INTERNSHIP SEMINAR

SOPHOMORE YEAR
CEPSTRUM
INTERNSHIPS- WHAT THEY SHOULD MEAN TO YOU
An opportunity to apply what youve learnt and
to realize the true value of what youve been
taught.


Youll get to learn new things, be asked to apply
them and to prove your worth as a
researcher/professional.

THE TWO TYPES OF INTERNS:
Academic:
Primary Focus: Research
Research-
Academic internships mostly involve students
working on projects which are aimed at exploring
something new, something different. This involves a
lot of background study, a lot of understanding,
experimentation, archiving of results and
understanding what the results mean.

WHAT YOU TAKE AWAY?

Learning- tons and tons of learning
You strengthen your credentials as a
researcher
When you apply for an MS, universities
scrutinise your projects thoroughly.
And you may even end up authoring/co-
authoring research papers :D
You also get a chance to improve your ability to
work in a team.
INDUSTRIAL INTERNSHIPS
Working in a company/organization.
The company may give you a project that it is
currently working on.
Here you primarily get to know about new
applications of the theories youve learnt.
A real life problem is given to you and you are
asked to come up with a solution.

TAKE AWAYS
Learning how to think analytically as an
engineer.
Coming up with practical efficient solutions
quickly.
Team work- Huge amount of exposure.
Again here too if the project youre working on
is very innovative, then this helps during
Placements and for an MS.

SO APPING?
APPING, for want of a better word, is sending
applications- mostly to professors in
universities- for an opportunity to work under
them.


PRELIMINARY WORK
1) Identify some of your interests. Youre in your
second year, youve done little or no research,
so how do you know your research interests?
2) Get your CV made. (Well come to this later)
3) Get a good Cover letter made
4) Have a few copies of your transcripts at
hand-always.



TRANSCRIPTS:
Each copy costs Rs. 20, to be paid to the
Finance and Accounts Section who will hand
you a receipt.
Take the receipt to Academic Affairs and ask for
the required number of transcripts.
Collect your Transcripts from Academic Affairs
after 2-3 days.

CURRICULUM VITAE (CV)
Your most vital document.
A reflection of your scholarly aptitude
All the information must be absolutely true.
NEVER EVER MENTION SOMETHING THAT IS
NOT CORRECT. THIS HAS SEVERE
REPERCUSSIONS.
Keep updating your CVs over time.

FORMAT:
1) General Information:
Name
DOB
Nationality (Optional)
Correspondence Address (IITG), Permanent Address
Phone Number (Cell Phone)
Email ID: IITG + Personal.
2) ACADEMIC INFORMATION
Make a table:
Institute, Course, Semester, CPI, Recent SPI (If
recent SPI is really good.)
Information about your Board Results (Schools,
Boards, Percentages)

3) OBJECTIVE (OPTIONAL):
Sample: To refine my skills by working in an
environment which is conducive to active
research and which lays emphasis on the
development of novel technologies.


4) RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Eg: 1)Communication Systems
Digital Signal Processing
Embedded Systems
Control Systems
Power Systems (EEE)




TECHNICAL SKILLS
Programming Languages: C/C++, Java, PHP etc.
Softwares/ Software Packages: (For ECE eg: MATLAB, VHDL,
Mentor Tools, Multisim, Simulink)
Operating Systems: Windows, GNU/Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora, Red
Hat)
Advice: Dont mention stuff you dont know (Mention C/C++
irrespective of whether you actually know these languages well.
If you dont know these languages well: LEARN THEM BY THE
END OF THIS YEAR)


RELEVANT COURSES:
DO NOT MENTION ALL YOUR COURSES
Mention: Departmental Courses, Mathematics
Courses (Optional), CS based Courses, Lab
courses (Only Departmental)

Mention the courses youre doing right now
but flag them with an asterisk.

*to be completed by Nov 11
PROJECTS:
Do not mention trivial lab experiments.
Only mention lab experiments if they are
actually worth mentioning.
Mention projects you may have done (Mention
Project Status as: Completed)
For projects you are currently doing (Mention
Project Status as : Ongoing)
Mention your Project Guides: Dr. ABC, Dept of
___


PROJECTS (CONTD.):
If you have done projects outside IITG, mention
them while explicitly mentioning the institute
youve done the project in and your name/s of
your guide/s there.

