Basic Information

  • Name Unnikrishnan M Narayana Pillai
  • Curriculum: EE BTech
  • Year of Study: 4th
  • Company/University of Internship: Kotak Mahindra Bank
  • Role during Internship: Analyst Intern
  • Year of Internship (eg. '24 Summers, '23 Winters): ‘24 Summers
  • Mode of Internship (Online/Offline/Hybrid): Offline
  • Duration of Internship: 2 months

Getting into the Internship:

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

Electrical Core, but applied for all companies

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

First and second year notes for concept clarity

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

I had very few to no outstanding project in my resume that caught the interviewers’ eye, so they tested my concept clarity by asking theory based questions in all domains of elec, while also asking my future plans.

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 challenges as i was already aware of the process beforehand, i had friends and seniors to contact for any clarifications back in December 2022

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

The core elec interviews were an experience, I knew I didn’t have enough preparation to face interviews so my mindset was to gain experience from interviews and hope that some of them turn out well.

During the internship:

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

I was recruited as an analyst intern, and I was tasked with proposing a model of my own that presents appropriate products for a customer according to their financial needs and position in the customer demography. I created a simplified math-based robo-advisor on Python that optimises the portfolio for maximised returns or minimised risk. I also created a user interface on Python itself for a customer to discover their own optimal portfolio.

How would you describe your overall experience as an intern?

It was very smooth. I had a lot of time to focus on multiple tasks throughout the two months, as I was able to complete the paper I was working on for my previous core intern.

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

The work environment was amazing, there were facilities and recreational area for breaks. The peer group I interacted with are open, mostly young, and with enough experience for the current company affairs.

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

Interactions were restricted to my peers and my mentors as I was allowed to build on my idea on my own but I could get any information I required from them.

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?

They provided me with their current challenge and asked me to analyse all the variables and present my own idea by criticising what they currently have as a solution. I believe my contribution helps me show in my resume how I was able to partly influence how the company will take further decisions. This will remain as a crucial project in my career and I’d definitely recommend students to acquire such active projects where the problems are real and solutions are applicable to a great extent.

For people who have completed their internships

What are you currently involved in or pursuing following the completion of your internship?

I’m back to focusing on my placement preparation, while I have taken a core project as well which I will tag as a BTP. I also plan to take electives related to large scale optimisation of generic Machine Learning based problems.

In what ways has the internship influenced or impacted your current activities and future endeavors?

I believe I have acquired enough experience prior to graduation mainly in solving current problems of companies with satisfying results and great feedback from my mentors in the last one year. This definitely boosted my confidence as well as helped me gain topics to discuss and present to future companies to show how I applied my skills in varied domains and prove that I can be a valuable asset to them.