Internship at Institute of Chemical Technology – Amit from NIT Rourkela
Sometimes internships are not just mere words but captures best moments of life in them. Amit is an engineering student who interned in Mumbai and had a memorable time there. His internship is over still his eyes are moisty when he walks down the memory lane. Here is a heartwarming story waiting for you to read.
My selection for this internship was like a filmy story. I was never inclined to do a research internship, but somehow all my friends managed to get one, and I was also forced to apply. Halfheartedly, I applied everywhere, but without success. The main reason being that I hated writing Statements of Purpose, or the so-called SOP’s, which is the basic requirement for any research profile. So the rejections came in their usual manner. I had also sent a lot of mails to professors of various IIT’s and foreign institutes like NTU, NUS, etc., but without any success. Therefore, I was not in a mood to apply anywhere else, but one of my friends insisted me on writing an SOP seriously for ICT. I took the last chance, wrote it seriously and applied. The selection list came on the last day of the semester. I anyhow managed to get a decent internship. The internship was special in its kind. First of all, Mumbai is an awesome city and secondly, the work culture at ICT was very good. I had one more factor that added to the awesomeness.
One of my college friends had also got there through the SRPF -2015 program. I got a rejection from that too !! It was an 8-week internship and my main work was based on simulations. It was basically an 8-hour sitting job so it was fun for me. My mentor was a very cool and happy go lucky guy. We used to go to movies together, eat together, and study together. He didn’t act like a senior, rather as a friend. Everyone in the lab was nice to me, and we would go to Marine Drive after dinner and sit their and talk for hours, about relationships, problems in life, as if all of us were childhood friends. My professor in charge was also young, and very open to me. I even used to go to the lab in shorts in the evening to talk to him. Other than disciplinary stuff, there were no restrictions as such.
In the third week of my internship, one of the professors in our lab, Prof. J. B. Joshi, Padma Vibhushan Awardee, took us to a trip to a nearby hill station. He arranged and paid for everything himself, and we had to make just a small contribution. We enjoyed a lot there. From swimming to trekking to late night antakshari to sitting silently by the pool and talking to someone for hours. For me, it was like a vacation, rather than an internship. The other co-interns in my lab were funny and we used to order lots of stuff online and eat in the lab. Once, my professor came and saw us eating pizza in the morning itself! We got frightened, but he surprised us by asking a piece for himself. That was the kind of bond people shared there. When I talk about all the fun, it doesn’t mean I had not worked. I, with the help of my mentor learned a new software package (as ICT has state of the art research facilities), and we have to put up our work for a conference. Even though the internship is over now, we still work on different problems through the electronic media.
Leaving that place was a hard thing for me. That one month was a utopian experience. I had established a close friendship with a girl there and we had frolic times together. We used to explore the nearby food joints, as Mumbai is one hell of a place to eat. What more I could have expected. I was given a farewell party along with a gift. I am a bit hesitant to say this, but I had tears in my eyes while leaving that place.
It is truly said, that things come and go out of our lives, but some things are special and come at the right moment, and they occupy a place in our hearts forever. That internship was such kind of an experience for me.
If Amit’s internship experience motivates you, you can view the latest internships in Mumbai and latest Chemical internships.
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