In a groundbreaking collaboration between CR Kennedy and Hexagon, a unique opportunity was presented to Australian Universities and TAFE institutions last year – an internship at the prestigious Leica Geosystems headquarters at the close of 2023. The response was overwhelming, with over 40 applications flooding in from educational institutions across the country. C.R. Kennedy’s Brett Connolly and Hexagon’s Laren Collen, along with Leica management, faced the challenging task of selecting the most deserving candidate from a pool of exceptionally strong applications. The honour of securing the coveted internship went to Lucy Illek, a second-year student from the University of Newcastle, whose application, resume, and interview stood out prominently.
Lucy's regular updates on her experiences at Leica Geosystems headquarters promises to be an enlightening exploration into the world of geospatial technology. This marks a significant step in fostering strong relationships with educational institutions and further establishing CR Kennedy's commitment to nurturing talent at the grassroots level. Join us in following Lucy's exciting venture as she embarks on this transformative internship.
“To Laren and Brett,
Whilst working at Leica Geosystems within the GNSS Product Management team I have been involved in supporting existing products, and helping with a new product design.
Although I am still studying surveying, I have a foundational background in fieldwork, having worked as an assistant mostly in engineering surveying. Through completing this internship I was hoping to gain a greater technical understanding of surveying.
By working with existing products, I have had a great overview of the existing range of Leica GNSS products, and have been able to deep dive into specific features. I have also been involved in testing new feature releases for our existing products. I'm basically being used as a litmus test for how surveyors might receive new features and what needs to go into release notes and marketing materials. Different activities at work, like creating presentations about corrections services, or trying to configure connectivity in devices have really consolidated and built on my technical understanding of GNSS.
In my spare time, I have been trying to explore as much of Switzerland and Europe as I can, going skiing, visiting Italy over Christmas and going for weekend bike rides to ruined castles.
Overall, my first couple of months at Leica have involved lots of invaluable learning, particularly about GNSS products but also about the overall profession. I hope to be able to apply this knowledge not only for the next few months I am here, but also once I return to Australia in my studies and career.
I’m very grateful to have received this opportunity. Thank you for organising this, I am learning much more than I had imagined and building confidence in my understanding too.
I have attached some photos of my experience since being here.
Thank you,
Lucy Illek”
