The Cisco International Internship Program is a year-long program that runs from August to July and is a great opportunity for high-performing international college students to get hands-on experience in the workforce!
Raphaël Vigée is a CIIP intern from France where he studies Computer Science at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom. He is currently working on Cisco’s Digital Network Architecture Center (DNAC) team and
Raphael recently gave us insight to his team, the culture at Cisco and life as a CIIP intern!
Why did you choose Cisco International Internship Program (CIIP)?
My main motivation was to have an opportunity to work for one of the largest IT companies in the world, especially in the US. Learning from their experience and getting new skills is a very interesting and challenging opportunity.
What is your favorite thing about CIIP so far?
It’s hard to choose! Everything and every day here has been a discovery of something new and exciting!
At work, every day comes with its challenges and the excitement of having a successful build! Outside of work, we travel a lot to different places and it’s always a discovery of amazing places. Overall, I would say my favourite thing about CIIP so far is the new experiences.
What do you like about your work?
Every day is a new challenge! I get experience with products used daily by thousands of people, and I feel like my work has an actual impact, which is very rewarding!
What does a typical day look like for you?
A typical day starts by being at work at 9am, having a scrum meeting at 9:30am and then spending the day trying to empty the JIRA board (this is literally impossible, there is always something new in there).
Tell us about your team!
My team is responsible for creating tools used by other teams working on the DNAC, such as various dashboards, analytics and build pipelines.
What is the culture like at Cisco?
Cisco’s internal organization has a great impact on its culture. Each department is its own “company within the company”, each one has its own management specificities etc, so the culture is different. For my department, I would say that employees and managers are always open and willing to help, which is particularly useful when joining such a large organization.
What do you hope to learn at Cisco?
I hope to discover new technologies and strengthen my skills in the technologies I already know.
What technologies/projects interest you that you are hoping to work on at Cisco?
I used to be a full stack web developer in the past, and my interest in this field has never weakened! I would also like to get projects out of my “comfort zone” to get the opportunity to learn new things.
Have you taken any weekend trips yet? If so where, what did you do?
We did many trips over the weekends. We’ve been so far to San Francisco (many times), Lake Tahoe, Los Angeles, San Diego, Vandenberg Army Base (to watch a rocket launch, that was amazing).
Do you have any tips for future interns?
Prepare for the interview; you may only get one!
Learn more about Raphael and his work here: https://raphaelvigee.com