Infosys programme churns out future talent
M D Riti in Bangalore
In 1999 Infosys launched a global intership programme -- Instep -- the only such institutionalised programme in the Indian infotech sector.
Interestingly, many of the interns are not engineering students, as is the trend in India. They are students of philosophy, liberal arts, economics and others. There are of course students from some of the best engineering institutions like Rouille.
Recruits from Wharton, MIT, Amherst, Claremont McKenna, University of Pennsylvania and other such reputed institutions work on real projects in both technical as well as support departments.
Infosys has designed the programme to meet the company's objective of building international brand recognition.
"Infosys was the only Indian company I applied to," says Yves Rouille, an engineering student at Ecole Des Mines De Nantes, a top-ranked engineering school in France.
"I also applied to 150 English companies and I was accepted by 10 of them. I had no doubt that having an experience in India would be definitely more beneficial than doing an internship in London or elsewhere in Europe. So I came to Bangalore."
Slowdown or no slowdown, Infosys Technologies of Bangalore is merrily hiring interns at salaries of Rs 15,000 a month for their global internship program, and $2500 per month if the interns are posted in their North American offices. The allowance is exclusive of accommodation, food and transport, which are also provided for by Infosys, wherever available.
"Instep's main aim is to build brand awareness of the company internationally," says Aditi Madhok, who heads the interneship programme at Infosys in Bangalore.
"In the first year of the programme, 1999-2000, we received about 300 applications for 14 internship positions but in 2000-2001, we received approximately 800 applications for just 36 internship projects. These interns have helped Infosys to be seen as a global thought leader through case studies and White Papers. They are also effective brand ambassadors."
"By the time Infosys came to Amherst, I had already secured a position doing research in computational economics," says Dan Murrilo, a junior at the University of Amherst in the US.
"A professor of economics here (at Amherst) offered me the position during my second semester and I quickly accepted it. But after hearing about Infosys and the opportunity to go to India, I quickly changed my mind."
Continues Madhok: "In 1999-2000, all the 15 interns were based at our corporate headquarters in Bangalore.
But this year, one of the 37 interns is based at our Global Development Centre at Toronto, Canada and two in our development centres in Mohali and Hyderabad - the remaining are located in Bangalore.
The interns really enjoy themselves.
" We provide tremendous learning opportunities and attractive compensation/benefits to match the best in the industry. Apart from work we also take our fun seriously.
"The atmosphere here is more akin to a campus. We have cybercafes for Internet access at all centers. We have a myriad of cultural activities going on like quiz, musical performances, sports and games, and art exhibitions."
"I found this program useful in a number of ways," says Joshua Bornstein, a student of Claremont McKenna College, California.
"First, I learned invaluable research and team building skills while at Infosys. I really enjoyed the work I was assigned during my time in India. Second, the cultural experience was amazing. I had a wonderful time traveling throughout southern India each weekend. I have a much greater appreciation for India's culture after living in the country for two months.
"The Infosys internship programme offers several special features that make it attractive for these students from all over the world.
"The premier factor, of course, is the name the company has earned of being a software giant in the country. Then, the program itself is attractive because it is intensive and gives select students the chance to develop state-of-the-art software services.
"Besides, all the projects they work on are 'live', that is, they are not specifically created for interns. Instead, students are chosen for internship positions purely on the basis of whether their profiles fit the demands of the project."
"I found this program useful on a number of different levels," says Murrilo. "First of all I learned an incredible amount of new technology. The engineers at Infosys are by and large very well versed in most of the emerging computer technologies and I was able to learn quite a bit from them."
A student mentor helps students settle into Infosys' international work environment while a project co-ordinator guides students through their internship assignment.
Since its inception, this program has had student trainees from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, ranging from French software engineers to American business management students.
"InStep was the only internship program that I applied to," says Micheal Walling, from the University of Pennsylvania, USA. "I had a standing offer from the law firm that I'd worked at for two summers as a back-up plan. I did my 'choosing' as part of the application process. Infosys was the only top Indian company that I'd come across that had a good internship program that would meet my needs, so InStep is the only program I applied to."
Do any of these interns actually join Infosys eventually?
"Two interns have joined Infosys so far," says Madhok. "However, these were the only two to be offered full-time positions by Infosys, so you can say that all of those who were invited to join so far have done so! Many on our interns are juniors in college, and not final year students, you see."
Now, Sean McCarthy and Joshua Bornstein, both students of Claremont McKenna, have applied for jobs with Infosys after completing their internsip (with Infosys).
They are yet to be hired, though.
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