HYDERABAD: The number of internship offers, especially in core branches, has seen a significant drop in the current academic year, thanks to the pandemic and work from home options.
As a result, most students are taking up internships that can be completed virtually, said training and placement officers and faculty from some of the top institutes in the state. “When it comes to core branches, there is about a 50% decrease in number of internship offers compared to last year. So, even students from core branches are left with no choice but to opt for internships, either in IT companies or in other firms, where there is an option to complete it without physically going to the firms,” said K Kiran Kumar, head, Centre for Career Planning and Development (CCPD), National Institute of Technology, Warangal. Institute director, NV Ramana Rao said, students from civil, electrical and biotech streams are facing a tough time.
Similarly, students of BITS, Pilani, Hyderabad have also seen an over 18% drop in internships in core areas.
“The first phase of placements in the year 2020-21 witnessed a total of 259 internship offers received as compared to 211 for the year 2019-20, which is a growth of 22.75%. However, despite an increase in the overall number of internship offers received, there was a drop in the number of internship offers received in the core sector,” said Tabir Mishra, senior manager, placements. He said: “The slowdown in business owing to the lockdown resulted in fewer offers in these sectors – 31 for the year 2020-21 which is an 18.4% drop to last year as on date.”
At IIT, Hyderabad, too students have been offered only online internships this year. “Irrespective of if a student is from core branch or IT related branches, the internship process is being carried out virtually,” said a faculty member from the institute.