An internship program that connects UTS students with industry partners

Optik's mission is to harness the transformative power of internships to drive positive change and create a lasting impact. Our commitment is to provide opportunities that nurture talent, foster innovation, and develop a diverse and inclusive workforce. We aim to bridge the gap between education and real-world application by offering internship experiences that empower individuals to acquire practical skills, gain meaningful insights, and ignite their passion for lifelong learning.

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Optik consultancy

Learn about Optik Consultancy

Learn about Optik Consultancy transcript

0:11
Chris Wilson
Operations Manager
Optik Engineering Consultancy
University of Technology

One of the things that I really liked about Optik is the fact that it is a safe environment where interns can experiment with roles that they wouldn't probably experiment with as students, or indeed when they first start in industry.

0:29
Associate Professor Eva Cheng
Head of School, Professional Practice and Leadership
University of Technology

Optik Consultancy is a unique UTS program that we designed and introduced in 2017 to recognise that the search for internships, and availability of internships, actually isn't equitable across diverse students.

We partnered with a number of different industries to bring on real world projects to campus, where students could work in small teams to address one of the design challenges the industry posed, and to deliver something tangible within 12 weeks.

0:55
Osmah Mah
Engineering Manager
Optik Engineering Consultancy
University of Technology

What I enjoyed most about my involvement with Optik is really seeing the transformative impact on the industry partner. Interns always exceed their expectations.

They can actually access, and explore the talent pipeline.

And the second thing about the enjoyment, is the transformative impact on the interns. They come in and they always underestimate their own capacity and performance. 

They end up leaving the program with really high confidence, and ready to actually roll, and start, and launch their professional career.

1:33
Tasfiah Imtiaz Tanha
Optik Alumni and Mentor
Civil Engineering

The most valuable thing for me was to develop as a leader.

I was in leadership positions in high school, but I never get to experience the real parts of it, like conflict resolution, as well as talking with the clients.

So, Optik gave me that foundation on how to express to the employers that I am ready for the industry, both in technical aspects, as well as in the aspect of transferable skills.

2:01
Zeke Dauth
Optik Alumni
Civil and Environmental Engineering

It was the first time in my professional career that I had created something tangible.

Like, I had actually worked with the company to create a real product that ended up being used, and that was something that I had never been given the opportunity to do before.

And allowed me to make professional contacts as well as great friends along the way.

2:24
Tony Yang
Technical Marketing Manager (Engineering)
Hilti Australia

We are quite passionate about investing into the future generation because for a business like us, if we engage university students in Engineering disciplines, they’re potential clients for us in the future. Also potential talent for us, which is also very important.

So yeah, it's quite a no brainer.

It gave us an opportunity to have the students involved in some projects that we've kind of always been wanting to do, maybe didn't have the time to do it, and it ticked all the boxes, so we were very keen to be part of it.

2:57
Dr Hiyam Al-Kilidar
Deputy Head of School (Teaching and Learning), Professional Practice and Leadership
University of Technology

Cognizant’s support has allowed us to create that sustainable platform where we continue with the program.

It enabled us to allow our students to have mentors and give them that insider experience, and information that they wouldn't get in the classroom.

3:18
Watie Hassian
Engagement Delivery Partner
Cognizant

This foundation, aims to provide quality education, and skill development opportunities to underrepresented youth and children. To help bridge that education gap. To promote access to learning.

And what's critical is to ensure that the recipients of this are actually empowered, and that empowerment opens up opportunities that create a better future for everybody.

3:44
Chris Wilson

I would say the thing that I'm most proud of is when we send someone out into the workplace, or into a job interview, ready to go with the kind of stories, and the kind of experience from Optik that allows them to anticipate what employers want.

So the day that we hear that one of our interns gets hired, we jump for joy.

About Optik Consultancy

Optik is an inhouse consultancy, created to deliver authentic internship experiences, and to support students in underrepresented groups. Students experience a workplace environment, where they deliver results for client projects through academic and industry mentorship. 

Established in 2017, the Optik internship program connects UTS students with industry partners to work on real-world engineering projects at UTS Tech Lab.

While students gain practical hands-on learning experiences, our industry partners gain access to talented students who are ready to work. Optik bridges the gap between theoretical classroom learning and real-world industry applications.  

What UTS offers our industry partners

  • Opportunity to build strong relationships with up-and-coming talent through mentorship and training.
  • Scale impact with just a 1-hour a week investment.
  • Opportunity to train tomorrow's leaders
  • Gain a fresh perspective for solving issues and enhancing your online presence with tech-savvy, social media smart interns.
  • Access to world-class facilities and expertise of academics and PHD researchers at UTS Tech Lab.

Email for partnerships: FEITinternships@uts.edu.au

Butter

We participated in the Optik program to test underlying assumptions with fresh eyes. The students delivered a prototype in the 12-week period from scratch which was a brilliant outcome.

Julian Cincotta

Butter Sydney

What UTS offers our students

  • Opportunity to work on authentic local and national industry projects with continuous observation, evaluation and feedback for growth.
  • Gain invaluable real-world skills that can be difficult to come by without experience
  • Opportunity to build a network of industry contacts which can help you find and secure a job after you graduate.
  • Convert your academic knowledge into industry skills
  • Dedicated 12 week time-frame to focus on your project.
  • Great way to build hard and soft skills through leadership, communication and project planning workshops and mentoring.

Find out how to be part of Optik on CareerHub

Trishati

My team, Team Opn Systems, worked on a web application that allows small to medium businesses to automate their business procedures. Optik helped me to make a mindset shift from a student to a business consultant.  

I have learnt to be adaptable due to the open-ended nature of projects. This has allowed me to remain creative. Such a rewarding experience.

Trishati Manjunath

Swoyam Kunwar Rana

I learnt that you would find what you will search for while at Optik. I was searching for a professional experience in real-life projects, and I got that. 

I worked with MidCoast Council to facilitate water pumping to 180 homes. I worked with highly experienced engineers from the industry who guided us through this process. I feel like a professional engineering consultant now

Swoyam Kunwar Rana