Authors: Joshua Ofori Otchere, Director, Software Development, Precisely; and Yvon Leclerc, Vice President, R&D, Precisely
There is no shortage of debate in the technology sector regarding how artificial intelligence will reshape software engineering. The reality, however, is that AI has already transformed the discipline. The more pressing question facing the industry today is what this technological shift means for the next generation of developers, and whether companies are willing to invest in them. At Precisely, the answer is a definitive yes.
In an era defined by rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, Precisely believes that continuing to invest in and hire junior developers is more critical than ever. This commitment stands in direct contrast to predictions from some corners of the tech industry suggesting that AI will diminish or even eliminate the need for entry-level talent. While AI is undeniably changing the mechanics of how software is built, it does not replace the human qualities that drive innovation: curiosity, adaptability, collaboration, and a genuine eagerness to learn.
If anything, modern AI tools provide talented developers with the leverage they need to achieve high productivity much faster than in the past. The ability to ask the right questions, comprehend complex problems, collaborate effectively with peers, make sound architectural decisions, and utilize AI as a force multiplier matters just as much as knowing how to write every line of code from scratch. Precisely witnessed this dynamic firsthand through its recent summer software engineering internship program, which proved that fresh talent, when properly empowered, can deliver immediate and remarkable value.
Why We Decided to Act
When engineering leadership at Precisely reached out to local universities in the spring, they encountered a pervasive and disheartening theme: computer science and software engineering students were struggling immensely to secure summer employment, and many were placing the blame squarely on the rise of automated coding tools and generative AI. After internal discussions, leadership concluded that standing on the sidelines was not an option.
Within hours, Precisely secured executive approval for a dedicated student lab budget. The team quickly rented office space and set to work designing a unique initiative: an unconventional hackathon intended to serve as an alternative pipeline for identifying promising candidates. Rather than relying on traditional, sterile interview loops, the company wanted a format that could reveal true potential.
What Did the Hackathon Look Like?
Precisely deliberately avoided structuring the hackathon as a rigid coding competition where students competed against one another in isolation. Instead, company leadership and senior engineers hacked right alongside the candidates. This collaborative approach allowed the engineering team to observe how prospective interns naturally approached complex problems, how they interacted and communicated with peers, the types of questions they asked when facing roadblocks, and how they turned abstract ideas into tangible, working concepts.
The exercise revealed an immense reservoir of untapped potential among the student applicants. Ultimately, Precisely Engineering welcomed a total of 12 interns across its various teams for the term. Six of those interns are featured in the company’s reflections on the program, and four of those six arrived directly through the hackathon-inspired hiring model, receiving their official internship offers on the very same day.
What Happened When They Joined?
Fast forward to the conclusion of their terms, and the software engineering interns consistently exceeded expectations. Every single one of the six featured interns successfully pushed their first merge request within just two days of completing their onboarding process. Far from remaining confined to simple introductory tasks, they quickly moved beyond their initial assignments, embraced novel technical challenges, and continuously expanded their contributions to core projects.
This successful outcome reinforced a core philosophy at Precisely: exceptional developers are not defined solely by the breadth of their knowledge when they first walk through the door. Rather, they are defined by the speed at which they learn, their capacity for teamwork, their cognitive frameworks, and their fundamental drive to contribute.
Meet Six of Our Summer Software Engineering Interns
Anushka Tankala
Anushka Tankala, a Computer Science student at Carleton University, noticed a distinct atmosphere at Precisely even before participating in the hackathon. Instead of facing a standard, bureaucratic application process, candidates were granted direct access to the product ecosystem and encouraged to let their practical work speak for itself.
That collaborative culture permeated the entirety of her internship. Regardless of organizational seniority, Tankala felt consistently supported and never felt like she was a burden to busy engineers. Reflecting on her experience, she noted that nobody treated her like she was bothering them. Her most significant personal growth during the summer involved finding her professional voice—learning how to push back constructively, speak up in team settings, and comfortably admit when she did not yet know the answer to a problem.
Tankala worked extensively on emerging AI product capabilities, taking a project from absolute zero to one and successfully shipping production code destined for real customers. Beyond the technical achievements, her fondest memories include mountain hikes, Friday team lunches that sparked strong opinions on the local Ottawa restaurant scene, and an offsite cottage trip featuring swimming, cliff jumping, and barbecues.
Evan Buchanan
Evan Buchanan studies Computer Science at the University of Ottawa. He was initially drawn to Precisely because of the company’s genuine embrace of artificial intelligence, viewing the organization as an ideal environment to gain hands-on experience building AI agents, specialized skills, and Model Context Protocols (MCPs). The internship delivered fully on those expectations.
