Eric Johnson at
Yamatake Corporation
"I spent a year working at Yamatake, a Japanese company specializing in building automation. I was assigned to their R&D headquarters near Tokyo, developing a software platform to assist researchers in my section. It was a great opportunity to apply my skills to real-world problems, as well as experience working and living in another country. During my internship, my work enabled me to gain practical software development experience, while my location challenged my foreign language skills and communication ability, and gave me useful insight into Japanese work culture. That international aspect helped me improve the skills I need to think—and work—globally."