<strong>Q1) Please tell us something about yourself. What are your hobbies, interests. Where are you studying currently?</strong>
<strong>Amrita:</strong>My name is Amrita Kulshreshtha. I enjoy playing Badminton, Table tennis, listening to soft music. My other interests include compering, reading and creative writing. I am currently pursuing a major degree in Electrical Engineering and a minor degree in Management at Career Point University, Kota (Rajasthan).
Along with my regular degree, I also enrolled in a one year Diploma course in Intellectual Property- Law and Management from Gujarat National Law University and completed it in August 2014.
<strong>Q2) Which internship did you get the chance to take? What was it all about? Stipend, duration and place? </strong>
<strong>Amrita:</strong>At the end of my second year I did an industrial internship of 30 days as a vocational trainee in a Maharatna PSU: GAIL (India) Limited at its Vijaipur Plant. I received a stipend of 7000 rupees from this internship.
At the end of my 5th semester, I interned at IIM Ahmedabad as a Research and Development intern under Professor G Raghuram for a period of 45 days. There I received no stipend. Getting a chance to work under an IIM A Professor of high repute is an achievement in its own terms.
During my 6th semester, I got selected for Combined Science Academies (IASc-INSA-NASI) Summer Research Fellowship Programme (SRFP) 2015. My host institute was IIT Mumbai. The duration of this Fellowship is eight weeks (56 days – including Sundays and General holidays). I received a second class train fare from Kota to IIT Mumbai and back. I am paid a Fellowship of Rs 8000/- per month towards my boarding, lodging and local transport expenses.
<strong>Q3) How did you come to know about the internship? To what all sources you kept yourself connected? </strong>
<strong>Amrita:</strong>I came to know about the SRFP 2015 from my University Student Notice Board where a pamphlet regarding the same was put up. I also keep track of various internships and related information through websites like Internshala, Internfeel, Eduinfo, and Letsintern.
<strong>Q4) Tell us about the procedure to apply for the internship. Who all are eligible to apply for this internship? </strong>
<strong>Amrita:</strong>For an internship at GAIL (India) Limited, I collected the required form, filled it and submitted it in the HR department in March 2014. I received a reply via email from the HR department in May 2014. Anyone who is in the second/third year of Engineering can apply for an internship at GAIL.
For an internship at IIM A, I sent a well drafted cover letter and my resume to a number of professors with whom my research interest areas matched in the last week of July 2014. I took help and guidance from my friends and the internet to design my cover letter and resume. I studied the profiles of IIM A professors to decide which of them to contact. My research interest areas include Intellectual Property, Smart Grids, Power Electronics, Organisational Behaviour and HRM. Initially I did not receive any reply. I re-applied in the month of September. This time I sent individual mails to all the reputed Professors including Prof. G Raghuram. Luckily, I received a positive reply from him on the very next day of my application.
In October 2014, I applied to Indian Academy of Sciences for SRFP 2015. I filled the form online in the given prescribed format. The applicant is asked to include a write-up (in about 150–250 words) as to the specific interest area of the applicant and what she/he wants to learn and achieve through this fellowship. The applicant has to suggest names of at least six guides (from the approved list of guides) with whom they would like to work (in order of preference). One needs to have more than 65 % marks in 12th to apply for SRFP. Student applicants need to include a Letter of Recommendation (in the prescribed format) from one of their present teachers or Head of the Department (HoD).
<strong>Q5) Any common mistakes which you feel students should avoid while searching and applying for internships? </strong>
<strong>Amrita:</strong>Students need to work on the following things in order to apply for any internship in general.
Cover letter
Resume
SOP
Areas of interest
Send individual mails to the professors and institutes that coincide with your research interest area.
Your academic scores matter a lot. The interns I interacted with, who were selected for SRFP at IIT Mumbai had very good scores.
<strong>Q6) Let’s talk about how competitive the selection process is. What qualities of yours, you believe helped you in having an edge in the selection process? What key things you feel were looked for by the selectors? </strong>
<strong>Amrita:</strong>I scored 95 % in Class 10th and 90.4 % in Class 12th (CBSE Board). My CGPA till 5th Semester is 9.91. I have participated as a delegate of Armenia in IIT Delhi Tech MUN in WIPO committee during Tryst 2014. I have represented College Badminton Team (Girls) at IIT Jodhpur Sports Fest ‘Varchas 2014’ as Team Captain. I have won second position (silver medal) at Table Tennis Tournament at IIT Jodhpur Sports Fest ‘Varchas 2014’. I have represented Under 16 School team in Class 10th at CBSE Western Zone Badminton Tournament. I have also participated in United Nations School Organization Festival (USO) in class 9th At Pondicherry. I believe the above mentioned achievements and participation has helped me in having an edge in the selection process. I feel active participation in academic and extracurricular activities is definitely considered by the selectors.
