What are you up to now? And do you think your internship helped you get to where you are today?
Today I work for Bastion Cycles, a bike manufacturer in Fairfield, Melbourne that produces high-end bicycles. The bikes we make are made up of 3D printed titanium metal lugs and carbon fibre tubing. The reason I got a job there is directly linked to the internship that I did. The 3D printers that I learnt to use and work with during my internship are the same printers that I work with today.
If it wasn’t for my internship, I doubt I would’ve ended up working for Bastion, who has taught me a lot about how to be an in-field engineer designing new products, that not only look amazing but work well and are to iso standards. I also get to see how much the final bikes bring joy to our customers. Through Bastion I also got the opportunity to take part in printing bike parts for various countries for the Olympics, and we also work with a wheelchair company printing parts for them too. Not only do I get exposure in using leading 3D printing technology in a real-life manufacturing scenario I get to use the Industrial Design and Mechanical Engineering knowledge I learnt at RMIT in my day-to-day work.
What advice would you give to someone applying for an internship overseas?
The advice I’d give to anyone considering applying for an overseas internship is to go for it 100%! Apply for the opportunity, even if you think you may not have all they’re looking for. My internship wasn’t looking for an undergrad in Mechanical Engineering, but more so someone specialising in metal 3D printing, but I applied anyway. The worst they could say was no!
I was passionate about getting to know more about 3D printing in metal, and that appealed to Leitat! Everything I needed to know I learnt while being there. The company and the RMIT Europe team helped me with any paperwork that needed to be done.
The best part was getting the opportunity to live in Barcelona and immersing myself in a culture and language different than the one I knew. I made some amazing friends, got to travel and experienced a life lived very differently from home. It was a dream!
Was there anything that surprised you about the move to a new country?
The biggest surprise was the difference in cultures between living in Melbourne and Barcelona. I knew going in that there would be a difference, but it was such a lovely surprise every time I discovered something new or that was unique to Barcelona in the way its inhabitants lived!
The closing period in the early afternoon with stores reopening from 5 until 9, staying out until sunrise with friends, sitting outside a bodega eating tapas, or wandering around the city as Barcelona was alive at all hours of the day and night.
The fact that almost nothing was open in August as the whole city decided to enjoy the summer and holidays for a month straight. Each area of Barcelona would host big elaborate street parties and get the community involved, and the metro compared to Melbourne was an absolute dream. It was all the small day-to-day things that made living and discovering Barcelona an amazing experience, while I got to work in a field that I was passionate about.
Did the experience change you in any way? And if so, how?
The experience allowed me to grow as a person in so many ways. I learnt a lot about myself as I went to Barcelona on my own not knowing anyone or knowing how to speak the language. It taught me a lot of resilience and strengthened my curiosity and importantly taught me how to be okay with being on my own. I made some lifelong friends and ended up meeting my partner who has since moved to Australia so that we could be together, and none of that would have happened if I hadn’t just gone for it. Being in Barcelona also allowed me to meet so many people from different countries and backgrounds, which opened my views to the way different people lived around the world.
In 2023 RMIT Europe is celebrating the significant milestone of its 10-year anniversary of operations in Barcelona. To learn about RMIT's history in Europe and keep up with the latest news and events, visit the #RMITEurope10 webpage and follow RMIT Europe on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Story: Jack Glasson
