Internship Program (IP)

Internship program (IP) is an integral part of IMT’s Post Graduate Program in Management. This educational innovation seeks to link industry experience with collegiate instruction. The objectives of IP are to

• Enable students acquire learning by applying the knowledge and skills they possess in unfamiliar, open-ended real life situations
• Facilitate students to create value for themselves, internship organizations and the institute.

These objectives are achieved by bringing the workplace reality into the process of education. IP creates the required setting for experiential and cooperative learning and education, by providing students with an opportunity to work on relevant internships, under the guidance of professional experts and under the supervision of faculty. Consequently, IP serves as a platform that facilitates and promotes partnership and intellectual exchange between academia and industry.

Key dimensions of the Internship Program

• Systematic linkage between the institute and industry
• Integral part of the curriculum
• Student involvement in real-life projects
• Continuous Internal Evaluation system
• Monitoring and evaluation by faculty member and the company guide

Benefits of IP

The strength of the IP lies in the fact that an incremental value is achieved due to the cooperation from industry, the contribution of the students, and the commitment of the institute and its faculty. Each of these stakeholders also derives enormous benefits, in addition to the shared expertise, and the participation of industry in the process of collegiate education.

Concept of IP

Internship Program is of 12 weeks duration. It is offered during the summer after the students have completed three terms of course work. IP is primarily an exposure-oriented program which is graded for 6 credits.

It is also to be understood that this is an Internship Program and NOT a project. While in a project, the emphasis is on the process leading to evaluation of alternatives and recommendation, in an IP the emphasis is on the appreciation of the organizational dimensions, ability to combine classroom learning to practice, work culture appreciation etc. During internship, students need to follow the policy and rules of the internship company. In other words, the intern needs to ensure employee-like behavior during the period of IP. Such behaviors shall vary across organizations and the evaluation and the consequent grades will depend on the performance of the intern in a stated or given context. Completion of IP is one of the academic pre-requisites to move into the fourth term. As it is time bound, no make-up shall be offered.

Internship Project Identification Process

The first step in the planning process for IP is to prepare the list of students who are eligible to register for IP. This shall be done within a week of the announcement of the results of the first term.

The next step is to ensure that an adequate number of suitable internships are available from various organizations (existing and new) to comfortably accommodate all the students. The Corporate Relations Office (CRO) shall work to ensure successful identification of internships.

Students may also suggest companies and generate internships for themselves. These Internships are termed as “self-generated internships.” Self-generated internships must meet the following conditions:

• The company must offer a minimum stipend of Rs. 10,000/-
• The location of the project needs to be approved by the Head-Corporate Relations keeping in view the logistic feasibility and availability of faculty guides during the Internship Program
• Feasibility of internship projects needs to be approved by Head-Corporate Relations and Dean (Academics)
• The offer letter or acceptance form (Annexure A3) filled by the company where the project has been identified is to be submitted to the Head-Corporate Relations on or before a threshold date that shall be announced by the CRO . Internship Projects identified by students beyond this date will not be accepted.

Internship Project Profiles

As the objectives of IP are manifold, the internships that are generated should reflect such a purpose. A set of guidelines are indicated below which should be borne in mind by students / Corporate Relations Office while interacting with organizations for IPs.

• Will the assignment give the intern an opportunity to experience work life?
• Is the assignment designed in such a way that it benefits the company, the intern and the institute?
• Does the assignment lend itself to a multi-discipline platform?
• Does the assignment give scope for application learning?
• Does the internship provide for long-term relationship between the company and the institute?

Academic Prerequisites for Internships

Students with academic afflictions will not be allowed to pursue internships without the recommendations of the Academic Counseling Committee.

Internship Projects Selection / Allotment and Communication Process

Companies will be invited to the campus to conduct a selection process for prospective students. Alternatively, companies may select from the shortlisted CVs based on criteria stipulated by them. Final selections will be communicated by the CRO by formally assigning the internships.

Assigning IPs will be done through a dynamic database. This database will be periodically updated with the profile of the assignment, company and other details of the offer from the company and the available students from the institute. As and when allocation of students is finalized, the student will not be allowed to appear for further processes with reference to other IP assignments. A final IP allotment list shall be released by the CRO by first week of February.

Progress & Evaluation

The Internship Program starts with the registration of students through the Initial Information Report (IIR) in consultation with faculty guide(s). The IIR is designed to gather basic information about the organization, company guide and the project.

Students’ progress is evaluated in three stages. Evaluations shall be done by both the company guide and the faculty guide. The components of IP assessment are Seminars, Project Reports and Project Diary.

In Stage 1, a student should submit a proposed action plan of the study undertaken. The student is evaluated on Project Proposal and Project Diary by the faculty guide (by week 4). In Stage 2, the student is evaluated on Project Diary, Seminar and Interim Project Report. The student sends / updates / submits the Project Diary to the faculty guide (continuous evaluation), and he / she gives a seminar to the faculty guide. He / she submits a Project Report both to the faculty guide and the company guide (by week 8). In Stage 3, the final report should be submitted in the last week of the Internship Program. The summary of the assessment pattern is given in Table 5 below.

An average of scores is arrived at and an award sheet is prepared by the Faculty guide. A letter grade ‘A+’ or ‘A’ or ‘B+’ or ‘B’ or ‘C+’ or ‘C’ or ‘D’ or ‘E’ is awarded by the faculty guide by following the absolute grading system as per the cutoffs suggested by the examination committee.

Important Note:

In cases where the intern may have to withdraw from the IP, the following procedure will be followed:

• If the IP has to be dropped before the Stage ‘1’, then the student will have to do MTS in the campus.
• If the problem occurs between Stage 1 and Stage 3, then an MTS overload has to be taken during terms IV and V.
• In case of students’ unprofessional behavior / indiscipline during the internship, the faculty guide has the discretion to terminate the IP in consultation with the Director. The student will have to complete the MTS (see next section) in the subsequent summer term.