Enhanced Opportunities: IIT Madras Introduces Six-Month Internships for B Tech Students
Enhanced Opportunities: IIT Madras Introduces Six-Month Internships for B Tech Students
The Indian Institute of Technology Madras has launched six-month internships for B Tech students to enhance their chances of receiving pre-placement offers and to provide them with greater exposure to industry settings. Under this new arrangement, students enrolling in the 2024-25 academic year will not have any core courses during their sixth semester. Instead, they can complete elective courses either in previous or subsequent semesters. Traditionally, B Tech students have participated in summer internships lasting up to three months, but both industries and students have expressed a desire for longer internship durations.
Prathap Haridoss, the dean of academic courses at IIT Madras stated, “All departments will now uniformly ensure that there is no core course during the sixth semester. Now, students can plan well ahead and take elective courses in earlier or following semesters to keep the sixth semester free.” Additionally, students will have the option to take courses online. “They will have an eight-month window from mid-November to July. Students can do two internships, one long internship, or they can undertake projects in some universities or labs,” he further explained.
IIT Madras has revamped its curriculum to make it more streamlined. Haridoss mentioned that this initiative was based on feedback from both the industry and the placement office. However, for students in their second to fourth years, the transition may be a bit challenging, as they will need to put in extra effort to benefit from the expanded timeframe.
Faculty members believe that this initiative will enhance the number of pre-placement offers. Sathyanarayana N Gummadi, the dean of students stated, “Companies will be able to assess students better in longer internships. More pre-placement offers will lead to less competition during campus placements.” This extended internship period will also allow students more time to evaluate the organizations they are considering.
Additionally, IIT Madras is looking to improve placements and internship opportunities for PhD scholars. Parasuraman Swaminathan, co-advisor for placements and internships, explained, “We are collecting details on skillsets and areas of interest. We inform companies about the availability of PhD scholars. Unlike B Tech students, research scholars can sit for placements throughout the year.”
