Internships – Experiences that are worth their weight in gold

Gujarat is known to be an education hub, and is home to some of the best universities, colleges, and institutes in India. But what makes a good University? Is it the quality of education? Or great faculties? Or amazing infrastructure? Or is it promising placements?

An institute like JG University provides a healthy mix of all of the above. But its internship programme is what is making students and parents stand up and take notice.

What is an Internship?

An internship is the training a student undergoes in a professional environment, towards the end of his/her education. If you are an undergraduate student pursuing BCom from one of the best universities in Gujarat like JG University, it would be a means to get a feel of professional work culture before pursuing a higher degree, while someone pursuing their Master’s degree, would use an internship for research purposes, or as a practical step towards a professional career.

Internships vary depending upon the institute, the student and the hiring company. An internship can be paid or unpaid depending upon the company policy.

Clueless and Jobless in a limitless world?

Today, having a degree is only half the battle won. It is not a guarantee of employment. More and more companies today prefer to hire experienced professionals, or people who have at least some practical work experience. Time is money, and a company would not want to hire freshers and invest in training them, only for the freshers to eventually join another company for better prospects. It would be a bad investment. So, where does that leave the genuine, first-time job-seeker?

The Internship Advantage

An internship is seen as a rite of passage and offers a plethora of benefits to a student, such as:

• First-hand experience: An internship helps the student to gain invaluable insight into the workings of a professional organization.
• A seamless transition: A student who has undergone an internship programme is more adaptable to a new work environment and culture, and avoids the ‘culture shock’ that many first timers face. Such a student has greater respect for work ethics and discipline.
• An industry-ready job seeker: A product of the internship programme saves a company lot of money that would otherwise have been invested in training the employee. The trained employee can hit the ground running and start generating revenue for the company from day one!
• Upgradation: An internship introduces the intern to the requirements of the digital age, and therefore is more receptive to upskilling which gives him/her an extra edge.
• A confident employee: A well-prepared job seeker is much more confident and enthusiastic about proving his mettle in the new organization setup. An internship programme helps in that.
• Better career choices: Having worked in close quarters with a company, an intern can better understand his preference of roles, and choose a career that agrees to his personality and preference.
• Ahead of the curve: Internship gives an individual a definite competitive advantage, and improves their decision-making and leadership skills.

In Conclusion: Why do Universities need to have a strong internship programme?

The primary role of any educational institute is to prepare an individual for the real world. While things like curriculum, faculties, infrastructure, and final placements, are definitely important and attractive prospects, there is an urgent need to strengthen the internship programme. Today, as the world boundaries are diminished, the need to produce high quality employable youth is the need of the hour.

Thankfully, good universities like JG University understand the importance in contributing to the overall development of a student by introducing robust and effective internship programmes that play a vital role in smoothening the transition from student life to a professional career and contributing to the overall development of a student.