Nandita Rajkumar
B.Tech in Chemical Engineering, fourth-year in Alagappa College of Technology
Research Intern
IIT Madras
Interviewer: Anusha Karthikeyan(GT)
Interviewee: Nandita Rajkumar
GT: How did you come to know about this internship?
Nandita: IIT’s have summer research scholarship programs that people can apply for. Since I couldn't get it, I was referred by a senior to Dr.Shankar Narasimhan, from IIT Madras. I mailed my resume to him. I was contacted by him after a week following which, I agreed to do a project under his guidance for a month.
GT: What was the reason for preferring to do a research internship rather than interning at a company?
Nandita: Research internships tend to be informative and help in expanding one’s knowledge about their field of work. Also, Chemical Engineering is a field that has a wide scope for research which is another added advantage for my choice.
GT: Could you give us a brief description about your topic of research during your internship?
Nandita: My topic of research focused on Data Reconciliation on the crude preheat refinery using the software, Aspen which acts as a simulative environment. By giving different inputs, errors and discrepancies are identified for getting accurate and practical values following which reconciliation is performed.
GT: How supportive is an educational institution like IIT Madras for such short-term research projects, especially, Chemical Engineering?
Nandita: Since many people reach out for such opportunities, institutions like these offer support by assigning students to work on the initial stages of many government projects. They also have many research scholars who are knowledgeable and student-friendly. The infrastructure of such institutions is also very good.
GT: What are some important eligibility criteria that a student should meet?
Nandita: It is imperative for a potential candidate to maintain a GPA of 8.5 or higher to be selected for an internship at institutions like the IITs or IISC. Knowledge about current trending technologies will also be highly valued during selection.
GT: What do you think were your biggest takeaways from this experience?
Nandita: I had the opportunity of working alongside people from different educational institutions across the country. The professor in charge is an author of many books on data reconciliation. Research projects on this topic are valued highly by the industry and also provide the necessary experience and exposure. Such ventures also help in expanding one’s social network and might turn out to be instrumental in landing with companies that demand such skills.
GT: What is your take about GT’s Intern Diaries?
Nandita: I was able to seek inspiration and guidance from Intern Diaries last year, which proved to be of great use to me. I think Guindy Times is doing a fantastic job by presenting such valuable content to its readers.
The Guindy Times thanks Nandita for sharing her views and insights about her experience.
