Global internships bring in overseas talent
TILL a few decades ago the thought of foreign students seeking training from Indian firms would have seemed impossible. Thanks to the ever-booming Indian economy, the dream has come true. Call it a reversal of fortunes or roles, graduates from foreign countries are knocking the doors of Indian technological giants to be trained and honed.
Amused by the tales of maharajahs and desirous to understand and actually experience the intriguing Indian diversity, besides the functioning of the Indian corporate world, students from across the world are visiting India. Global internship programmes bring students in touch with the Indian corporate world and thus help bridge the gap between countries. Such programmes make the students participate in various tasks like application development and business consulting which acquaint them with offshore operations. Graduates from institutes of international acclaim like Harvard Business School, Carnegie Mellon University, Sloan School of Management, Stanford University and other prestigious B-schools are attending various internship programmes. These programmes are not a mere amusing summer stints for students. They enable them to work on real time projects and benefit from corporate work.
Infosys has been offering one such programme called InStep for long. TCS, Mumbai has entered into a tie-up with a Canadian university facilitating its students to participate in real time projects within the company. Though still in its nascent stages the concept is catching up with other companies too.
Usually, companies prefer appointing fresh university graduates for internships. These internships are now open to students from various levels of study, graduates/ undergraduates or research scholars all are eligible. Moreover, they could be from different disciplines like computer science, management studies and liberal arts.
Admission to global internships depend on the availability of projects , the applicants academic profile and technical skills required for the projects.
Compared to the traditional internship programmes where students were made to work on dummy projects, these internships are extremely advantageous to the students. For, they not only learn working on a project but also living in a different country. They learn the nuances of acclimatising themselves to the clime, culture and customs of foreign lands, an opportunity that no academic course offers.
Moreover, these internships are well-spaced and do not interfere with regular academics. Students return to their native country on completion of their internship. By that time they are well equipped with knowledge and experience and prepared to plunge into a career.
Apart from the students the companies too benefit from these internships. They get candid feedback about their company's performance from an outsider which is indeed very useful.
Students who come foreign countries bring the knowledge and competence of their own nation.
This provides an insight to the Indian companies about the new technological trends elsewhere. At times, even individuals with years of experience join internship programmes to learn and acquire something new.
An interesting aspect of these internship programmes is that students of Indian origin living abroad find it a lucrative opportunity to explore and experience the country to which their ancestors belong. After the so called 'brain drain' or 'exodus' it a great relief to see people returning to India to trace their roots.
SANDHYA. U
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