For polytechnic students, pre-professional internships represent the first major step into the business world. Saida Senaida Tirado Caicedo, a student in the final semesters of Logistics and Transportation Engineering at ESPOL, experienced this firsthand while working as an intern in the Logistics Planning area at DIFARE S.A.
"An experience that allowed me to turn theory into practice and grow both professionally and personally."
Far from simply carrying out routine tasks, DIFARE's internship program allowed Saida to get involved in high-value analytical activities. Her daily responsibilities as an intern included:
- • Analysis of logistics information to support decision-making.
- • Preparation of internal reports for the area.
- • Monitoring transportation and distribution costs.
- • Order planning and monitoring of key performance indicators (KPIs).
This experience allowed her to understand route optimization processes and operations management in a real-world environment. "What caught my attention the most was discovering all the work that goes into every delivery. We often only see the final result, but during my internship I was able to understand the number of processes, analyses, and decisions that take place every day," she explains.
Putting ESPOL's knowledge into practice
The internship provided the perfect setting for Saida to apply the knowledge acquired in the classroom to a real-world environment. During her degree program, she had studied the theory behind management systems, but it was at DIFARE where she had her first direct, hands-on experience as a user with tools such as:
- • ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning).
- • TMS (Transportation Management Systems).
- • WMS (Warehouse Management Systems).
Topics such as logistics process optimization and data analytics were central to her experience. As an intern, her priority was to participate in process diagnosis and improvement projects, contributing ideas based on her academic training for the benefit of the team.
Professional growth and advice for future generations of Logistics and Transportation students
In addition to technical learning, this internship strengthened her soft skills, helping her develop her organization, problem-solving, communication, and teamwork abilities alongside experienced professionals.
As she concludes this stage of her pre-professional training, Saida leaves an important message for other students looking for their first internship:
"I would recommend taking advantage of every opportunity to learn, ask questions, and actively participate in the activities you are assigned. Internships are an excellent opportunity to learn about the working world, strengthen your knowledge, and discover areas of professional interest. Maintaining a proactive attitude and a willingness to learn makes a big difference."
Saida's experience reflects the education promoted by the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at ESPOL among its Logistics and Transportation Engineering students: professionals prepared to face real-world challenges, provide solutions, and make an impact from their very first day in the workforce. A degree for those who want to understand, optimize, and transform the systems that keep the world moving.
Are you passionate about optimizing processes and keeping the world moving through logistics? Like Saida, you too can make an impact at some of Ecuador's leading companies.
LEARN MORE ABOUT LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING HERE
