Wie sieht ein Praktikum bei der COPLAN AG aus? Jorge Menacho, der ein sechsmonatiges Praktikum in unserem Regensburger Büro absolviert hat, nimmt uns mit in seinen Arbeitsalltag. Seit Ende Februar unterstützte er das Team im Projektmanagement (Schwerpunkt US-Projekte) und erzählt uns, welche Aufgaben er übernommen hat und wie ihm seine Zeit bei der COPLAN AG gefallen hat.
Jorge, take it away!
My name is Jorge Menacho. I am currently a Civil Engineering student at the University of Rhode Island (URI) in Rhode Island, United States, and I am part of the International Engineering Program (IEP).
For those that have not heard about this program before, the IEP is a program that focuses on broadening the learning of foreign languages by allowing students to obtain a degree in a foreign language in addition to their current engineering degree. There is an IBP as well which is the same as the IEP, but for business.
To accomplish this, the IEP program extends your study curriculum by 1 year, which allows you to travel to a country that speaks the language you are learning, study a semester at a partner university there, and then do a 6-month internship in that country.
In my case, I am studying German, hence my time here in Germany. The partner university I studied at was the Technical University Braunschweig, and after that, I started my ongoing internship with COPLAN AG in Regensburg.
Over the past year, I was fortunate enough to experience a lot of different things, and most of them, if not all, positive. I arrived in Germany at the end of Summer of 2023 and took part of the summer school offered by TU Braunschweig, where I studied German at an intensive pace. There I was able to meet new people from all over Europe, as well as do some trips around Germany and Europe.
After the summer school was over, the winter semester started at the TU, where I took engineering courses, German courses, and a Japanese course (all taught in German of course). Once the semester was over, I moved to Regensburg to begin my internship with COPLAN.
As an intern by COPLAN, I was able to learn a lot of things that I was not expecting to learn, which made this internship all the more valuable, and I think that is all thanks to Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Christian Suess (Program Manager, Head of US-Projects at COPLAN), and all the workers at COPLAN, which have been really friendly, patient, and supportive.
I started the internship at the end of February and will end towards the end of August. During my time here at COPLAN, I feel like my tasks have been evolving in a way that I am actually enjoying how it has progressed so far. My tasks at the beginning were very helpful, as I was able to learn a lot. I started working on documents such as organizational charts for projects, review of resumes for project solicitations, recap presentations of past projects, writing of minutes for different meetings, and I also worked on a 3D design for a hydrant lock for the office in Regensburg. All these initial tasks were helpful for what was to come after, as I was able to learn new programs like Visio and SketchUp, and grow my knowledge in programs like PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.
The next tasks I was involved in were the 3D modeling of different projects in Kuchyna (Slovakia), Grafenwoehr (Germany), and Novo Selo (Bulgaria). Explaining a bit further on these tasks, I worked on researching the distance from the tip of the nose to the front wheel of the F-15E and F-22 aircrafts, which was a measure we needed for the design of the stop bars, tie downs, and grounding points for the Arm/Disarm Pad and Apron project in Kuchyna. The research involved contacting different people, finding different documents, using different models and what was available to find the measures, or at least, approximate values for the measures we needed. Once the values were obtained, we prepared the design using the program SketchUp, which was then reviewed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Europe (USACE), which are in charge of providing both installation and contingency support to U.S. forces throughout the United States European Command area of responsibility.
For the project in Grafenwoehr, I prepared the initial 3D model in SketchUp for the planned Organizational Parking Vehicle project at Grafenwoehr military base and training area, which is intended to accommodate for Rotational Units as a place to hold different types of military vehicles. The model gets updated every time new information is received.
For Novo Selo, I helped adding different buildings into the already existing 3D SketchUp model. The project at Novo Selo is actually multiple different projects at Novo Selo training area. The projects involve the design of different facilities and areas. The 3D SketchUp model for Novo Selo contains a lot of these facilities, however some are still not included. My task was essentially to help include some of these missing buildings into the model using the given architectural and civil drawings.
Additionally, I prepared templates for documents such as the Engineering Considerations and Instructions for Field Personnel (ECIFP), Design Analysis, Design Quality Control Plan (DQCP), and Urgent Minor Validation Report (UMVR). I prepared the minutes for meetings, including the Charrette Meeting for a project in Breslau, Poland. A charrette meeting takes place at the start of a project. It is a collaborative process that harnesses the knowledge of all involved parties to create a master plan for the project, taking into account the opinion of all the stakeholders of the project.
I conducted some research regarding European products so that they follow the US requirements needed for US Projects in Europe. I worked on some cost analysis and estimates, as well as prepared some Request for Information (RFI) documents, which are documents that are submitted to request information regarding some aspects of the project. These RFIs are held as important documentation and proof of the decision process that leads up to the final design.
And finally, I also worked on the preparation and updating of the schedules for different projects.
With COPLAN, I was also able to go on some business trips that allowed me to meet different people and the different locations where the projects are. Some of these trips were to Breslau (Poland), Grafenwoehr, and Wiesbaden.
All these tasks (and even more that maybe I forgot to mention), as well as the different trips, gave me a better insight into what is involved in the design of a project from the very beginning to the very end. Having worked on all these different aspects of the different projects, I feel more prepared to step into the workforce once I graduate in May 2025.
This exchange has allowed me to have a better view of the world and all the different cultures that one can experience once they step out of their comfort zone. My travels to the different European countries, as well as the people I met while working and studying in Germany, have not only given me different perspectives, but have also allowed me to grow ever day to be a better and more prepared person.
My experience as an intern with COPLAN, as well as all my adventures in Europe, has been one of the best learning experiences I had, and for that I am grateful. Thank you to everyone at COPLAN for taking care of me and supporting me throughout my internship. I hope we can stay in touch and I wish you all the best.
Thank you Jorge!
Du willst genau wie Jorge auch mal ein Praktikum bei der COPLAN AG machen?
Dann Plane DEIN Projekt, bewirb dich bei uns und werde COPLANer! Am einfachsten geht das als Initiativbewerbung.
Wir freuen uns auf dich!