by Diding Sakri

The first time I heard about Progetto Manifattura was from Mr. Luca Capra of Trentino Sviluppo in April 2010. He told me that it was a new company owned by the autonomous Province of Trento, and that it was working on the issues of green architecture and green economy. He asked me if I was interested in working there as an intern. I said ‘yes’ quickly for two reasons; one was that during my master in comparative development, we had several lectures on green architecture and economy, so I felt familiar with the subjects. Also it seemed challenging for me to work in a newly established company: it might open a path for innovative ideas to do during my internship.   I met the president of Progetto Manifattura, Gianluca Salvatori, by email, then Skype. After several communications I was accepted as intern and I started in September 2010. He challenged me to be innovative and autonomous in my work. With that motivation, I submitted a proposal for my internship: “Developing Network Database for Corporate Use: Concept Note and Guidelines for Data Collection and Analysis.” The idea of networks seemed like an important concept for a new company with aims of serving a wide spectrum of local stakeholders. In my first week, I discussed the proposal with Mr. Salvatori. He was familiar with the network approach, and was very supportive on the proposed theme. Well, the 2-month internship passed quickly. I produced the concept note and guidelines as planned. (Email me if you are interested in hearing about the details.) The most distinct feature of my internship experience was working independently in defining the scope of work, implementing it, and making reports. This situation matched my personal interests. And it fit well in the context of Progetto Manifattura, which has a small staff which has to work independently. Working independently allowed me to work fast and be productive, but the lack of constant interaction meant my work got less input from staff. In order to improve the quality of interaction, at the end of second week of my internship, I decided to make a 2-page biweekly progress report and provide a plan for future activities. The biweekly report functioned as a means of communication and as a combined presentation and discussion with Progetto Manifattura as well as Trentino Sviluppo. Through several presentations and discussions, I managed to get focused input and kept progressing on development of the network database for the company. Another important experience featured my internship process was the relaxed and friendly working environment. People smiled and say “ciao” to each other without necessarily knowing each other personally. It was nice to have a coffee shop downstairs to relax after having hours of intense thinking on the network analysis concept and techniques. All in all, I had an excellent experience doing my internship in Progetto Manifattura. Last but not the least, I learned and developed my skills in developing a networks database for companies which is important for enhancing organizational performance. I’m thinking I would like to apply it to my organizational context in Indonesia. (You can contact Diding at diding96@gmail.com.)