Basic Information

  • Name Suven Jagtiani
  • Curriculum: EE BTech
  • Year of Study: 4th
  • Company/University of Internship: D.E. Shaw India
  • Role during Internship: Technology Developer Intern
  • Year of Internship (eg. '24 Summers, '23 Winters): ‘24 Summers
  • Mode of Internship (Online/Offline/Hybrid): Offline
  • Duration of Internship: 8 weeks

Getting into the Internship:

What specific domain or field did you target to get an internship in?

Software Engineering

What resources did you utilize to prepare for the tests/interviews?

DSA: CodeForces, LeetCode, CSES, cp-algorithms.com Covered other topics like OOPS, Computer Networks (CS minor course) by reading on the internet

Can you elaborate on your interview and the type of questions which were asked?

I had 2 rounds of interviews. Each contained 1-2 DSA questions over LC Medium-Hard difficulty level. Apart from that, they asked me questions on resume projects and asked conceptual questions based on topics related to resume projects.

Were there any significant roadblocks or challenges that you encountered during the internship application and selection process? If so, how did you navigate or overcome them?

No significant roadblocks faced

How did you handle any rejections that you faced (If any) during the internship application process?

Personally, I did not face such a situation. But, from experiences of my multiple friends, I can say that one needs to understand that internship selection also involves factors such as luck, one needs to not lose hope and keep trying because eventually they would land up with good opportunities

During the internship:

What was your specific profile or project topic during the internship?

My project was about utilizing LLMs for efficient UI navigation. It required me to learn about fundamentals of UI development using ReactJS, using LLM APIs and certain concepts related to LLMs, writing scripts that can parse information out of React codebases

How would you describe your overall experience as an intern?

My overall experience was great. I liked everything from my project to my peer-group to the company culture

Could you provide insights into the organizational culture of the company/university and what your peers were like?

Everyone in the firm was very approachable. I could easily approach anybody for a casual conversation irrespective of their seniority within the firm. My mentor/manager were very helpful too. Also, the team-lunches helped me create a strong bonding with everyone in the team.

Were there any networking opportunities or professional connections that you established during the internship?

Yes, the firm did conduct formal/informal sessions with some very senior folks in the firm. We interns could interact with them in those sessions. Apart from that, one could always establish connects with anyone in the firm over a cup of coffee or at the lunch table.

After the Internship:

Based on your experience, would you recommend this internship to others interested in the same field? If so, what aspects make it worth recommending? If not, what factors influenced your perspective?

Yes, I would certainly recommend anyone interested in the field of software engineering/ fintech to take up an internship at D.E.Shaw. Aspects such as quality-of-work, peer-group, company culture and compensation make it a worthwhile choice.