Summer Internship with The Research Pedia – Aishwarya Jain from IP College for Women, Delhi University
Aishwarya Jain, who interned with The Research Pedia, shares her enthralling experience of research and writing on economy during her internship period. Aishwarya is a student at IP College for Women, Delhi University, and has to say something about the changes an internship can bring.
With the kind of competitive environment we live in, it becomes essential to have a career graph distinct from others. I am currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Economics at University of Delhi. No matter how much coveted this course is across the nation, you really have to add that extra pinch of effort to make yourself stand apart from the rest. It is indeed difficult to get an internship of your choice at an undergraduate level, but what remains in our control, always, is trying; trying to achieve what you wish for.
We all start somewhere, I started with Internshala. I was searching for internships during semester IV when I found a research internship at “The Research Pedia”, an organization that takes up independent research and provides free and reliable insights for business. The work profile involved writing 60 articles on defined topics, using internet research. Research has been one field of work that has always attracted my attention, perhaps, because of the long run goal I carry in my head of becoming a professor. I instantly applied for the internship and within no time, I received an acknowledgement from the employer’s side. This was followed by a pilot test, conducted to test my writing and internet research skills. Fortunately, I was shortlisted for the interview where I was asked about my career plan, my orientation towards writing and research and some current affair questions, which perhaps aimed at evaluating my overall knowledge base. Clearing this, I was offered to join the internship.
The internship tenure was two months, starting 21st May 2014. Topics for the articles were rolled out immediately after selection, so that I could start my research work at the earliest. Initially, my field of work was “Debt market in the US economy”. This had sub- sections such as various forms of Debt consolidation, Student loans, Forms of Student Loan Forgiveness Programmes, Repayment plans and Financial Aide offered by the US Government, Refinancing of Loans et cetera. After writing 45 articles under his subject matter, my field of research was changed to “Insurance sector in the Indian market”, which again involved sub topics such as forms of insurance, the criterion to buy the right insurance policy, prominent players in the market and a lot more.
The best part of this internship programme was that the articles had an analytical approach rather than theoretical approach. Being a student of Economics, this complemented well with my field of study. When you write something, you unfold various layers in your head, intellectually. The internship programme brought with itself some new and innovative ideas to me and gave birth to the idea for my first research paper on which I am currently working. Along with this, my reading and writing ability improved many fold. I used to read news articles, journals, books, research papers and what not, to gain knowledge for every article that I was supposed to write. This was to be followed by proper understanding of all that I read and then, writing down that information with an analytical approach, in a comprehensive manner.
In the beginning, the thought of writing 60 articles seemed to be interesting but easily manageable, but it was only later that I discovered how challenging it really was. There were times when I could not understand a particular topic well. In these situations, “The Research Pedia” team used to guide me and provide me with useful links that could help me understand the topic in detail. Also, the team regularly provided writing tips that intend to be helpful not only for this particular internship, rather, in the long run. They held regular tutorials on the technique of professional writing like making the article readable and interesting, including case studies, using examples and relating them to theory and structuring an article etc. These tutorials helped me learn the detailed methods of writing and helped in converting my creative writing skills to professional writing skills. It is only because of this training that I feel so confident about professional writing now.
After a certain amount of articles, I guess, after 40 of them, saturation point was reached. I was exhausted and blank in my head. It was at this time when I came to know that research can indeed be tiresome. But, to my rescue was Naveen Sir. He guided me out of this saturation and asked me to take a break for a couple of days. This break rejuvenated me to get back to work with the same amount of enthusiasm.
An internship is not just about a certificate, stipend and adding another head in your resume. I believe it is more about learning. People at my age are at the least risk of losing anything and are best placed to discover new avenues that would help them accomplish their goals. We have a set of goals in our minds, but it is during such internships that we come to know of our hidden capabilities and passions. On a personal front, you learn the importance of responsibility, commitment and growth. It is rightly said that “Change is Unavoidable but Evolution is Optional”. It is during internships like these when one evolves into a better professional.
I have, during this internship, learned the working of debt and loan market in the USA and insurance sector in India. Reading, understanding and then writing something settles the subject matter to the core of the brain, and I am sure that this knowledge will stay with me for long. To everyone who is reading this, I would just want to say that go out and explore what the world contains. There are so many things waiting to be known. In the quest to learn those things, you will learn a lot about yourself. An internship might change your career orientation or might bring you closer to your chosen career. It can be challenging, but in the end, it is worth the time and energy.
If Aishwarya‘s experience motivates you, you can view the latest internships.
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