Project and role-based internships give you the opportunity to work alongside real SPS teams and understand how work gets done in a professional environment.

You will:

• Be part of a customer project or an internal SPS function
• Observe and shadow how teams deliver real outcomes
• Learn how different roles collaborate in a working environment

Examples:

• Customer projects (e.g., cybersecurity, AI, cloud implementations)
• Internal roles (e.g., HR, Accounting, Legal, IT)

Even though internal roles are not customer-facing, they operate like structured projects and are part of this same track.

Why this track matters

This is the best starting point for most interns because it gives you:

• Broad exposure to how organizations actually work
• Visibility into different roles before choosing one
• Real-world context that classroom learning cannot provide

As you gain exposure through projects or roles, you will notice that every team is made up of individuals with different skill sets, called competencies.

A single project may include:

• Business Analysts
• Architects
• Front-End Developers
• Back-End Developers
• Testers / QA
• AI Specialists
• Cybersecurity Experts
• Cloud / Infrastructure Engineers

Competencies represent what you do within a team.

Why this track matters

This track allows you to:

• Focus on a specific role that interests you
• Build foundational skills in that area
• Start developing your professional identity

Competencies are generic and transferable, meaning they apply across many projects and industries.

Once you understand your competency, the next step is specialization.

Specializations focus on specific technologies, platforms, or vendors used to implement solutions.

For example:

• AI using IBM Watsonx, Microsoft Azure AI, or AWS
• Cybersecurity using IBM Guardium, QRadar, Verify
• Cloud using AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud

Why this track matters

This is where you:

• Gain deep technical expertise
• Work with industry-leading tools and platforms
• Earn certifications that strengthen your career prospects

Think of specialization as the combination of your role (competency) + the technology you use.

Think of your journey like this:

• Start with a Project / Role → understand real-world work
• Move into a Competency → choose your role
• Develop a Specialization → master a technology
• Take on Micro-Internships → apply your skills in focused engagements

• Not sure where to start? → Begin with Project / Role-Based
• Know what kind of work you like? → Choose a Competency
• Want to build deep technical expertise? → Pick a Specialization
• Want a short-term experience? → Try a Micro-Internship