International business student at the University of Strasburg and startup enthusiast Samuel Chinappen joined Dotforge for a 2 month summer internship. We asked Sam to share his experience and also explain why he wanted to discover more about the tech community and the startups in the north of England.
Sam helped us to consolidate our social media presence and set up this long awaited newsletter and blog updates. Well done Sam for keeping us focused on these key pieces of work.

Hi everyone! As you already know I’m Sam.

I want to specialise in marketing in the near future and the opportunity to work with Dotforge was a great step towards that goal.

Startups and smart cities are something that I’m really passionate about. Last year, I did a three months exchange program in San Jose, California where I learned about the mechanisms in tech and startup world. Continuing in that path I came to Manchester.I was driven by the wish of learning about the tech community and the startups in the North of England, which I believe will grow in a significant way in the next few years. Living in this amazing city confirmed my suspicion that the work culture is different in each country.

Working in two different co-working spaces, Rise and SpaceportX showed me all the benefits of being the part of the supportive space where you can create, ask for advice and connect with different parts of tech community which introduced me to an ocean of possibilities.

There are many reasons that I loved working at Dotforge but the main one was I got to work with the Dotforge team. I do think they made me grow up by their presence and their help during these two months.

The way they worked together, how they communicate and the relationship they have makes me want to have a similar team to work with in my future jobs. As Vimla Appadoo said, they have always got each other’s back, support each other whatever the problem is. They are a small multitasking team and that meant that that they could always answer my questions and address my concerns.

This makes you feel really important and this is why I really enjoyed each and every day I spent with them. Emma Cheshire really impressed me in the way she works and organises the company. She is a great leader for the team and knows how to get the best from everyone.
Vimla Appadoo and Helena Habdija are truly wonderful people that helped me with everything during my time here, giving me tasks and helping me with them when I had doubts.

I am really glad that I met Colin Tan. He was an inspiration for my future looking at all the projects he is working on.

I absolutely loved working with this group of amazing people, showing me that anything is possible if you put the efforts in it. I was glad to be a part of their family and I really look forward to meet everyone again.

Finally, an enormous thank you to the Dotforge team.

Emma, Vimla, Helena and Colin, I am really happy to have spent those two months working with you. Best luck for the future tech4good startups and programs.

Samuel Chinappen.
Thank you Sam, your part of the Dotforge family now.