Summer internships, workshops to provide students hands-on experience

Summer schools and internships offered by well-known research institutes in the City could be the perfect option for college students who want to extend their knowledge beyond textbooks and classroom lectures; get hands-on experience and exposure to the latest developments.

The Department of Computer Science and Automation (CSA) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), for example, is offering a summer school programme in June for undergraduate students. The programme is aimed at exposing students to the latest technologies and know-how in the field of computers. 

Speaking to the Deccan Herald, Dr Y Narahari, Chairman, Department of CSA said: “Students will get a chance to see some very exciting, cutting edge advanced research and will also gain knowledge in the field. Along with lectures by faculty members, industry heads as well PhD students from the faculty will conduct a number of activities like quizzes,” said Narahari. 

Though they were just 50 to 70 vacancies, the department received as many as 4,000 applications from all over the country last year. This year, the department is expecting nothing less than 4,000 applications. The last date to apply is April 30. Apart from CSA, a number of other departments at IISc are offering summer camps and internships.

The Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), is gearing up to welcome a number of summer interns as part of their two-month summer internship program.

 The aim is to make students “understand nuances of and participate in the inter-disciplinary social science research”. The institute has already received as many as 350 applications from all over the country. “We want to give students a taste of real experiences in conducting and understanding research. Often, we have seen that while students may do well in their academics they are devoid of practical knowledge in carrying out research,” said Komol Singha, Assistant Professor, ISEC and co-ordinator for the summer placements.  

For those interested in learning more about the “theory and simulation of learning, memory and plasticity in the brain” the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) is the place to be this June. The institute is offering a 15 day summer workshop that will give students an opportunity to listen to lectures not only from experts in the country, but also from professors from foreign institutions such the New York University, Columbia University, Imperial College and University College.

PhD and post-docs as well as Masters and undergraduate students are eligible to apply for the camp. According to Dr Upinder S Bhalla, Dean, NCBS as many as 80 students from PhD and advanced graduate programmes have applied for the workshop so far. Applications will be open till April 14.