The Summer Internship Program (SIP) is arguably the most important stage in the learning process of a management student. Jaipuria Institute of Management, which focuses on creating corporate ready processionals, understands the significance of this bridge between student and industry life. That’s why its efforts go beyond finding its students best internship projects. To help them be prepared for the challenges of the SIP it organized a four day briefing session at Jaipuria, Lucknow between 7th and 10th of March.

Held under the guidance of CMC, the workshop was divided into different segments to streamline various elements of the SIP that students grapple with. Experienced faculty members conducted sessions on wide ranging topics from soft skills to selling attitude, Researched Based Report Writing to Non-researched Based Report Writing. There were domain specific sessions and a session on Do’s and Don’ts during the SIP, which offered students useful tips on how to conduct themselves during their first brush with the real life working environment.

Prof. Kajal Srivastava, Chairperson, SIP and Student Mentoring set the ball rolling by talking about the significance of the program. “SIP is a simulation process which unswervingly directs a student’s way towards the final placements,” she said. Prof. Shubhendra S. Parihar, Chairperson, Placement & Corporate Relations then made students aware of what recruiters look for when they hire students for SIPs. According to him, this understanding is vital for students to present themselves as the best candidates to be hired.

Mr. Anoop Keswani, Deputy Manager Training & Placement highlighted the objectives and learnings from SIP suggesting that it was an avenue for students to understand their interests and become aware of the industry sector. Mr. Sandeep Das, DGM – Corporate Relations & Placements, Corporate Office, JIM urged students to, “Look at SIP as your preparation for final placements. Try and avoid SIPs from your hometown and look for options where you can be offered PPO or PPI.” Prof. Suneel Gupta, AGM, CMS described SIP as a short term experience to make long term career decisions, and an Employability Enhancement Program.

To keep things lively and engaging, a workshop on soft skills was held by Mr. Prabhu Mathur, Manager, Training & Development and Ms. Richa Dwivedi, Deputy Manager, Training & Development. Mr. Anoop Keswani then held an enriching session on Selling Attitude where he addressed aspirants’ fears and concerns in choosing Sales as a career option. He stressed, “Contribution of one’s attitude towards success is 85% and only 15% is smartness. A positive attitude helps you cope more easily with the daily affairs of life.” According to him, Sales is 90% conviction and 10% communication of your conviction. It was an invigorating talk that brought the four day session to its half way stage.

Students received further insight on another aspect of SIP as Prof. Shalini Nath Tripathi discussed the differences between research based report writing and non-research based report writing. She also answered students’ questions about report writing at the end of her talk. Prof. Masood Siddiqui, Associate Dean, Research & Publications took the discussion further and highlighted the importance of presenting their reports in the form of chapters and subheadings to drive their points home clearly.

On the last day of the event, Prof. Kavita Pathak, Dean, Pan Jaipuria, Learning Innovations emphasized the importance of knowing more about the organization and being clear about one’s own expectations from the SIP. Prof. Dheeraj Mishra then got into the specifics of internships in banks and research based internships. He talked to students about challenges and rewards of these internships. Prof. Pallavi Srivastava held an exciting session that included tips on putting one’s best step forward during the SIP and choosing one based on personal interests.

Things got more interesting as Mrs. Grace Arun focused on a program called GAME, which stands for Grooming, Attitude, Mannerisms, and Expectations. She sensitized the gathering about each of these elements through relatable examples. Mr. Gaurav Sharma’s final session touched upon wide ranging topics including the importance of making formal and informal contacts, matching one’s personality with the choice of work, seriousness and responsibility towards the assigned project, learning from one’s mistakes and presentation of ideas.

The four day SIP Workshop concluded with the prize distribution ceremony of the ‘Best Summer Internship Program Report’. Here one mentee and the respective mentor were presented a certificate and a silver medal for preparing the best SIP report in each mentee group. These awards were a fitting culmination to what had been a highly rewarding session for students looking forward to their SIPs.