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"For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them." ― Aristotle
One of the places where real-life learning occurs is in the workplace, "on the job" and vouching by my experience, I can say that this is a place that inherently helps us with natural learning. The summer internship is a stepping stone for a first-year B-school student into corporate life after relinquishing our old jobs and a year of management study. My summer internship at CRISIL Ltd was a perfect opportunity to integrate classroom learnings with real-life experience.
About the Organization
CRISIL Ltd is a global analytical company providing ratings research and risk and policy advisory services. CRISIL Ltd was the first credit rating agency in India and continues to be India's leading rating agency. The industry lionizes them for their credible, unbiased opinions backed by unimpeachable integrity at all times. Though my interactions were limited owing to the global health crisis COVID-19, I could still sense the entrenched values of accountability, teamwork and respect for individuals by the way they worked and presented themselves. Everyone was ready to lend a hand to help me settle down in the new environment.
The Internship Experience
My internship formally started in the first week of May with a comprehensive online orientation and onboarding sessions. But the campus team and the HR proactively stayed in touch with all the interns since December '20 – conducting icebreaking sessions for the interns in smaller groups so that we could network, have candid conversations and become familiar with each other well before the commencement of the internship.
On the very first day, I was briefed about my project with clear and well-established objectives. It was fascinating to learn about the different project initiatives undertaken and the ones in progress, and how my project fits the larger picture at CRISIL. My project required extensive primary and secondary research in the initial phases of the project to build a competency-based learning content repository for the different ongoing programs at CRISIL. During the latter phase, my work mainly revolved around analyzing the collected data and conceptualizing a strategy to attract learners and sustain their learnings. Following the acceptance of the recommendations, the project went to the implementation phase, where I had the incredible opportunity to present my ideas to CRISIL's CHRO and other Directors and gain their support.
Apart from the project work, I had a plethora of opportunities to learn how the "work" is executed in the team. I was invited in meeting with many internal and external stakeholders, internal team meetings, and many other training programs, which gave me an insight into the execution of specific topics and the end-to-end flow of how a project is delivered. I am incredibly indebted to my mentor and manager for their patience, time and support throughout my tenure.
Key Learnings
"The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change." — Carl Rogers
The most important thing that I learned during my Summer Internship was asking the 'right questions.' My work involved interviewing and conducting FGDs for many people from the senior management – adherence to the time and meeting the objective of the meeting was crucial. The projects helped me garner an understanding of stakeholder management and other functional operations at CRISIL. Finally, interacting with the team and other people working at CRISIL aided me in recognizing the industry's needs and enhanced my entire learning experience, where I could connect the theories with practices.
About the Author