Summer Internship at Bosch India Pvt. Ltd (Nashik)

 

Hello Rugwed, great to see you here! Tell us something about yourself.

Rugwed: I am a mechanical engineer. Almost a mechanical engineer as I am in my last semester now. My interests are automobile, production and Finite element Method. So my interest vary in large spectrum from production to designingInternship in your own words: Actually I got the chance of one and a half month internship in Bosch India Ltd. at their Nashik plant. It was a two month internship from 16th May to 16th July but my university exams (University of Pune) clashed with the first month. I joined from 1st June to 16th July. They considered it, as the problem was genuine in my case. The internship was not paid and it was completely production oriented internship.

 

RugwedInternFeel: How you came to know about the internship? Generally what was your way of being in touch with the media to get the information about the various internships?

Rugwed: I wanted to do an internship for my summer holidays after my third year so I had applied to three industries asking them for internship. I applied for Volkswagen in Pune, Mahindra in Nashik and Bosch in Nashik. I was not sure if these industries offer a short internship which I could undertake. So frankly speaking I did not use any media tool to find the internship. However I feel I should have used some media tool like your web site.

 

IF: How much competitive is the selection process? What things you feel are looked for in the applicant by the selectors?

Rugwed: The selection process was a bit competitive. Only three of us had got the internship as far as engineering department was concerned. There was no interview for selection. They selected us based on our resume and academics I guess.

 

IF: What qualities of yours – educational / otherwise, you feel helped you in having an edge over the selection process?

Rugwed: I am an active Society of Automotive Engineering (SAE) member and I participate in their various events like SAE SUPRA and SAE BAJA. I think the automobile knowledge I already had because of these activities helped me to have an edge over the selection process.

 

IF: Approximately when you got the news for the selection? How was the celebration?

Rugwed: I got a call from the H.R office on 12th of May that was after 15 or 16 days after I applied for the internship.

 

IF: What all preparations you did (academic/otherwise) before joining and after the results?

Rugwed: Since I was in exam mode when I got to know about my selection of internship, I did not study anything extra other than my subjects that semester. However I had Metrology and quality control subject that semester which helped me a lot during my internship.

 

IF: Any common mistakes which you feel students should avoid while searching and applying for internships?

Rugwed: I think students should confirm the internship dates before applying for one so as to plan other activities accordingly. Also they must take into consider what genre of industry they are applying to and is the industry working in their field of interest.

 

IF: So Rugwed, could you please highlight us with what work/research project you carried out during the internship period? It’s application in near future and your work in it?

Rugwed: Bosch Nashik is the sole manufacturer of Bosch fuel injection nozzles which are used in all diesel engines. I was posted in their conventional nozzle department. Here I was given a project. Basically all the nozzles go thorough scrutiny after they are manufactured. Only those nozzles are sent to costumers which pass all the quality tests. One of the tests was HTF (Hydraulic through flow) in which oil under pressure is passed through the nozzle for 3 seconds and the amount of oil is measured. There is a safe upper and lower value for this process. So basically my project was to establish a method by which the nozzles having HTF values more than the upper limit (which used to be scrapped otherwise) are recovered that is their HTF values are to be brought in safe range. So I under the guidance of my guide established such method and 48% of the HTF more rejected nozzles were recovered by this method. Though it was not a very efficient method, but still 48%!! That’s lot of saving for an industry where 3000-4000 nozzles are manufactured every day (of course 3000 nozzle of just one type !! like this there are some 10-12 types of nozzles manufactured in Bosch Nashik). So just this 48% recovered nozzles out of total rejected nozzle saved lakhs of Rs. every week. There is of course more scope to this project. There are still 52% nozzles which were not recovered! So basically my project saved lot of money for Bosch Nashik plant.

 

IF: What was the best thing about the work culture and the internship? What all things you liked there? The difference you found in comparison with the work culture of our country?

