Internship at various factories                    (Creativity)

Date: December 2022- January 2023

2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

Investigation:  I have always been interested in the field of science and I want to see the applications of what I have learned in class in the real world. The place that I thought of where science is being applied a lot and getting a product that consumers consume is no other than a factory. It is very interesting to think how when chemicals are mixed, one can receive electricity as a result of that or even a drink that is being enjoyed daily. Hence, I decided to use the winter break of my junior year as an opportunity to explore deeper into the industrial side of the world. Hence, I arranged my internship at various factories such as Ichitan in Thailand outside of Bangkok.

Preparation: I was lucky enough to have my uncle contact the companies for this opportunity as he also works in the industrial sector. We agreed to have the internship dates lasting around one month's worth of time consisting of many factories.  This is separated into around 1 week at each factory which is not a lot but there are a lot of factory types that I will be going to. The provinces I will be going to are Ayutthaya and Chon Buri which are located not far from Bangkok.  I have studied the basic system of a factory beforehand just in case questions are asked. Firstly, I will be going to the Honda manufacturing in Ayutthaya which unfortunately does not allow phones inside. Secondly, I will be going to the Ichitan green tea factory. Thirdly, I will be going to Sumitomo rubber manufacturer which also does not allow phones inside. Lastly, I will be going to Gulf Energy which distributes electricity in Chon Buri.

Action:  At the first factory, I learned about the manufacturing of Honda cars at the Honda Ayutthaya. This ranges from the assembly of the car to the detailed explanation of the combustion reaction happening in the car. In addition,  I also had the opportunity to see a live assembly of a car from just an engine through its first test drive which includes new models that have not been announced to the public. It was one of my favorite factories that I interned during the break. The second factory I visited was Ichitan Group in Ayutthaya as well. I did not learn or do much in this factory as I was mainly watching the production of green tea and tasting new flavors from the company. The third factory I went to was Sumitomo , a Japanese company that has many branches of what they do but I went to the tire production. I learned the process of making a tire from rubber plants and by adding synthetic polymers and also the different types of tires. Lastly, I went to Gulf Energy where I learned the hierarchy system of the conglomerate and also the production of electricity from water. I climbed up to see the water tanks that store water that will be used. 

Reflection:  These factory internships proved to be very useful as they opened up my eyes to the real world where science is being used rather than what is written or taught in classrooms. I learned about the structure of these corporations as well as how they managed their productions, satisfied customers, and balanced out their investments.  The process can be very complicated but in the end, I managed to understand how it all works but in a simplified manner.I was amazed by how such complex processes can end up with such a simple product such as electricity or a honey lemon tea drink.