At SENSEKAI Inc., we operate a paid internship program that enables students to gain practical development skills and the ability to understand design intent through real-world project experience. In this report, we introduce the growth journey of a fourth-year student from Shiga University who participated in product development using Laravel and shared his learnings in his own words.
About the Paid Internship Program
During the program, interns take part in actual development projects and gain end-to-end experience—from front-end and back-end development to database design and testing. Through code reviews and explanations of design intentions by senior engineers, the program aims not just for “experience,” but for repeatable growth.
Student Voice (4th Year, Shiga University)
“Through the paid internship, I realized that beyond just writing working code, what truly matters is thinking about why it’s designed that way.
In the beginning, I struggled with just setting up the Laravel environment—WSL2, Docker, Sail, .env, SSL settings, Git branch management. I stumbled multiple times just trying to enter the starting gate. But by repeatedly forming hypotheses, checking logs, and fixing issues efficiently, I learned that errors are not setbacks, but starting points for learning.
In development, I used Livewire, Alpine.js, and Tailwind to implement features such as modals, searching, sorting, CSV export, pagination, updating, and deletion. At first, I was barely able to just display the screen. But gradually, I came to understand how unseen design aspects—like distinguishing between IDs and display values, planning associative arrays and key/value structures, properly using mount, and predicting form rerendering behavior—significantly affect the outcome.
For database design, I learned when to use relations vs. JOINs, how to use aliases (AS) in joins, write subqueries, and understand one-to-many and many-to-many relationships. I came to appreciate both the difficulty and excitement of shaping data into a form that can be effectively retrieved.
On one screen, additional requirements and major revisions were introduced, and I painfully realized how long the ‘last mile’ can be. There were instances where I had to redo my work due to weak initial foresight. But by creating my own test specifications, carefully verifying behavior, and articulating why specific coding choices were made, I was able to clarify each vague area in my understanding. I also developed the habit of first trying to solve problems myself before seeking advice.
Looking back, I feel I’ve progressed from merely “copying code” to “writing with design intent.” My precision in coding and understanding of DB design still need improvement. However, the cycle of breaking down problems, testing through hands-on code, and returning to design when needed is beginning to take root within me—and that’s my biggest takeaway.
Moving forward, I want to better understand the background of requirements and the user perspective, and build foundational skills to choose more resilient designs from the start.”
Comment from the Development Mentor (SENSEKAI Engineering Team)
“He has grown significantly in his ability to struggle with challenges productively and work through hypothesis-driven problem solving autonomously. His habit of trying to understand the design intent has become well established. If he now adds the perspective of ‘who this feature is for,’ the quality of his development will further improve.”
Growth Highlights (Summary)
Learning Theme | Growth Points |
|---|---|
Error Handling | Established hypothesis → log → fix workflow |
UI Implementation | Clear understanding of Livewire × Alpine.js roles & responsibility separation |
DB Understanding | Mastered criteria for choosing JOINs, relations, and subqueries |
Design Perspective | Established mindset of separating IDs from display values & adopting key/value thinking |
Self-Driven Development | Naturally developed the “research → try → consult” process |
Looking Ahead
At SENSEKAI, we continue to provide an environment where aspiring students can take a step forward without fearing the unknown. In the next development phase, built on this learning journey, interns are encouraged to further engage in design and strengthen their mindset as developers.
About Internship & New Graduate Recruitment
We are seeking students who want to take on real-world challenges and build the ability to understand not only the development process but also the underlying design and thought process.
👉 Click here for internship & recruitment information
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