Student: Colin McGuire

Degree: MEng Electronic & Electrical Engineering with Business Studies, BA Hons Marketing and HRM, University of Strathclyde

Company: Fujitsu Ltd, Tokyo, Japan

During the summer of 2008 I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to Tokyo, Japan to work with Fujitsu Ltd for eight weeks as part of the Saltire Foundation Undergraduate Internship programme.

The Saltire foundation aims to generate a pipeline of confident, entrepreneurially-driven executives, ready to enhance Scotland's commercial performance. Japan had always appealed to me; its rich culture, varied history, leading high-tech industry and delicious food attracted me both as a person and a studying engineer.

Studying for an MEng in Electronics and Electrical Engineering with Business Studies has allowed me to gain technical understanding, business knowledge and hone transferable skills applicable to a range of disciplines. I wanted to test and improve my abilities; an internship with the Saltire foundation and the flexibility of Fujitsu allowed me to do this.

Fujitsu are a global company, employing around 160,000 people in 500 subsidiaries. Fujitsu Japan mainly provides services and produces computer systems including a variety of servers, mobile phones, and some interesting robots. I spent my eight weeks working with the Global Partner Alliance group in the marketing department on the 23rd floor of a skyscraper in central Tokyo. My eight weeks was split into four, two week places with the groups responsible for the SAP, Cisco Systems, Intel and Microsoft alliances. I was assigned various tasks including:

  • Researching emerging technologies to determine markets, trends and risks and rewards for Fujitsu.
  • Preparing questionnaires and interviewing Asian-Pacific subsidiaries to understand problems with sharing information within the Cisco alliance and suggesting methods to improve communication.
  • Creating a framework and planning the implementation for the Intel alliance to help employees gather and analyse information effectively.
  • Creating new areas and features for the global partnership alliance website to allow employees to use case studies more effectively and understand the trends and ambitions of major partner s as outlined in conferences.
    Throughout my placement I had the opportunity to meet a wide variety of people such as recent Japanese graduates, partnership directors, a venture capitalist and the head of mergers and acquisitions. This allowed me to make contacts within the IT industry which I am sure will be useful in the future and receive some of the best advice available.

Working abroad opens up so many doors and introduces you to different cultures and lifestyles. I was lucky enough to see some amazing sights in Japan and enjoy some wonderful nights with my colleagues, eating delicious sushi and singing sake-fuelled karaoke into the early hours.

Studying at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering has given me the knowledge, skills and confidence to work in a challenging environment like Fujitsu. The experience the Saltire Foundation and Fujitsu gave me in such a short time has really motivated me to go out into a technology driven business and succeed. I could not have made the contacts and friends I did without this incredible opportunity and I would urge people to consider participating in a similar programme. Working abroad really tests your character, broadens your horizons and gives you the confidence to do anything.