Albert Einstein once famously said that “Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learnt at school.” Such learnings are positively augmented when one can apply what is learnt at school out in the real world. My Summer Internship at the Life Sciences & Technology Centre of ITC Ltd. was one such opportunity where I could practically adapt and apply the learnings received from the esteemed faculties of TISS – Organization Development, Change, & Leadership (ODCL) and get myself an “education”.
About the Organization
ITC is one of India's largest conglomerates with a presence in FMCG, Hotels, Packaging, Specialty Papers, Agri & IT Businesses. The driving force behind this huge conglomerate is its core value of innovation and excellence. ITC’s Life Sciences & Technology Centre (LSTC) is the state-of-the-art facility that gives wings to this value by supporting & building ITC’s portfolio of world-class brands & products. The LSTC team comprises of over 350 highly qualified scientists and has the mandate to work on future-ready science platforms, design differentiated products to address unique needs and deliver superior benefits to ITC’s consumers.
The Internship Experience
My Summer Internship experience started with a comprehensive project charter that was communicated to me well before the start in order to establish clear & well-defined goals & objectives around drawing a Talent Management Strategy Roadmap for LSTC. My work over the first half of the internship involved absorbing the then Talent Management practices and also assess their impact on the very diverse set of employees who were affected by them.
The latter half of the project involved analyzing the data collected from the employees, performing benchmarking studies, and presenting recommendations to the LSTC Leadership. Once the recommendations were accepted, the project moved to the implementation phase wherein I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity of presenting my ideas to the CEOs of 10 divisions of ITC and getting their buy-in. I am really indebted to my mentor who offered me immense autonomy and support throughout the internship.
Key Learnings
One of my key stakeholders during the internship often emphasized the need to burn the midnight oil. This was not just a metaphor to work hard, but also, to light up the darkness through the acquisition and sustenance of knowledge. The internship also taught me the value of Stakeholder Management and Bespoke Talent Management tuned especially for the needs of the audience. Lastly, working with the extremely brilliant people at LSTC helped me in grasping the needs of the industry and further contributed to the overall learning experience.