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^{Today we have Gaurav Pransu having interned at BIT Mesra, ISRO and Dr. H.C. Verma!}

^{InternFeel : Please tell us something about yourself. Where and what are you studying currently?}  

^{Gaurav Pransu: I am Gaurav Pransu. I am a 3rd Year student, currently pursuing IMSc Physics (5 yrs) from Birla Institute of Technology Mesra. BIT Mesra is located in Ranchi.}

^{My hobbies include reading books particularly science fiction, playing table tennis, Writing poems and articles etc. I am also part of many clubs in college like environment club and Literary society and I also work for a few organization outside college like Space Development Nexus.}

^{I have won many certificates and prizes at school, college and International Level for science exhibition and Research paper presentation. Apart from my Internship, I am also working on two research paper, out of which Proceeding of one of the research paper is already published in “17th International Conference on Thin Films” and one of the paper is sent in an SCI Journal.}

^{IF: Give us details about your internship – the process of application, stipend, duration, and place?}

^{GP: I have done 3 major Internships and one Workshop.}

^{I have been an Intern in:-}

1. ^{BIT Mesra under the guidance of Dr. Rishi Sharma – 1st-year summer (2 months) i.e. May- June 2017}
2. ^{With Dr. H.C. Verma (retd. prof IIT Kanpur) – 2nd Year winter (around 1 month) i.e. December 2017}
3. ^{Center for ISRO GNSS Studies under the guidance of Dr. Ande Murali Varaprasad (Ex- DRDO Scientist) – 2nd Year summer (1.5 months) i.e. May 2018- mid-June 2018}

^{I have attained workshop at}

4. ^{IIT KANPUR with Dr. HC Verma – in the month of January 18.}

^{IF: How competitive was the selection process? According to you, which qualities have helped you have an edge in the selection process? Also, what were the key things that selectors were looking for?}

^GP:

^{BIT Mesra}

^{Being a 1st Year student it was definitely difficult for me to get an intern in very good place but soon I realized there are few exceptionally good Professors in BIT Mesra so I decided to start my project or my Research work from my very own institute. I went through the research interest of all the  Professors and I found Dr. Rishi Sharma sir was working in the area I was interested in. So I prepared a small resume and applied to him. He gave me a time to meet and appreciated my interest in Research. After meeting him he took a small interview of mine and told me about the working environment, the area in which he was working, and all details. I am working in that Research paper till today.}

^{Qualities that help me in selection was my interest for work because hardly anyone applies for an internship in the first year.}

^{Key thing selector was looking here was hard work and dedication to learning because the topic in which I was supposed to work was completely new and it was complete research work not a project work. Hard work because I was supposed to work from 9:00 am to  5:20 pm continuously with a break of half hour for lunch}

^{Dr. HC Verma}

^{Working with Dr. Verma sir has always been a dream not only to me but to every Physics student around the country and I feel fortunate enough that I got a chance to work with him. When I applied to Dr. HC Verma sir till then I already had an intern and participated in an International conference and had a research paper of mine. I knew that this will definitely gonna help me and with that hope, I applied to him and he appreciated my CV. I was the 1st student from BIT Mesra to participate in an International conference in 3rd semester only. And therefore he accepted me as an intern for the winter.}

^{Qualities that helped me in my selection was, I was able to convey through my CV that I am hardworking and already presented myself in an International forum.}

^{Key thing selector was looking here was to adapt according to the environment because my stay was in a village like an area and hard work because I was supposed to attain be regular and provide the handwritten manual also of entire work.}

^{Center for ISRO GNSS studies}

^{This is one of the center of ISRO for keeping an eye on its satellites. There is no informal process here, you need to apply through the official site and selection is really tough. I had to go through an interview where I was interrogated regarding all my previous works and they verified its authentication. I also had to take a recommendation from my Professors. They were impressed by my research work and resume. They appreciated my overall involvement in various clubs, academics, research paper, an international conference and previous intern.}

