Summer Internship with Birla Industrial and Technological Museum — Hrishita from KIIT
Daily winner for: – 20th August 2012
Name of the intern: – Hrishita
Institute: – Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar
Organization interned with: – Birla Industrial and Technological Museum
True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing. Birla Industrial and Technological Museum happened to me on one fine sunny morning, when I had been procrastinating by watching all B-grade movies and repeat telecasts of soap operas which can actually meddle with the grey parts of one’s brain. Noticing my reclusive situation, my mother first requests me to meet her colleague for an internship at his organization and later chides me to do so since I wanted to continue my couch potato existence! So, dragging my feet all the way to Gurusaday Road, I joined BITM on the 18th of June, 2012.
The ancient buildings, the wooden staircase, and the organization’s breath-taking museum welcomed me to a world where daily office work wasn’t a hectic chore but more of a pleasurable challenge – a challenge that would intrigue me, humbly force me to apply more of myself, and at the end of the day tire me because, a day’s utility can only be judged by the measure of one’s fatigue. On my very first day, I was given my small personal coup, my desktop, and the project which would be my food, sleep, and recreation for the next 21 days of my life! There was a long list of tasks and assignments which I had to complete during the internship which was rather intimidating. The first two weeks were allotted to gain practical knowledge on microcontrollers and microprocessors which subsequently gave way to design and implementation of single chip voice recording/playback device using IC A PR9600, the selected topic for my project work at the electronics department of BITM.
Everything seemed easy and simple for the first few days but the thrust of work was experienced right at the start of second week when I was asked to read acrobat files and practically perform the study material I was provided with. Working hard (genuinely) for the next few days and with the selfless help of my workmates I successfully completed my project. From schematics and printed circuit board designs on software to etching and finally creating the viable circuit board, the whole journey had been rigorous but an edifying experience! The working hours were quite flexible which left me with enough time to enjoy my summer vacation. Not only did I interact with the interns from other departments, but also had inspiring conversations with the engineers, scientists, doctorates, and other staff members which all together made lunch hours pretty fascinating.
There were days when I had the darker clouds hovering over me. The main obstacle that I faced during those 21 days was interfacing what I had studied in college and practically applying my knowledge on the project. And this is where I blamed the syllabus and study pattern of engineering colleges. We are made to study everything apart from what is needed. We are made to study just for the sake of studying, passing each semester, and graduating with a B.Tech degree. Anyone can be a fine engineer but can he be a worthy engineer? A little bit of introspection and retrospection, both gave me my answer.
Summer and winter internships from suitable organizations make an engineer from fine to worthy, from good to excellent, and from inept to proficient. Internships are always beneficial to the student in some way and the amount of benefit is directly related to how well the student can mesh together in a state of high-impact work that is deeply educational. Secondly, research and development departments lack women employees. We need more number of Madam Curie to lend their intricate intelligence and underlying insight to avoid a technological stand-still. The third week of internship was rather tranquil since all I had to do was create the write-up of my project. This write-up was an alibi to my 21 days of work and hence was done meticulously. It consisted of my enlightened theoretical and practical understanding of micro-controllers and its application. I really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere at the organization and the wonderful people I’ve worked alongside. I gained hands on work experience that I couldn’t have got in the classroom, ever.
It is evident that this internship would help me go a long way as a student and also as a professional. Sometimes it takes a day to get accustomed to one’s workstation while sometimes it takes years, but BITM gave me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change my notion about office work and that one’s workstation can also be his home away from home. This BITM experience will likely remain on my mind and more importantly on my resume, forever. After all, I have earned it and I’m proud of it.
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