers of a wide range of skills, especially those obtained through the six months internship at DBFF, will definitely improve future employability and career prospects. Having to experience a first internship as an intern aiding in flavor application provided skills in assisting the testing and evaluating the application of flavors and ingredients in the intended applications in terms of their feasibility, stability, and appropriate dosage levels, managing priorities and deadlines to ensure that application trials are completed in a timely manner, and actively searching for solutions when problems arise during the flavor application testing process. These responsibilities will definitely stand out when applying for positions as flavor application staff, not only in flavor and fragrance companies but also in the R&D department of larger food and beverage industries.
4.2 Strengths and Weakness During Internship
During the internship, several strengths were demonstrated to aid in the succession of the assigned internship responsibilities. These include being a work-oriented individual with a positive attitude, great time-management and a focused sense of urgency. Having the ability to demonstrate enthusiasm, discipline, determination, and independence when working served as a great aid when carrying out and completing the projects and any given tasks. Some weaknesses, however, also surfaced during the internship. The lack of
knowledge of certain aspects of the flavor industry and the lack of experience regarding the methods in flavor creation or ways to run a particular equipment or setup were several barriers that hindered the start of an assignment. Not to mention, there were moments of hesitation to ask for assistance due to the inability to properly form coherent Indonesian-language sentences and therefore ended up stalling to ask questions and having the preference to simply work on the delegated task as instructed. These weaknesses surfaced only at the beginning of the internship and slowly turned into optimistic progress along the way.
4.3 Contribution of i3L Values Towards Internship Success
The values of grit, role-model, and integrity has been planted early on since the first semester at i3L, and has been constant throughout the semesters and until the course of this internship duration. Being constantly reminded to persist after encountering setbacks and being open towards expressing a different perspective on any subjects of discussion in the internship workplace has made it possible for me to be resilient and have courage to try new things and even try working on a particular assignment repeatedly until the best results have been achieved. Not to mention, having a conscientious attitude has affirmed oneself to regularly stay on the course despite the difficulties experienced when working on the given assignments and projects. Grit has undoubtedly played a huge role in persevering and having optimism throughout the internship period and to see the internship as a valuable learning experience by being exposed to the actual working environment of a flavor manufacturing company.
Furthermore, the reminders given by i3L staff and faculties to become a good role model for oneself and other people has ensured that good motivation, work ethics, and behavior were instilled in order to achieve goals in such a dynamic environment. Becoming a role model for oneself and for other people in the company increased morale, wherein personal traits of working hard, being responsible, showing enthusiasm in working on tasks, and overall performing optimally at times undoubtedly aided in showing that i3L students are capable of demonstrating their commitment to assigned responsibilities and exhibit positive workplace habits. Lastly, another important i3L value that helped the internship process was integrity. It ensured the implementation of strong principles and values, especially in being accountable for decisions, actions, and even mistakes, expressing gratitude to others upon receiving help, being open to receiving constructive criticism, showing reliability and trustworthiness, respecting oneself and others, and being flexible under pressure and various circumstances. All these traits were trained throughout four years at i3L, hence coming naturally when entering the internship environment.
4.4 Relevance of i3L Classes Towards Internship Success
All the i3L classes learned from the first semester up until the sixth semester have been a tremendous help during the internship days. Fundamental courses in the first two semesters provided me a basis in understanding the basics of chemical reactions, statistical analysis, writing skills, and basic, yet critical laboratory skills. These allowed ease of comprehending reactions, applying statistical calculations, and being able to report findings.
My second year at i3L has served as the building block in understanding food processing that
takes place in an industrial setting and the different analytical methods that can be utilized for various applications. Lots of analysis takes place on a daily basis throughout the internship period and being taught various analytical methods at i3L permitted me to easily carry out the steps relevant to particular food processing applications and the particular components being subjected to analysis.
Most importantly, the fifth and sixth semester has been the greatest learning experience as not only did it peak one’s interest in the flavor and additives industry, but it also provided me with great knowledge of additives, food safety, flavor chemistry and technology, sensory evaluation, quality management, food legislation, and experimental design. All the theories and practical skills gathered from the aforementioned courses have undoubtedly helped me on a daily basis when it comes to preparing flavors and understanding the reactions behind their formation, the importance of safety and quality management during trials and production processes, carrying out sensory evaluation on the products made, and being able to control the flow of the projects by having a proper experimental design. When taking part in the training sessions, the materials were easily understood, considering that a majority of the materials have been taught in the Animal Food Science, Food Safety and Toxicology, and Quality Management and Food Safety courses.
Not to mention, there were case studies and real-life scenarios from the company’s factories regarding the implementation of the FSSC, GMP, and Halal regulations, therefore providing a great example of how to carry out and adhere to ‘theories’ (i.e. regulations) taught during class in an actual (flavor) manufacturing industry setting.
4.5 Contribution of BRIGHT Sessions for Soft Skills Development
Aside from applying academic lessons learned at i3L into the workplace, the knowledge gained from taking part in BRIGHT sessions has also contributed to soft skills development throughout the internship period. Learning how to create an impactful CV and be confident during an interview has successfully landed me with a great internship placement at DBFF, wherein confidence and enthusiasm to work in a professional setting was easily expressed and good understanding of the food and flavor industry were shown using the lessons gained from i3L courses. Successfully identifying one’s learning style and personality aided me to adjust how to comprehend the lessons given by the mentor and senior staff, how to respectfully interact with people of different backgrounds, expertise, working ethics, and personality, and how to properly behave in a professional manner and respond to situations based on personality type. Furthermore, learning ways to present with impact and being brave enough to experience failure and regain working spirits provided constant reminders of personal capability to present the findings to the higher ups and exhibit better work performance day by day. Not to mention, honing communication skills to have more effective intercultural communication skills for a better career opportunity has aided in understanding the ways to communicate with people of different cultures, backgrounds, and work ethics. This in combination with establishing leadership communication skills in a teamwork setting undoubtedly serves as a key to a smooth working flow.
4.6 Impact Given to Workplace
A prompt working pace and expressing enthusiasm in being an accountable individual were two lasting impressions given to the working environment of the company.
Being prompt does not necessarily mean rushing to get things done; however, it simply implies the need to focus on a particular task and have it done in a timely manner so as to increase productivity and be able to work on a number of other tasks in the same approach.
Having expressed accountability in the workplace has provided an impact of showing a sense of responsibility and willingness to accept delegated tasks, be answerable for any actions and/or decisions, and work realistically instead of trying to set goals that may be unreasonably difficult to achieve. Additionally, frequently lending a helping hand to others has impacted the views of others in realizing that help is always available with or without them asking for it. Lastly, being able to exhibit the importance of relying on a scientific basis and adapting methodologies taken from literature has most likely impacted the workplace, as more trials were carried out based on published works and were improvised along the way with new information obtained from reading the literature.