^{The qualities that helped me was my earlier achievements.}

^{Key thing sector was looking at was definitely hard work and adaptation with the environment because being a person from east India it’s definitely very tough for you to adjust in a remote area of South India that too when you are visiting for the first time.}

^{IF: Could you please highlight the work/research you carried out during your internship period?} 

^GP:

^{BIT Mesra}

^{“Characterization of AZO thin films with various scientific instruments”.}

^{I worked in Thin Films and Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell.}

^{A thin film is a layer of material ranging from fractions of a nanometer (monolayer) to several micrometers in thickness. The controlled synthesis of materials as thin films (a process referred to as deposition) is a fundamental step in many applications.}

^{A dye-sensitized solar cell is a low-cost solar cell belonging to the group of thin film solar cell. It is based on a semiconductor formed between a photo-sensitized anode and an electrolyte, photoelectrochemical system. Michael Gratzel has been awarded the 2010 Millennium Technology Prize for this invention.}  

^{Dr. H.C. Verma}

^{I prepared the write up for around 50 experiments and 12 activities ranging from Optics, Electromagnetism, Fluid Dynamics, etc of around 80 pages demonstrated by Dr. H.C. Verma sir which will be used for teacher’s training as well as for different workshops by Shiksha Sopan(an NGO, initiated by IIT Kanpur students and alumni) apart from this I prepared many new experiments which will be used to teach the application of Physics to students and teachers.} 

^{Center for ISRO GNSS Studies}

^{ISRO is the organization that has always made the entire country proud with its achievement and helped India to stand in the top position of the world in space science due to its continuous successful launches and low-cost expenditure.}

^{I worked in Center for ISRO GNSS studies, a laboratory of ISRO to keep an eye on its satellites. Due to confidential work and security point of view for the country, I am not supposed to provide entire detail of my work that I went through during my Internship days in ISRO. All I can let know is I worked on Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS).} 

^{IF: Can you give us interesting details about your experience – good and bad? (It could be something like the amazing location of your internship, the friends you made for life, a bad senior, accommodation given in case of an outstation internship and something along that line.)}

^{GP: Definitely, I had an amazing experience in all the 3 internships that I went through. The best part of the internship apart from my work was meeting such great people and working with such people. I learned a lot during these days.}

^{One of the most interesting thing about the internship in ISRO was regarding my accommodation. I was staying in a very remote area where nobody knew both Hindi and English. Everybody was speaking either Tamil or Telugu. So it used to be very difficult for me to communicate with outsiders but still, it was a very great experience and I learned completely new and amazing things. Although the location where I was staying was very beautiful near the seaside.}

^{IF: How do you think this internship has helped you grow? In other words, what are your key takeaways from the internship?}

^{GP: Well, the internship has helped me a lot in growing. The best part was I got to visit many new places. I stayed out of my comfort zone. I met many people and learned a lot with them and gathered their experience and developed mine. I got a chance to work with best minds of the country in their field and visited the best Organization and Institute working for Science in our country.}

^{IF: Has this internship had a decision altering impact on your career? Do you now think of a different future path as compared to before doing the internship?}

^{GP:  A very big Yes. While I was thinking before to complete my masters and go for a job in some industry or in some government sector, now I am determined to go for research for a lifetime. M,y dream is to bring a breakthrough in my research field.}

^{IF: Lastly, do you have any words of advice or caution for students aspiring for this internship and reading this piece?}

^{GP: Yes, after reading this you might have realized that I have grown slowly, steadily and continuously. By this, I mean in the start your work early and keep doing it regularly. I started my internship in the 1st year only and continued it and converted it into a research paper. Then I participated in International conference, got the proceeding published, then work with Dr. H.C. Verma sir and then went to ISRO then. All I want to say is keep working regularly, exploit all the opportunities, be ready to work very hard and then enjoy the success.}