Intern Diaries- Abhameet Panigrahi Trying his Hand at Aditya Birla

Edited by: Sukshma S. Upadhyaya

Abhameet P is pursuant of BBA Hons. at Christ University, Bangalore. He recently concluded a Business and Marketing Strategy Internship with Aditya Birla Group’s Pulp and Fibre Division. 

In this article, he talks about his Internship Experience, Personal Realities, and the dynamics of his relationship with Talerang

“I was disappointed when I came to college and realized the entire Internship Scenario for Indian University Students is a sham of making redundant PPTs and whiling their time away to the coffee machines. Of course, there are a few truly developmental internships in some start-ups. But College guidelines do not recognize such internships for obvious reasons.

Talerang came into my life like a breeze of fresh air at this time. I was sickened by the dichotomy of our formal education and the industry that was touching the lives of people directly. In class, I learned obsolete theories because they would “come in the exam”. In the Industry, revolutionary metrics were being set up that I couldn’t fathom.

At such a time, Talerang took an interview with me. After clearing it, I was accepted into their ranks and family. I was trained and then one fateful day, I got a call.

‘Aditya Birla wants someone in Strategy. Are you interested?’

Heck yes, I was interested. In the first week alone, I conducted a Pan Indian Market Research Project. Since this was at the time of a Pandemic, I actually helped to keep certain distressing market symptoms at bay and ensure an entire organization went ahead strong. I was creating enablement platforms, working in Stakeholder Relations, and investigating new findings in my Competitor Benchmarking. God, for those two months, I was living the life of a movie.

For once, I learned more than what a sheet of paper with an exam syllabus could teach me. For once, I was touching and impacting lives.

And that, I got, from Talerang. I’m very grateful they trained me to be work-ready and got me internships, not just at Aditya Birla, but several such organizations. At the time of talking about this experience, I have completed 4 internships, 1 International Project, won 4 National Awards and am running out of space to fit impressive things on my Resume.

Talerang has been, hands down, the best thing that happened to my student life and I sincerely hope they succeed in bridging this gap between formal education and practical industry experience where students like me can meet their dreams”