Project Descriptions: One Line

SCHOLASTIC ACHIEVEMENTS:
JEE (Rank Optional but do mention impressive
statistics like you were in the top 0.5% and that
0.4 million people wrote the exam)
AIEEE, BITS, STATE JEEs
OLYMPIADS: Mention your rank/medals/other
awards.
SCHOOL LEVEL: Mention if you were the school
topper, or you won any academic competitions.
(Do not elaborate on this a lot)

POSITIONS OF RESPONSIBILTY:
Posts: Secretary or some other position in - XYZ
Club, Hostel Post
Positions in Techniche, Alcher, etc
Other positions
Refrain from mentioning trivial details like
being a prefect in school etc. (Your Call)


EXTRA CURRICULARS
Mention one or more of your passions
Mention a few significant awards youve
received (Leave out trivial ones from back when
you were really young)
Part of NSO or NSS (Optional)


SOME POINTS YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF:
Max Length: 3 Pages
Max Size: 20 40 KB (Use PDF Compressors
available online)
Do not explicitly use the word internship
anywhere. (Well tell you why a little later)


NOW COMING TO THE COVER LETTER
THIS IS YOUR STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
START WITH INTRODUCING YOURSELF:
Name, Branch, Year (Mention Undergraduate)
Next mention that you are interested in doing
research under that particular professor.
Mention Time Period (May-July 2012).
Do not use the word internship
EXAMPLE:
My name is ______and I am a second year Under
Graduate student in the Department of Electronics and
Electrical Engineering at the Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT) Guwahati, India.
The purpose of my contacting you thus is to obtain an
undergraduate research position under your able
guidance for a period of 8-11 weeks during the months
of May through July 2012
NEXT WHAT DO YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO DO
Mention your interests. Mention how you developed those
interests.
Propose some project youve thought of and which is
related to the professors field of work.
If not mention one or two specific projects that the
Professor is working on, and which interest you. Try and
mention something innovative, youd like to introduce.
Do not over flatter. Dont mention stuff like Ive read all
your papers and all your books.
Cut to cut. To the point.
REMEMBER:
Cover letters are never long, Max- 4 Paras
Mention your intentions clearly.
Do not SPAM- DO NOT MAIL MORE THAN ONE PROFESSOR AT A
PARTICULAR INSTITUTE AT ONE TIME. SPAMMING WOULD RESULT IN
THE INSTITUTE IN QUESTION COMPLAINING TO IITG AND YOU MAY
LAND YOURSELF IN TROUBLE.
If youve not got a reply for more than a week then send a reminder
mail- MAX- 2 Reminders.
Attachments should be as compressed as possible
Do not mention Internship anywhere (Professors use filters to filter
out mails for internships and directly transfer them to spam)
Subject: UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH OPENING
REMEMBER (CONTD.)
For foreign universities, you may use inline CVs.
And not use any attachments.


ONCE A PROFESSOR REPLIES:
If he or she says no because of lack of funding
then you may choose to reply and say that you
can fund your internship yourself (Your call)
If he or she replies in the affirmative- then reply
quickly thanking them for showing interest and
have constant correspondence with him or her.
ADVICE:
Start getting your passports prepared (The
procedure may take quite some time)
If youve got confirmations from more than one
prof- take a call quickly. Dont let him or her
wait for you till the end. Be clear.
Your Depts will not give you more than one NOC
(Generally).



THINGS YOU CAN DO
Start discussing about prospective places to apply, amongst yourselves.
Our Advice: Do not apply to the same prof together. Discuss before you
apply.
People with high CPIs stand a better chance in some universities than
their batchmates. It is advisable for others to refrain from applying to
these universities (Dont spam).
Do not hold onto more than one internship at one time.
Be realistic. Choose your universities wisely. Even the best students
rarely get through to the best universities. Dont waste time applying to
places youre sure of not getting through.
A BATCH THAT STICKS TOGETHER, GETS PLACED TOGETHER.
START NOW IF YOU WANT A FOREIGN INTERN (DONT BE DESPERATE
FOR IT THOUGH)


AT YOUR INTERN:
Be in constant touch with your lab-mates and
discuss your work
Attend different workshops and talks that regularly
take place in the department
This is eally enlightening and you get to know recent
technological advancements
Dont be worked up for a paper right from the
beginning
If your work is good the prof himself will tell you to write
one



PLACES YOU CAN APPLY TO:
THANKS A LOT!!!
Q & A PLEASE:

Contact Numbers:
Srijan Maulick : 7896172532