Students’ Speak: Internship in a specific domain can build your career in the right direction

One internship is compulsory and students can do more than one internship if they are willing to and if they have time then they can choose off summer internship which can be done from home.

Q: Is there any Internship required in your course?

A: At the University of Mumbai, internship is compulsory for all the students pursuing Master of Business Administration (MBA). The university gives you three months’ time to do internship which is from April to June. However, the duration is dependent on the company. While some companies have two months of internship, some offer it for three months. MBA aspirants need to make a project report on the internship and have to submit it to the college. You need a certificate and evaluation of internship for that because it has marks. Therefore, it is compulsory to do internship for each and every candidate.

Q: What are the projects that students generally work on?

A: Projects are totally dependent on the company and in which sector one is finding internship. If one is from finance specialisation then one would find internship in that specific domain. This would benefit them to execute placements. However, it is not compulsory to do internship in a specific domain. A student can do internship in any domain as per the requirement but specific choice is preferable so that it can help you build your career in the right direction. One internship is compulsory and students can do more than one internship if they are willing to and if they have time then they can choose off summer internship which can be done from home. For finance specialisation, projects are a study of the sector, equity research of company, analysis of stocks, a study of the insurance sector, banking roles, finance and account planning, etc. For marketing students, projects are product development, management of the process, marketing strategies, marketing research, selling of insurance policies, selling of products, Business to business selling, relationship manager, etc. For operations, supply chain management, procurement and team lead, etc. For HR students projects are given as per their specialisation like managing the team, recruitment, finding a suitable candidate and making strategies for that.

Q: Is there any off-campus placement activity?

A: In SIMSREE, everyone gets internship through the college itself. However, it is not compulsory for the students to get placement through the college only. If one wants to find internship from outside then one can try for internship. If a student finds internship from the off placement process then he or she can take that offer and can do internship that company. Therefore, it is always optional for students to find internship from off placements as some students want a specific role in a particular company. There is no off-campus placement activity. All companies come to the campus to recruit students for internships.

Q: How was your internship experience?

A: I would like to share my internship experience. I have done my summer internship at Aditya Birla Capital Limited as Summer Trainee. My internship was related to the insurance sector wherein my primary work was selling insurance policies as per the requirement and goals of the client. I got all the training on how to pitch the client and I had to generate the lead of clients. Mentors taught us all the insurance policies and about which policy should we pitch to the client. Simultaneously, we got training in portfolio management, derivative, country analysis, asset allocation and mutual funds. In the second month of internship, I was assigned equity research of the automobile sector. Each student got a different industry to do equity research. Along with this, I was responsible to teach BBA interns whatever I had learnt in the first month of internship. Overall, it was a good experience of corporate life and how it works. Mentors helped a lot in each thing and still they are in contact and always ready to help. I made lots of new friends during my internship. It was the best internship for personal grooming as well.

About the Author:

Naresh Pawar is a second-year student at Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Education (SIMSREE), Mumbai. He is pursuing his Masters in Management Studies (MMS) with specialisation in Finance. He has interned with Aditya Birla Capital Limited. He is passionate about cricket and trekking. He is also inclined towards social work and has volunteered for Swapnapurti Foundation.