Visteon concludes fourth Engineering Academy at technology center in Sofia, Bulgaria
Since its launch in 2015, Visteon’s Engineering Academy at its technology center in Sofia, Bulgaria, has encouraged practical learning and knowledge-sharing while providing a platform for young technical talent to gain real life experience in a combined academic and practical environment. Visteon welcomed 20 new graduates from the 20-week program in the first quarter of 2019.
Receiving hundreds of applications – and transitioning more than 50 graduates into new recruits over the past four years – the academy is also a unique initiative that offers Visteon’s experienced employees the opportunity to gain critical mentoring and development experience in nurturing new talent.
In October 2018, Visteon’s Sofia team opened the Engineering Academy’s doors for the latest batch of technical talent wanting to capitalize on the accelerated learning scheme by increasing their exposure to real life advanced product functions, with an emphasis on software development.
Having grown a positive reputation based on the success of the previous editions, the 26 students on-boarded for Sofia’s fourth instalment were already familiar with the course structure and what would be expected from them over the program’s 20-week period. With new internal Visteon trainers for fresh technical modules, Visteon’s mentors took an active part in sharing their knowledge and experience with the students.
Every year, Visteon’s leadership team in Bulgaria receives a vast amount of applications to participate in the Engineering Academy – from which a shortlist of 20-30 of the most promising candidates is created. Sofia’s academy provides a unique learning platform for those selected, offering the highest level of tutoring and mentoring from 10 Visteon expert trainers with in-class tutorials and seminars, exposure to tangible project environments and real-world exercises to put the theory they learn into practice.
“Visteon’s Engineering Academy in Sofia continues to go from strength to strength, providing a platform of accelerated learning to some of the most exciting technical talent in the region; and ensuring Visteon is foremost in students’ minds when they consider internships and full-time employment. With 20 academy graduates now joining the company following a hugely successful fourth program, I would like to thank Visteon mentors for the motivation to teach and impart vital knowledge and I wish those students joining the company every success as they begin their careers in engineering.”
With lectures accounting for roughly eight hours of their working week, the students are also set homework exercises that contribute toward their final grades. Covering the basics of automotive electronics and design initially, teaching is escalated as the course progresses to building and testing automotive products.
Having the opportunity to observe algorithm and data structures through embedded products, the students are subsequently trained in approaches to analyze, debug, solve and test complex software problems in environments they would find and expect to deal with in a real-world scenario.
Following months of study, practical application of their learnings and three testing exams, 20 enthusiastic young candidates joined Visteon as trainees and permanent employees in February 2019.
