JSW Summer Internship Program is a well-organized and exclusive program by the JSW group – the largest private steel company in India, which takes students from the premier colleges of India. I was looking for a non-core internship, which promises great learning experience and provides self-ownership of the project. I wished to develop my managerial, conversational and professional skills during the course of the intern.
The selection procedure involved resume short-listing, an aptitude test and an interview. The company was looking for individuals who could think out-of-the-box and stand out; confidence and wittiness were plus points, given the corporate atmosphere. For the interview, it was essential to be professionally attired. I was mostly asked questions about myself, my family, my achievements, my positions of responsibility (especially those on my resume) and my reasons for seeking this internship. Other than that, I was also given a puzzle to solve. No technical questions were asked of me. This internship is a rather good choice for students who have a balanced academics and extracurricular record. No specific preparation is required, though talking to a senior helps.
We had 21 projects to choose from, and I picked “Reduction in Cold Rolled Product’s rejection due to Rust/Transit Damage”. This project was done under the ‘logistics’ department of the company, guided by Mr. Sushil Nowal who is the Vice-President of the department. The project was important because of its direct cost benefits to the company and the increased customer satisfaction and brand image it would lend to the company. I experienced the whole supply chain of the company by visiting Mumbai, Pune, Vijaynagar, Bangalore and Goa. I did data analysis, plant visits, port visits, stockyard audits, railway sidings making observations and suggesting improvements in current operations for reducing rejections. I learned about ‘Six-Sigma’ approach and ‘Total Quality Management’ using professional tools.
The best parts of my internship experience were: the work culture, which is unparalleled because you can go and talk to even the senior-most employees whenever required; the sense of ownership of the project given to interns; the company’s willingness to invest in order to add value to the project; the level of pre-organization of projects which aimed at producing valuable output. The amount of respect and help we got by the owner of the conglomerate was unmatched. We got to present our work to some highly distinguished people of steel industry. The company also starts acting on your project as soon as your presentation ends. Also, there is an added perk if one joins the company – you are admitted to a fast-track program as an advisor and they sponsor your MBA anywhere in the world after 2 years.
Additionally, we got to enjoy state-of-the-art facilities. For instance, a whole floor in JSW’s huge corporate office in Mumbai was dedicated to just 29 interns. We also got a chance to explore several cities (like Goa!). We had lavish corporate parties, visited tourist spots, enjoyed lavish food and facilities like club house, swimming, movie theatre etc. The travel and accommodation facilities were outstanding, with a taste of high-class corporate culture. ·
The success of my project added to the wonderful experience I had there, and many of my recommendations have already been adopted by the company. The direct cost savings by my project amount to about 5-10 crore/year apart from increased goodwill value, customer intake and brand image.
The USP of this internship, I cannot reiterate this enough, was the way the company treated us and the amount of self-ownership we got. This program was started 2 years ago and renowned seniors like Rishav Garg (Cult. Gen Sec 2013-14) and Shaleen Mandowara (Cult. Gen Sec 2014-15) have already been there. Overall it was a great learning experience involving huge amount of both work and fun!
This article has been written by Sabyasachi Verma, a fourth year undergraduate in the department of Chemical Engineering. The article has been edited by Vox Populi.
