Follow the path of Moira, student of the MSC&T "STEEM" during her internship in India.
At the end of each year, our Master of Science and Technology students go on 4 to 6-month research or industry internships, in France or abroad. Moira, second year student in the Energy Environment: Science Technology and Management Master (STEEM), recently came back from Gurgaon, India, where she worked for the International Solar Alliance for 17 weeks. We asked her all about this unique experience:
A few words about the STEEM Master? : This program offers technical expertise in environmental issues and renewable energy sources, as well as an understanding of the economic, social and geopolitical challenges surrounding their development.
Where did you decide to do your internship? Why? : I did my internship it with the International Solar Alliance in India. I chose this one because it had both a technical and diplomacy aspect to it. It would give me an opportunity to gain knowledge on solar technology but also to improve the skills necessary to work in an international environment.
I found it through one of the links provided to us by teachers from school. It’s a blog dedicated to internships in the energy area.
I was in Gurgaon, India for 17 weeks, from the end of April until the end of August. However, the internships can be longer or shorter depending on the students’ availability.
What did your job consist in?: I carried out different activities throughout my time there, but the main ones were working on a benchmark study on solar e-mobility and energy storage, as well as a questionnaire to assess the needs and capacities on this area that were distributed among ISA’s Member Countries.
An important part of my work also involved organizing events related to solar energy and maintaining contact with countries representatives throughout the world.
In the technical aspect I learned a lot about technology and innovations in solar e-mobility and energy storage in different countries as well as the policies that drive their development. Aside from this, one skill I feel I improved greatly was communication, both spoken and written. I learned how to better interact with government officials/representatives from different countries as well as write official documents.
Did you face any challenges?: Many. One of the most important ones was learning how to work together with people from different cultures, not just Indian, since it’s an international organization and we interacted with different countries. It was also challenging learning to deal with a more executive role rather than just the technical one that sometimes engineers are used to. Being the contact point with different companies, organizations and so forth means you need to have your communication and people’s skills well developed in order to be able to advance and obtain projects.
What were your best and your worst memories?: The best one: One of the first weekends after I arrived in India, I went to Old Delhi and visited the spice market that interconnects with the other markets. I’ll never forget the smells, colors, and sounds of that day. It was the first time I truly felt in India.
The worst one: The first weekend after I arrived in India. I went to a touristic place and had an uncomfortable conversation with a guard at the site.
Any cultural fun fact about India? : They have an International Yoga Day and it’s taken very seriously. A yoga session is organized by the company on its premises and everyone participates.
What did this experience bring you?: Personally, it helped me grow in many different ways since I had to learn to be and deal with a lot of things on my own. Being alone makes you deal with different aspect of yourself that you may not always pay attention to, it also helps you open up to different experiences that otherwise you might not have considered participating in. On an academic and professional level, it was great because I learned a lot in the technical aspect and improved/gained different skills.
I would encourage everyone to go to India if they find an opportunity they are interested in. Don’t let what other people say or what you read/hear in the news convince you to not go. Yes, it’s difficult at first adjusting to another culture and being alone but you will find that being away from everything and everyone you know will also help discover things about yourself that you didn’t know before. As for insecurity, there’s insecurity in every country, it’s just a matter of being smart about it. I can honestly say I felt safer walking in the streets of India than in my own country. India’s country, people, food, culture, and music are incredible and if you allow yourself, you will have the adventure of a lifetime.
