The Virtual Company project, which puts an end to the second year students’ training at PNC, is dreaded by the students but also constitutes a real challenge, making them apply all of their skills and learn new ones!
This four-week project gave the students the opportunity to work with reachable objectives on a real case study, with a virtual client, and to put into practice all the skills they’ve been learning during their two-year training, from technical knowledge to soft skills but also project management and leadership.
The five WEP (Web development) teams either created web applications or improved existing prototypes. The companies/clients had different core business and needs such as a library management system for PNC’s new Library, a survey tool for human resources, car rental services, etc. It was a wonderful opportunity for them to experience the development process of a web application!
The five SNA (System and Network Administration) teams fixed, assembled and disassembled computers to set up new network structures and security systems; it was the occasion to work with real devices and various Operating Systems.
This project was not a bed of roses for the students. Some had to go through a lot of issues in their work but they strengthened their skills by experiencing real professional life:
“Through this project, I learned a lot in real practice on how to set up OS, connecting to network and I did a lot of research related to new technology,” explained Chinh, a SNA student.
Some felt nervous, such as Sor Vichey, a WEP student: “Because it is new… but I love challenges with other teams as we experienced in this project. Through this, I have learned how to solve problems related to code and work as a team.”
Sopheak Ros, one of PN Cambodia’s SNA Trainers, also revealed “The Virtual Company is very good for the students because they can work with real devices; they apply their knowledge and skills into a real practice before starting their internship. I observed that students paid a lot of attention to their work and they learned a lot during their research, working as a team, and project management.”
All the groups fulfilled the several objectives of the Virtual Company project. They now feel ready and have already started their internship in a real company. They gained confidence and maturity, learned a lot about problem solving, working as a team toward the same goal. This is the conclusion of two years of intense training for the students! We wish them great success in their future professional life.
Congratulations to Benoit Pitet, our WEP coordinator, Laurent Arnaud (Extia), Benjamin Ballet (Econocom) and all the volunteers for making this project a success! But also to all the SNA and WEP trainers and the IT Admin for their involvement and their achievements in planning and conducting each of the Virtual Company projects.