Fast-Track to Development: How One Engineering Student Mastered Low-Code and Built Appian Features

Surya Y is from Chennai and currently pursuing a Materials Engineering degree in his last year at Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M). He is primarily interested in software development and physics and in his free time he enjoys playing computer games and soccer – he is a huge Messi fan. Surya joined Appian as a Software Development Intern in the summer of 2024 on the Engineering Team in Chennai.

What attracted you to the internship position at Appian in the first place?

I learned about Appian from a senior at college and I was enticed by the low code platform, it’s very interesting to me. Most other places work on data workflows and I wanted to experience the low code, because my interest lies in software development. I identified Appian as a potential internship opportunity while searching for software internships on LinkedIn. A university talent acquisition partner from Appian reached out to me about an interview. It was mainly the product that attracted me to apply, as I was excited to try Appian.

How would you describe the company culture?

I didn’t know much about Appian culture, but after 6 weeks I found the culture to be great. I can go to anybody to ask a question and they are always happy to help me. Appian is also very work-life balance oriented. It’s very balanced. You can learn a lot of new things, while you are having fun as well. The culture is the best thing about Appian. I can see the Appian values being reflected in everything.

“What stood out to me is how much people care, everyone is very helpful, whether they are on my team, or outside of my immediate squad.“

Tell us about a project you worked on during your internship that you are the most excited about.

I mainly worked with React and Java language and my most exciting project was to implement the border color feature in the card group layout component. The most challenging part was at the beginning when we were figuring out how to implement it. In the process, I missed a detail, but that detail was crucial to the whole process and that meant I had to go figure out how to fix it. I had a lot of resolution sessions with my manager and it taught me to ask a lot of questions. The project was challenging because I never worked with React, but I am learning and that to me represents the Ambition value. 

Would you say that the internship matched your expectations going into it?

The internship exceeded my expectations. Having done one small internship before, I expected to learn a lot and be exposed to the product. 

“While most internships put you in the group with the interns to work on some group assignment, that was certainly not the case at Appian. I was integrated into a squad working on a real product that will be released and while I was working on that feature, I had a lot of exposure across the company.” 

You actually get to experience the culture of the company. 

Can you describe some of the ways that you grew during your time as an intern?

Having a background in Materials Science, I didn’t get to experience the full software development life cycle in the school environment. What it means going through the process, even for small changes. I learned hands-on about the full cycle and how things work in a real setting. 

“I matured more as a developer, because I went through the full software development experience.“

I also presented during the Sprint review, which taught me public speaking skills, but the internship wasn’t all just about the work. I also get to experience social events at the company. I learned a lot how to work in a team setting, have fun at social events, polished my presentation skills and I feel that all these skills improved over time. 

How have you expanded your professional network for future career opportunities?

Absolutely. I got to meet so many people at Appian who ranged from junior software engineers through very senior employees with decades of experience. My team had a junior person, as well as a manager with 14+ years experience, so even on my team I was exposed to various levels of employees. The internship program is well structured and we had many meeting sessions with senior leaders across the company – it gave us a much broader and better perspective. I had many networking opportunities, you just need to take advantage of it, jump in, and get to know everyone. 

Finally, what advice do you have for other students considering an internship with us?

If I had to give advice to myself, I’d say: Focus on how you present yourself which I think is much more important than the technical part. A lot of students will have the technical knowledge, but what’s important at Appian is to show that you will fit in and also don’t forget to evaluate if the company is a good fit for you. 

Learn more about internship and campus hiring opportunities at Appian.