Internship at University of Queensland – Namita from Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering College
If your plan doesn’t work, change the plan but never the goal. Namita shares her wonderful experience of internship days.
It all began with 300 applications I sent to all the architects abroad for which most replies were disappointing, One fine late night (that’s when i am only awake) I continued sending my application process for which i received an instant reply of- “Can we skype in next 5 mins?” Keeping my coffee mug down, managing my hair, I sat up straight all set for the interview, it continued for 1 hour while she was traveling in the bus to the University she taught at; and I cracked it, waking my mom up at 5 in the morning, I was all set with an invitation e-mail as an occupational trainee from University of Queensland to work with Dr. Anupama Kundoo.
My architect trusted me with everything, (being the only intern/employee) working with her, I always had at least 13 important e-mails every morning to work on before she came in. As I opened the blinds of my office, there was a beautiful orange Terra-cotta building on the right and on the left was a building whose entire facade (inside the glass) was made up of fabric blinds, which changed it’s angle with change in daylight. I called it the moving facade because every time I looked at the building, it looked different.
She took lectures and I was her research assistant, attended lectures of architects whose books I waited to issue from my library, learned immensely about Australian architecture, culture and lifestyle. Along with everything I learnt in office, the drawings, the geometric principles and the know how of architecture as well the softwares has absolutely transformed my outlook of architecture. She was like a celebrity in the college, everyone knew her (literally people from all over the world). Once me and Dr. Kundoo were walking towards the bus and a girl just screamed, “You are an inspiration, you rock.”
Traveling was a passion for me and my internship helped me live up to it. This experience gave me the confidence to travel across Europe all by myself. My internship, more because of my Mentor, has left a vast impression on me as a person. I won 2 major architectural awards as a team member with her firm, made friends from all over the world as well as got an opportunity to talk to famous personalities in the field of architecture, such as David Chipperfield et all.
The food was amazing there. I did some crazy experiments of eating- baby octopus as pizza toppings, duck pasta, ccrocodile sausages at the 100th floor of Sydney Tower Eye which is a revolving restaurant. The beaches, the people and the architecture are engraved on my mind and shall remain so for a very long time and it was only because I got that Internship.
If Namita’s experience motivates you, you can check the latest International internships.
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