How to get a research internship at IITs and NITs?

For people who failed to join IIT or NIT, this is a golden opportunity to spend quality time at these institutions and shape their careers.

IITs and NITs are the prestigious institutions leading our nation through their immense contribution to science and technology. An opportunity to work as an intern in these institutions will expose you to world-class research and can open many opportunities in future. Here you will most of the time working under the guidance of a professor and assisting him in his research.

There are many ways through which you can apply for internships at IITs and NITs. Mind you, all these institutes are not uniform when it comes to hiring interns. Some institutes have formalised processes and in others, the candidate needs to mail the professor.

In this article, I will discuss how to approach the professor through Email.

But before we begin our ritual of mailing the professor, we need to set up a few things.

1. Resume

If there is anything that is core to this process then it should be a proper CV/Resume. If you don't have a resume then you should immediately start working on building one. Literally, no professor is going to consider you without a CV because that's the only thing which will speak about you.

Head over to websites like Overleaf, select a template and start working.

Tips:

• Put all the academic projects you have done till now, doesn't matter if it is small or big.
• Add all the courses, certifications and workshops you have attended till now.
• Add the club activities or any leadership roles you have undertaken and what have you achieved through them.

For instance, you can refer to my resume here.

2. Cover letter

This is the second most important thing to be considered after your CV/Resume. An impressive cover letter can increase your chances of being shortlisted by many folds. A good cover letter conveys your statement of purpose and convinces the professor that you are ambitious and determined. But remember your cover letter should be on point and it will be better to keep it 200 words or less because professors don't have worldly time to go through your boring passages.

Tips:

• Begin with your introduction and CGPA(only if it is above 8).
• Try to convey that you are interested in his research work.
• Talk about the projects you have undertaken.
• Mention the duration and dates you want to work under him.

Attaching my cover letter for reference.

3. Let us begin our ritual

After you are finished setting up your resume and cover letter then you can begin with this step. This is going to be a long and tiring process but I can assure you that you will definitely bag an internship.

Step — 1: Make a list of IITs and NITs in which you are interested.

Step — 2: Open the websites of these colleges and go to your respective department.

Step — 3: You will get a list of professors with their research interests and contact. Go through the list carefully and select the professors whose research interests match your interests.

Step — 4: Now open Gmail and enter the professor's email id and start shooting your cover letter and resume.

Step — 5: Wait for their reply.

4. Patience is virtue

As I already said, this is a very tiring process, so I can't stress enough that patience is everything here. You have to wait for the professor to reply. Most of the time you will face rejection but you have to keep trying until you hit the right professor whom you are looking for.

A few times professors don't reply to your mail which is why you also need to send a small reminder mail. Make sure you send it after 1 or 2 weeks. Kindly don't spam the mailbox of professors as they are very good chances that you will end up in his block list which will hurt your career in the long term.

Don’t forget to maintain email etiquette throughout the process. Good luck!!