I was placed as an HR Intern for Cipla’s ‘ALIVE’ Summer Internship Program. Right from then, I was extremely excited to intern with such a reputed company. I still remember that all the selected interns were again called to get a few pictures clicked with the HR leaders who had visited campus for recruitment that day.
Towards the end of the Semester 2, I got a call from Cipla and I was informed that I will be working with their emerging markets business. Later on, I was informed that I have been selected for an international stint and will be working in Sri Lanka for 15 days during the course of my internship and this brought a wide smile on my face.
The induction was scheduled for 4 days at the Peninsula Business Park office of Cipla. On the first day, there were a few ice-breaking sessions and fun activities lined up for us. This gave us an opportunity to interact with all the interns from the top b-schools across the world. The following days included leadership talks from the management council at Cipla and knowledge sessions by HR leaders. The best part of the induction was our visit to one of the plants of Cipla in Patalganga and the Cipla Palliative Care and Training Centre in Pune.
My project was titled “Introducing a competency-based approach to managing talent of the Emerging Markets and Europe business”. I had to design functional competency frameworks for 4 verticals of Sales, Marketing, Business Operations and Planning for the Emerging Markets and Europe business and align them to the 4 stages of an employee lifecycle: Acquisition, Identification, Development and Promotion.
The methodology that I adopted for this project which was something that made me learn the most. Interviews, Questionnaires, Field Visits and Focus Group Discussions were the methods I majorly used in my project. I conducted structured telephonic interviews across 15 different countries. Apart from this, I conducted interviews and focus group discussions and went on field visits when I was in Sri Lanka. This was one of the most exciting parts of the internship as I got to interact with people belonging to different cultures and understand the pharmaceutical markets in different countries across the world. One thing that I really appreciated about the employees of Cipla was that they were always ready to guide and support me in my project. They always made sure that they spare a few minutes during their busy schedules to help me collect data. To validate the competency frameworks that I had designed, I also got an opportunity to interact with the regional heads and therapy heads and take their recommendations. I still remember one thing that Mr. Prabir Jha, Cipla Global Chief People Officer had said during my wonderful interaction with him before I left for Sri Lanka. He said that making ‘Cipla ALIVE’ a memorable experience for all the summer interns was a big priority for Cipla. Such motivational words and support from renowned leaders like Mr. Prabir Jha definitely made my internship with Cipla a memorable one.
As far as my experience in Sri Lanka is concerned, it was an amazing learning experience for me not only in terms of my project but also in terms of gaining a lot of independence and confidence. It was the first time I travelled solo to a different country. The team in Sri Lanka was so warm and cordial towards me that at the end of my stint in Sri Lanka I had become so comfortable with the work atmosphere at Cipla Pharma Lanka. For field visits, I got the opportunity to travel to a few cities in Sri Lanka like Colombo and Kandy. I visited various hospitals, pharmacies, distributions points, universities in these cities and also got the chance to interact with the medical fraternity at these places. At the Lanka Hospital in Colombo, there was a lady in the cafeteria who saw that I was speaking to a few medical representatives. She came up to me and the first thing she asked me was if I had had food. She then asked me about the country I had come from, about my family and the reason why I was in Sri Lanka. I still remember her smiling face and the way she was listening to me with so much interest. While speaking to her, she also served some Sri Lankan food to me that she had prepared herself. After interacting with her, I joined my hands in a Namaste and thanked her. She looked at me, smiled and put her hand on my head and wished me luck for my project.
In Colombo, I got the opportunity to be a part of Cipla Lanka Townhall and meet the field staff in Colombo. Also, it was an honour for me to meet and interact with the CEO – Emerging Markets and Europe during my stay in Sri Lanka. Colombo was a city that was known for a number of Hindu and Buddhist temples. I visited the famous Gangarama Buddhist temple one morning and the oldest Hindu temple in Sri Lanka on another morning. Both the temples were extremely beautiful. Over the weekend, I got the chance to do some souvenir shopping from the oldest and the largest souvenir shop in Sri Lanka and visit some famous historic sites in Colombo like Independence Memorial Hall, Arcade Independence Square, Beira Lake, National Museum and Colombo Townhall.
Cipla Lanka had organised their Family Day celebrations on 28
th April at a resort in the city of Kalutara. I was glad to be a part of this day-long event and spend time with the entire team of Cipla Lanka from all the cities of Sri Lanka and their families. The event included some fun activities and dance performances which showcased the culture of Sri Lanka. At the event, I also got a chance to taste some amazing authentic Sri Lankan cuisine. Kandy was one beautiful place that I visited in Sri Lanka. During my field visits to Kandy, I visited the oldest pharmacy of Sri Lanka and the distribution point of Cipla in Kandy. The interactions with chemists and stockists in Kandy gave me a thorough understanding of the Sri Lankan pharmaceutical market and distribution network. Kandy was one city in Sri Lanka which looked beautiful in the evenings so I decided to visit the famous Temple of Tooth, Kandy View Point and the Kandy Lake. The city was extremely peaceful and the people were very welcoming.
On one of the weekends, I could also be a part of ‘Vaishak’, the full moon festival celebrations in Sri Lanka with the team of Cipla Lanka. I noticed that during this festival, people in Sri Lanka prepared food, beverages and sweets and served the same to the general public. The entire country was lit up beautifully with lights and sky lanterns. I was delighted as I could be in the country during this festival and witness something like this.
On my last day in Cipla Lanka office, the entire team gifted me a beautiful painting of Kandyan dancers. I was extremely overwhelmed to witness this wonderful gesture from the team and thanked them for the painting and their support.
This summer internship has by far been the best learning experience I ever had!
I’m grateful to Cipla for giving me this opportunity which not only taught me so much in the field of HR but also helped me develop my personality and become more independent and confident. After completing my project, I was shortlisted to present my project in front of all the HR leaders of Cipla. What happened post the presentation was something which made me extremely happy and contented.
I was fortunate enough to receive the
‘BEST PROJECT AWARD’ from Cipla. It took me a few minutes for this feeling to sink into me but when it did, I was so glad that Cipla helped me create such wonderful memories during the best 2 months of my life!
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About the Author:
Muskaan Ananth is a 2nd year student of Human Resources Management and Labour Relations at TISS, Mumbai