Buchanan valued the robust support system surrounding him from day one, noting that colleagues were consistently accessible and made him feel like an integral part of the team. By the conclusion of his term, he had successfully built and deployed AI agents, worked hands-on with MCPs, and pushed production-ready code into live environments. He emphasized that it was an atmosphere where he felt completely comfortable contributing, learning, and expanding his capabilities. While he takes valuable technical skills forward, he highlights team lunches and the offsite cottage trip as his favorite memories, alongside a practical lesson: always remember to bring a sweater.
Farris A.
Farris A., who studied Computer Science and Software Engineering at the University of Washington, was struck during the hackathon by how seriously the permanent engineering staff engaged with student ideas, treating proposals with genuine intellectual rigor rather than mere politeness.
That ethos established the foundation for an internship that bore little resemblance to a traditional, observational role. Farris and his team pitched an original product concept and engineered it from end to end. He also guided another project from an initial prototype all the way through to a fully realized production service. Highlighting the realities of software deployment, he observed that the final ten percent of a project is where the real work begins, noting a hard-earned lesson when code that ran flawlessly in local development environments failed intermittently in production. He learned firsthand that testing in environments that closely mirror production is non-negotiable. He leaves the program with a clear vision of what he wants to build next: practical AI products that solve tangible problems rather than isolated experiments confined to a laptop.
Harkirat Nagpal
Harkirat Nagpal recently completed his Master of Engineering in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Ottawa. During the hackathon, he was immediately drawn to the power and openness of the Precisely MCP server, recognizing that building with it would provide the real-world impact he sought.
Nagpal expressed surprise at the level of autonomy and responsibility entrusted to interns from the very beginning, both in terms of design influence and production accountability. His proudest professional moment occurred when he shipped a fully functional AI asset marketplace, steering it from a rough prototype to a live production environment utilizing GitOps workflows. That milestone marked the psychological transition from feeling like an intern to feeling like a full-fledged engineer. He intends to carry forward the mindset of an owner—someone who cares deeply about doing things right rather than merely getting them done.
Waleed Samouh
Waleed Samouh is a Master’s student in Computer Science at the Georgia Institute of Technology, with a specialized focus on artificial intelligence. The organization’s openness to novel concepts and the operational freedom to experiment and build attracted him to Precisely.
That atmosphere of trust characterized his entire term. Samouh received significant project ownership early on, working on systems that extended far beyond his immediate team’s boundaries. His most formidable challenge and proudest accomplishment converged in a single initiative: taking a brand-new project from an abstract concept to a fully deployed AI platform and agent ecosystem. He notes that the confidence to take charge of larger technical hurdles, troubleshoot independently, and construct end-to-end systems will remain with him long after the summer ends.
Yassine Sahli
Yassine Sahli is a fourth-year Software Engineering student at the University of Ottawa. From the moment he stepped into the hackathon, the vibrant energy of the Precisely engineering team made him feel included well before he had officially joined the roster.
His summer presented an intense challenge: building a complex project entirely from scratch, starting with an ambitious concept and working under a strict four-week deadline to bring it to fruition. Describing the experience as simultaneously exciting and exhausting, he views it in retrospect as one of the most valuable educational milestones in his software engineering journey so far.
What Did We Learn From Our Engineering Interns?
Reflecting on the program, leadership noted that the experience served as a powerful reminder that exceptional talent does not always manifest exclusively as years of prior industry experience. Frequently, it arrives packaged as raw curiosity, boundless energy, and an unyielding willingness to learn.
Perhaps the most unexpected aspect for the permanent team was how much they learned in return. Collaborating closely with this incoming generation of developers provided fresh perspectives that senior staff had not anticipated. Having navigated their formative academic years with AI as a native tool rather than an afterthought, these students approached technical problems in ways that actively challenged established assumptions.
The interns asked questions that senior engineers had not thought to pose, explored alternative solutions that might have been dismissed prematurely, and demonstrated an openness to experimentation that highlighted what becomes possible before conventional boundaries become ingrained. Their viewpoints added tangible value to development teams, proving that the internship was a genuine two-way exchange of ideas rather than a traditional one-directional mentorship.
Through its engineering internship program, Precisely aims to cultivate an environment where raw potential transforms into measurable impact. The company extends its appreciation to all 12 interns who joined its engineering division during the term, and particularly to the six who shared their personal experiences. Whether they arrived via the hackathon pathway or traditional recruitment channels, these students integrated seamlessly into engineering teams and made an immediate difference. In an increasingly AI-driven technological landscape, Precisely continues to invest heavily in the next generation of software developers.
