Interned at – Wipro Technologies, Bangalore From 03/04/2017 To 02/06/2017
The day zero had finally come, and the recruiting companies had also arrived. One by one GDs and PIs were happening there couldn’t have been more stress in the air. As the list of the shortlisted candidates started coming, I was waiting earnestly to hear my name. As the shortlisted candidates were being called out and my name not being there yet, my anxiety rose to the hilt. Right then I had my moment of silver lining in the cloud, the list of Wipro and my name was called - Shibu Krishnan. I was relieved but knew what lay ahead, the gruelling rounds of GD and PI. The battleground was ready, and the gladiators fought with all their might, and in the valiant few that survived, I was one.
Having worked for the client Google maps before joining IIM Udaipur, I knew what the corporate life demanded, but at the same time, there was this nervousness of living up to the expectations. I got the chance to intern at the Financial Services (FS) business unit of Wipro which has been the largest revenue generator for the firm in the last few years. I was to intern at the Presales division. My first day went with clearing all formalities, the Id badge activation, email id generation and much more such activities. The team gave us the opportunity to suggest a topic of our liking, and we eventually finalised on focusing my internship topic to analysing fintechs in Europe and the disruptions they were causing in the traditional banking sector. The technology companies were entering financial services market and had caused the traditional service providers to lose around 20% of their market share. The topic was very intriguing, and it felt like the need of the hour to be addressed by FS unit in Wipro as they bring in the significant chunk of the revenues.
The whole of my internship work can be divided into four phases. The phase 1 involved data collection through secondary research and getting a thorough understanding of what is fintech. I had to go through close to hundred reports to get a proper understanding of what traditional financial service providers are doing and what the fintechs are providing. The phase 2 involved documentation of the research findings and setting up criteria for shortlisting fintechs among the thousands present for in-depth analysis. Due to the time constraint of two months, my guide and I decided to stick with 15-20 fintechs. Phase 3 was the most interesting where I had to make inferences from the data collected. I got the opportunity to discuss with Wipro leaders in UK, US and Germany and get their point of view on my project topic. The objective was to understand what the company is looking for and align my findings and recommendations accordingly. The final phase involved a thorough understanding of Wipro’s capabilities and how Wipro can collaborate with the fintechs. The major challenge that I faced during my internship was in the data collection phase as most of the fintechs were not listed, so the data was not readily available, close to half a day went past in gathering information about a single fintech.
Wipro has a very structured internship process. You will be communicated the location, project topic, guide’s details and HR’s details before joining. On the orientation day, you will be given ID badge and a laptop. Wipro doesn’t permit personal laptops inside the campus. Once you start your internship, you will be assigned a buddy who will help you all through your internship. You will have three reviews in the span of two months and a mid-training will happen in the starting of the second month of internship tenure. Wipro has a unique competition in which out all the students in the Wipro summer internship program (called as WiSE) 10% of the people who have performed excellently are given PPO’s along with a certificate. They also get to present their work on the last day in front of other interns and a high executive from Wipro.
The first month had few surprises in store I met the guy who took my interview for Wipro later to realise that he was the head of Presales Europe. He along with few of his colleagues offered me coffee in the canteen; we were having a casual conversation about cricket, movies and exciting places to visit in Bangalore. Later that day I was told that I had shared the table with the head of presales Europe, head of presales Americas and head of presales APAC. Some perks of being in presales include you sharing space with people who actually feature in the annual report of the firm. I feel privileged to have gotten that opportunity.
The work was going in a good flow, and my fellow intern and I decided to explore some of the places suggested to us to visit. First on the list was ISKCON temple. The times in my engineering days I went to a temple was during and after my term exams, so this was indeed a new experience. The place lived up to its expectations, the serene atmosphere and the magnanimous structure left us mesmerised. Having come to Bangalore and not tried its nightlife is a sin. So next stop Toit, the place which is bustling with energy and the ambience and the food blends well and adds to the overall value. The two months went with us enjoying the taste of both the corporate culture at Wipro and the charming city of Bangalore. I have fallen in love with the weather there. My two months went with me enjoying the occasional rains and the cool breeze, undoubtedly the best weather in summer one could expect.
The two months zipped past, and it was time for the final presentation. The nervousness and anxiety once again surrounded me, but this time I was as ready as I could be. I knew I had done justice to what I had prepared and the presentation went well. The final few days were the toughest saying goodbye to the people in the presales team who now have a special place in my heart was the difficult part. So, life moves on, but the experience stays with you.