<strong>Q7) What preparations you did after the results in view of the internship? </strong>
<strong>Amrita:</strong>At IIT Bombay, I was assigned Prof. Vivek Agarwal as my guide. I mailed him to know the topics of my project work in the first week of April 2015. He asked me to study about Solar PV Grid, DC-DC converters, Inverters and to try out Simulations in MATLAB/Simulink.
<strong>Q8) Could you please highlight the work/research project you carried out doing the internship period? Its application in near future and your work in it? </strong>
<strong>Amrita:</strong>During the internship at IIM Ahmedabad I have done research for a project on Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), sponsored by NABARD and a case study on ‘Land Acquisition Act in India’. I have contributed to a working paper related to an ordinance on Land Acquisition Act which has been published on IIM A website on 21st July 2015.
At IIT Bombay, I worked as a Summer Research Fellow and my project work included Simulink modeling of BLDC motor and study of Buck Converter, Boost Converter and Maximum Power Point Tracking.
<strong>Q9) What was the best thing about the work culture and the internship? What were the things you liked there? </strong>
<strong>Amrita:</strong>Discipline and punctuality counts for a lot. At IIM A and IIT B, the work schedule is hectic.
The interns worked even on Sundays and for long hours to in order to complete their work. Along with the co interns, the Research Assistants helped me a lot in my work at IIM A.
At IIT B, the Ph.D., Mtech students, Project Assistants in Applied Power Electronics (APEL) Lab were very helpful, highly skilled and knowledgeable. They guided us and shared a lot of knowledge. Birthday Celebrations were fun in Apel Lab as well as in Hostel. We interns and others enjoyed having chocolates from US, South Korea, Venice brought by Ph.D. and Mtech students who have been to those places for conference or research paper presentation. A farewell for Mtech Students (Batch 2015) and interns was also organized in the lab. The interns could even attend Mtech students’ final project presentations.
<strong>Q10) Were there any special events during the internships? (events can be academics related like field trips, conferences, hackathons, meets etc and also non-academic, relating to your hostel life or alike) </strong>
<strong>Amrita:</strong>At IIM A, I witnessed their Annual Cultural Fest ‘CHAOS’ and International Food and Agriculture Summit ‘Amaethon’. Shashi Tharoor, Ashwin Sanghi, Vikas Swarup, Madhur Bhandarkar, and Shahnaz Husain were among the eminent speakers at the fest.
At IIT B, summer school of cult is organized; one can participate in the events under the school. I attended SPIC MACAY International Convention at the Convocation hall, Industrial Design Exhibition at VMCC, and International Yoga Day 108 Surya Namaskar Challenge at Badminton Hall. APEL Lab organized a Yoga session too for lab members on the occasion of International Yoga Day.
In my spare time, I visited Bandra Bandstand, Hill Road, Siddhivinayak, Haji Ali, Mahalakshmi temple, Gateway of India, Marine Drive, Nariman Point, Hiranandani Galleria, Sameer Hill, Powai Lake, Brewberrys, and other landmarks in Mumbai.
<strong>Q11) Let’s now talk about some negatives. What were the glitches and problems that came your way, which you think your juniors would be able to avoid? </strong>
<strong>Amrita:</strong>At IIM A, accommodation was not available inside the campus. Locating a proper accommodation in Vastrapur was time consuming.
At IIT B, everything was well planned and efficiently organized.
<strong>Q12) Was this your first internship / training? </strong>
<strong>Amrita:</strong>I have completed three internships as of now. The SRFP was my third internship. Prior to this, I have interned at GAIL (India) Limited and IIM Ahmedabad.
<strong>Q13) How much difference this internship period made in your intellectual capabilities and mindset. In broad terms what are your gains and takeaways? </strong>
<strong>Amrita:</strong>These internships have helped me to understand the basic fundamentals of focused research.
IIM A and IIT B both are prestigious institutes and have an amazing campus life. Beautiful memories are the key takeaways. As far as gains are concerned, these internships have enhanced my technical knowledge and personality.
<strong>Q14) Advice for juniors? Which can help them in getting internships in their future college life and also advice for making the best out of it. </strong>
<strong>Amrita:</strong>I would highly recommend the juniors to apply for such internships as they help one to be more independent, broaden one’s learning perspective, and also enhance communication and networking skills.
<strong>Q15) What are your future plans after this internship and how much impact this internship will have on it? </strong>
<strong>Amrita:</strong>I am a Final Year student now. These internships have helped me earn brownie points for my resume. I wish to get placed in a reputed company.
<strong>Q16) Any views about this initiative of InternFeel, and how beneficial it would be? Any suggestions/feedback for improvement? </strong>
<strong>Amrita:</strong>Internfeel has taken a great initiative by providing a platform for former interns to share their internship experiences. I have read many internship experiences at Internfeel during my sophomore year. These experiences provide a foray into the world of internships for the applicants.
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