Being an Intern - Part I

In my previous post I updated that I am joining radio industry in India as an intern. Now that I have spent some time in the company, I think that it would be the right opportunity to share what I think of being an intern.

Being an intern is first of all an interesting thing. I remain an outsider yet an insider at the same time. I observe things differently. There is always a dichotomy, a struggle to be a part of the team and yet be an outsider. It is a full time job. I know I am intern and I have the liberty to select my role and also the kind of work that I want to perform. The only requirement is whatever role and work I select within the company it should fit in the overall design of the company. At the end of the day it is beneficial if both, I and the company gain something from the experience.

While, presently I am not sure of the end so far, I am quite happy with the way things have worked out. I am finalizing the kind of work/research I want to do for my final dissertation, the company gave me four options to select from the work they want me to do. Needless to say, I have selected the option that suited best for my research and now that it has been decided, I am in the process of laying out plans for both, the work and the research. I think at the end of this internship period, I will have extensive knowledge of how the radio industry function, which I think will be a great plus for my future.

It is also interesting to say that as an intern I can freely talk about my career options to people and tell them that I will be looking for opportunities elsewhere. It is difficult to talk about job search when you are a full time employee. Isn't it?

Apart from the work, one funny question that has been posed by various employees here is that am I doing my MBA from distance education. The concept of a student coming from UK or anywhere else to India to do internship seems to be alien. When I dig deep in the question, the fact remains that Indians still do NOT consider India to be a happening place where opportunities are plenty. People consider foreign degree to be a passport to a better overseas career. While overseas career definitely offers few good opportunities, the fact that India is a happening place and if I have come back for good, I consider India to be a land of opportunities has to sink in.

So far, the period has been exceedingly well. I am also appreciative of two individuals - the top boss and the immediate boss, both have been supportive and suggestive. They are helpful and also leaders, whose first impression on me has been excellent. Needless to say, I am thankful to both of them for all the help.

Updates - Back to India

Recently there have been many updates that I wanted to share earlier but paucity of time and priority did not permit.

Update 1: I have moved to India recently (as recent as last Saturday) to start upon my internship. My internship is with a media house - Dainik Bhaskar (for those who don't know - it is the second largest read Hindi newspaper in India and one of the diverse media houses with interest ranging from Hindi newspaper publication, regional langauge newspaper publication, web based information portals and radio). There is a case study from Knowledge@Wharton on the Bhaskar group. The same can be found here.

I have joined the company in their radio network, which they operate on the frequency 94.3 FM from 17 different stations in 7 different Indian states.

Now answer to the question, why media and especially why Radio, given that my background is in Software industry and I have literally no experience in any other industry.

The answer is simple. I want to experience different industries before I move back to the technology industry. Radio industry in India is still in infancy and has huge potential to grow. The competition in the industry is intense, it is fragmented and there is no clearcut differentiation among the products that the players offer. Given such a scenario, I began thinking wouldn't it be nice and wonderful if I became part of an industry that is poised to grow, which will arm me with a different perspective towards business and also help me to diversify my skill set.

Secondly the position is based out of Delhi. I am quite keen on starting my innings after MBA in north of India and Delhi and surrounding regions seem to be the best place. So, this internship gives me the opportunity to look for opportunities that interest me at the location I think is best suited to me for personal reasons.

Update 2: My farewell from Lancaster and the journey from Lancaster to India was wonderful. I flew AirIndia for the first time and apart from the airhostesses the flight was good. The seats and the decor of the flight including inflight entertainment was nice. The memories are the things that remain and I believe I will cherish the same for a very long time. Wonderful friends, long parties, longer assignments, mid-night walks to Pizzetta (the cafeteria) will definitely be remembered for a very long time. I am sure, I will miss most of the things for a long long time. I get nostalgic but that's what memories are for, esp. good memories.

Now that I have got internet connection at home in Noida and I hope to get time to manage my time, I will have lots to share and write about how I am progressing over my internship.

I want this post also to thank my mentor on my dissertation and one of my close friend whose discussions over phone/email/in-person have proved useful to me in evaluating my research interest, which has helped me in identifying my dissertation topic. Thank you guys.

My answers to the FT Quiz

I could not complete the quiz, but tried and then gave as other things consumed my attention. My submission at the school being the first point of drift. But if you are interested, we can collaborate to solve, I am posting my own answers to the first 30 odd entries that I could attempt. Few are empty meaning, I had no answer for them.

Here is the picture that FT had put as question. My answers are arranged in the order of appearance of the picture.


My answers are tabulated below. As and when I find more, I will enlist them below.

1 Geronimo, Chiricahua
2 Yasser Arafat
3
4 Bill Clinton
5
6 Winston Churchill
7 Dalai Lama
8
9 John McCain
10 Che Guevara
11
12 Queen Elizabeth I
13 Gordon Brown
14 Ruholla al-Musawi al-Khomeini
15
16 Nicholas Sarkozy
17 Vladimir Putin
18 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
19 Malcolm X
20
21 Queen Victoria
22
23 Hilary Rodham Clinton
24 Golda Meir
25 Martin Luther King
26
27
28 Francisco Franco
29
30 Salvador Allende

Want to share 75cl bottle of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut Champagne..

..then help me out.

Financial Times has a quiz which asks to identify 100 past and present leaders. While I have been able to identify many (truth be told - few) but need help to find the rest. I am going all out to try and answer. The last date is May 20th.

Please help me by emailing me the names.

Best wishes to the South African contingent

I wish all my colleagues who are visiting South Africa on a study tour. 

Learn well, visit well and in the end enjoy the safari. And please, don't forget to bring the photographs to share with rest of us.

Good luck to you all.