There was a need for an HR tool within Fieldside, Contribute’s parent company cluster, to centralize all HR-related documentation and simplify recurring tasks. The HR manager of the cluster had previously been using a document flow on Teams. For many tasks, such as evaluation meetings or onboarding new employees, Excel and Word documents were also used. The task for Jens and Zeno was to build an application that could optimize these processes.
“There are plenty of HR tools on the market, but most of them include additional features for payroll, which weren’t necessary here. They’re also usually quite expensive. By developing the application ourselves, Fieldside can not only avoid unnecessary costs but also easily integrate it with other tools they already use,” explains Jens.
Developing with Low-code
It was Jens and Zeno’s first time developing with a low-code platform. “It’s very different from what we’re used to. What we’ve been able to create in just 8 weeks, we would never have been able to do without low-code,” says Jens.
“There are many basic tasks that are easier and faster with low-code development. This allowed us to focus more on the nice-to-have features,” agrees Zeno. “It was great working with low-code. In the future, I’ll definitely use it again, though it depends on the type of application that needs to be built. For a data-based tool, it’s really ideal. For more complex tasks, it can be a bit limiting at times.”
A great first impression
Jens and Zeno are both students at KdG, following the Applied Computer Science program with a specialization in Application Development. “At KdG, there was a kind of internship fair. Contribute was there, and we went straight to their booth. We immediately had a good feeling about them,” explains Jens. “Saskia, the HR manager, and Kelly, our internship supervisor, were present. They gave a great impression. They couldn’t exactly say what the internship project would involve, but they made us feel comfortable. That’s why we ultimately chose to do our internship at Contribute.”
“They did mention we’d be working with Oracle APEX, which we found exciting since we had always worked with Java or .NET before. It’s nice to try something new,” confirms Zeno.
Never treated as interns
“That good feeling we had initially turned out to be completely right. From day one, we were warmly welcomed. The internship itself went really well. We were never really treated as interns,” continues Zeno.
“Totally agree,” Jens chimes in. “We were invited to team events, we went paddleboarding with colleagues… We were really embraced by the team. We could always reach out to them whenever we had questions, even to colleagues from the other companies within the cluster. You always have access to extensive expertise.”
“The free lunch, good infrastructure, and great work atmosphere made this internship a really positive experience for us,” adds Zeno.
After a successful internship, Jens and Zeno are ready for the next step in their careers. “I’m going to start working as a .NET full-stack developer soon. I was already working part-time as a freelancer during my studies, so I knew I was ready to jump straight into work after my internship,” explains Zeno.
“I’d like to take a course on AI and Data Science. Since there are a lot of similar subjects in my current program, it would initially be a lighter year. I might combine it with part-time work, but I’m not completely sure yet,” concludes Jens.
