Over the past year, my role as the 3D InCites editorial intern has given me a front-row seat to one of the most dynamic corners of the semiconductor world: advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration. My duties spanned writing Member Monthly News, creating LinkedIn content, contributing feature articles, and even representing the organization at ISS Europe in Sopot, Poland.
What began as a technical writing internship quickly became much more. Traveling to Poland to attend ISS Europe was my first real immersion into the global semiconductor community, as well as my first time in any global business at all. This was also the moment I understood the scale of the industry I had been writing about for months–and how fast it is constantly accelerating.
It is remarkable to hear experts discuss 3D packaging while standing in the room with some of the people actually pushing the technology forward. In Sopot, it was not just listening to presentations–I was witnessing forefront discussions on the future of the industry. I saw discussion of first-ever, never-before-seen technologies. Being physically present grounded all the writing I had been doing for months. It turned abstract concepts into real engineers, real tools, and real breakthroughs.
One line that stayed with me from my time in Sopot: “You don’t learn this industry by observing it from the outside.” This internship placed me directly and firmly on the inside of the action–a role I will forever be grateful for.
Those conversations–along with the constant breakthrough news I would go through on 3D InCites–reshaped how I understood innovation. I realized how it is not a distant idea or simply a buzzword. It is a collaboration of extraordinary people happening in real time, constantly evolving, constantly surprising, and always accelerating. One thing became very clear: in advanced packaging, you don’t just hear talk of progress–you watch it being built right in front of you as long as your eyes are open.
My writing improved, but so did an aspect less tangible: my confidence as a communicator. Covering technical topics taught me how to write clearly and effectively, while attending the conference taught me a great deal about interpersonal skills and listening with intention. Writing on behalf of 3D InCites taught me how to speak with purpose.
And none of this would have happened without the guidance of Françoise. Her mentorship gave me the space to learn the craft of journalistic writing with higher standards and the platform to step confidently into the semiconductor world. And at every event I attended, I quickly discovered something: everyone knows Françoise. Being mentored by someone so deeply connected was such a fun glimpse at what making a community – in this case a widely international one – in the workforce can look like.
This internship gave me access and opened the door to this community that I never expected to be a part of, and I am “leaving” with the kind of insight you can only earn by being there. (I note “leaving” is in quotation marks because I think back to my first-ever event with the industry in Boston at IMAPS 2024 where I was told “once in the industry nobody ever leaves.” While this was said in a sarcastic way, I consider this very well may not be the end for me in the world of semiconductors.)
This internship did more than build skills; it revealed the human side of technical storytelling. Over these past months, generative AI has surged into every corner of writing, but being part of this role showed me the aspects of communication that machines can never replicate–the nuance of interviewing someone, the connection in conversation, the community built through shared curiosity. Technical writing, I learned, is still very much an art–and I foresee it being one for a long, long time.
I have a newfound appreciation and value on my skills as a writer, one that I hope to see expand and continue to develop in the future as it has through this internship.
As I look back on this experience, the impact is unmistakable. I am leaving with sharpened writing, stronger communication, and a deeper understanding of an industry that is rapidly transforming the world. The trust and opportunity to tell stories and launch into this position from writing articles to mingling with and interviewing professionals in Sopot is far more than a personal milestone–has left me with invaluable knowledge that I am truly grateful for.
Here’s to the wonderful people that I met that made this community truly feel “small” and loving, all the while being one of the most rapidly growing industries in the globe.