Rugwed: The best thing being an intern is that you are somewhere between permanent engineers and associates working. So you get to interact with both of these classes freely. The associates there were very helpful. They had their daily targets but still would keep their work aside to help me with my project. My seniors were helpful too. Not all seniors, but most of them did help. And the main thing is I became very nice friends with the Graduate Engineer Trainees (GETs) there. Some of them are still in regular contact with me. So I would say that the work culture in Bosch Nashik was good. And how can I forget to mention the food ?! The food there was pretty amazing. So good friends and good food in canteen, what else can an intern ask more !

 

IF: What problems you or your friends faced, during the internship, which your juniors may be able to avoid? Food and accommodation?

Rugwed: Since this was a short and unpaid internship there was no accommodation from Bosch. However they provided us with lunch which used to be awesome as I mentioned earlier. I would like to give a suggestion though. The mentors or the internship guides sometime use us for literally office work (like mere updating the excel sheets and getting something from X person and giving something to Y person. They make you their transporter guy. And you being an intern would do any lame thing they said. Even I did these things for first week. But once the mentors understand that the intern is not resisting, they just tell you to do the clerical things throughout your internship. So try to avoid them. Just concentrate on your project. Do not directly say “NO” if your guide asks you to do some clerical work. Find a witty way out. Ultimately they will make some other guy do the work. You just concentrate on your project. Thankfully the GETs guided me in this situation and I was able to finish my project in stipulated time. The other problem I faced was the time span. Since I am doing my engineering from University of Pune, We hardly had 20 days’ vacation, yet I managed to spend some 45 days in Bosch. So I believe before starting the internship, one should get a proper permission from their HOD or concerned person to bunk the college (in case their university does not give long vacations). And also I would suggest to check the internship duration since I missed first 10 days of my internship due to my university exams.

 

IF: Were there any special events during the internships which you would like to share?

Rugwed: Yes there was a campaign conducted during my internship in which an NGO was doing free PUC check-up of all the vehicles. I was one of the volunteer for the same. It was a one day campaign.

 

IF: What was the guidance provided by your guide? What all support you received from your intern institute administration.?

Rugwed: My guide was a senior person in the firm. During my first week taught me to handle various machines and instruments. Also he guided my through my project. Apart from my guide, I got lot of support from my GET friends who had already spent one year there. The associates on the assembly line where I worked knew me. So even they used to guide me. I believe the only way to survive in an industry is to keep a good rapport with people of all level and to keep your eyes open and think logically.

 

IF: To whom all people you would, like to thank in context of this internship?

Rugwed: My guide, all my GET friends and the associates who helped me a lot during the 45 days. Specially the GET friends. They being almost same my age would guide me frankly. And also bitch about some seniors :-p

 

IF: How much difference this period of 8 weeks made in your intellectual capabilities and mindset. In broad terms what are your gains from this?

 Rugwed: These 8 weeks taught me many technical and non-technical things. Foremost I learned how to interact with people at different levels. I learned how to get some work done from the associates (believe me, It’s the most difficult task in any industry). I learned the practical implementations of the things I learn during my academic curricular. I also learned to handle many machines and instruments which normally I wouldn’t have even seen.

 

IF: What advice you would like to give to your juniors, which can help them in getting internships in their future college life.?

Rugwed: Keep good scores. Keep a good profile. Always think how you can improve your skills and profile. Apply at multiple places. If you have some jack in that particular company, well and good! Ask your jack to forward your CV and internship letter to the HR. It does make a difference. Also get an internship letter signed from the HOD well in advance.

 

IF: What are your future plans after this internship and how much impact this internship will have on it?

Rugwed: I am in my last semester now. And looking forward to do a job in any mechanical industry itself. Though I am not placed through campus yet, I am trying to get a job through campus placements else will try for off campus placements after completion of me engineering. The internship will surely help me in finding job. Even in campus interviews most of the interviewers ask questions on internships and projects undertaken.

 

IF: Any views about this initiative of InternFeel, and how beneficial it would be?

Rugwed: The initiative is amazing. I wish I found this site before my internship. It is a damn helpful website.

 

IF: So Rugwed, we are at the end of the interview. From the entire team of InternFeel, we thank you for taking out your time and sharing your experiences for everyone and we wish you best of luck for all your future endeavors

Rugwed: Thank you for interviewing me. All the best with the initiative of yours. It’s a nice thing you took this initiative.

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