City students seem to be taking up internships for money and brand value, not for learning or experience.
Corporate internships are one of the mandatory requirements that most colleges in the city demand for a student to complete their bachelors degree. Although the well-intended rule can be justified on grounds that they give an exposure to the corporate world and guide students to apply their academic knowledge, in practice, it turns out otherwise, say students.
To Roopini R, who interned with Goldman Sachs, the decision to opt for an internship was mainly the value that the brand brings to her resume.
“Although I could have done some real and meaningful work in a smaller company, I chose this internship where I did projects that dint really give me hands on experience,” she said.
Thejaswini S, however, confessed that she took up the internship only for money. “The only way it helped was that I could meet my own expenses.”
Ruchi V (name changed) who interned with AISEC also agreed that her only intent of her internship was money.
With internships becoming a part of the curriculum, certificates and marks are becoming driving factors, opines Sangam Sriram, a student from a reputed college. He said that he didn’t learn anything as the work given was merely clerical and demeaning.
“I did not get any real work experience and there was no exposure at all. In all honesty, I only went there for the certificate,” he said.
Adnan Mohammed, who interned at a newspaper organisation, said that he took up the internship because his college had made it mandatory for students to intern.
Internship certificates can be bought, say students. Surabhi, who could not complete her internship because she used that time for preparing for CAT exams said: “Internships add no value at all, and mine made no sense. I’m glad I used that time to prepare for exams rather than counting pages in the chit company I worked for. They gave me a certificate and I was happy.”
Students speak
“The internship was boring and I was mentally harassed. There is always a sense of hierarchy and I always felt small. Apart from being treated like a fly, I didn’t really learn anything,” said Adnan Mohammed, who interned with a newspaper.
Aniket A(name changed) who interned with an online share trading portal, says, “I paid the company a fairly big sum of money just to get a certificate. Along with the certificate, they gave me all the other material that I would need to make my project.”
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