After a long period of uncertainty regarding the Covid-19 situation, on 16th April my ride with Ola began. The campus team at Ola had planned the internship program of 8 weeks, called #OlaElevate for us interns across various verticals like marketing, product planning, HR, and other divisions. Ola welcomed us all on the first day with interactions from the CXO’s, business heads and other stakeholders who gave us their insights about the company and their expectations from the internship program.
I was fortunate to land a role which linked both my undergraduate and B-school experiences. I joined the product planning vertical in Ola Electric Mobility. Ola Electric is a completely new idea driving to revolutionize the electric mobility domain with the technology of battery swapping. Being an electrical engineer, I was excited to learn the nitty-gritty of electric mobility in general. On day one itself, we were told that all the projects assigned to us at Ola Electric were live projects which gave us a sense of ownership. The project covered all aspects of market research and product planning which gave us a very deep understanding of the product planning domain.
Weekends at Ola were filled with fun activities like quizzes, performances and events from people across the team including interns and other employees. Every Friday we had a little session called #TGIF which helped us build a bond with other interns. Apart from this regular sessions and interactions with various leaders at Ola gave us a better understanding of the company.
Sadly, I missed being physically present in the office and experiencing the work culture of the company. Virtual internships were the need of the hour, and the company ensured that there was no road-block due to it. However, we can’t deny the fact that the experience of being an intern and meeting fellow students from other colleges was not fulfilled. At the end of the day, this was something that I personally was looking forward to, this being my first internship.
Looking on the brighter side, I got full support from my guide and mentor. In spite of time constraints my guide made sure that she was always available to extend a helping hand. A major inhibition I had from this virtual internship, was whether I would be able to reach out to people in the office regarding my project. But my guide was cognizant of the fact that being a virtual intern has exposed us all to a lot of uncertainties and offered full support wherever possible. Additionally, I felt my productivity increased a lot by working from home. I was able to put in more hours and took small breaks in between to keep me focussed.
At the end of the day, I would say this was definitely not what I was expecting in October when I sat for my summer placements. But that in no way means that I didn’t have an enriching experience. We were told to question everything and answer all the “whys” before presenting anything. When you are working for a start-up, things get very fast paced, and we were expected to stand to these challenges. The reality is quite different from the books and there is no ideal scenario. So, we need to brace ourselves for anything life has to offer.