Virtual internships in embedded systems to increase employability in the ecosystem for its students by training them with transferable and technical skills.
How is the Internship ecosystem for Indian Engineering Students?
Take a moment and think back to your first application to engineering school. Although, it might be true that most candidates choose the engineering profession for its stability and high employability. Hiring firms are inundated by applications and seek to separate the cream from the lot. And often the bitter truth is that although your passion might have got you into engineering school, it is difficult to set yourself apart on this tenet alone without tangible results. It is for this reason that industrial training is a key determinant of success in the eyes of the recruiting firm as the candidate is able to show how they stand out from the rest of the crowd by developing and working with teams of engineers on real-life applications. All of the skills that are included in Emertxe’s courses. In addition, firms see internships as a training period for candidates to become full-time employees and thus, seek to invest in those who will show their metal not just during the internship, but also as potential employees of the firm in the future.
The reality is that only a selected few in the clique of the top schools like IIT and NIT get access to the cream of the opportunities. The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), the regulatory body for technical courses in India, has addressed the lack of employability of engineers who are unable to write code for the next-gen AI-led industrial revolution due to their lack of practical training. However, these internships are majorly bagged by students from top technical schools. There are more than 80% of Engineering students not able to take the benefit of internships as they lack the required practical skills. Emertxe’s Online internship programs for Engineering students are designed to fill this gap between academia and industry requirements to produce qualified engineers, not just with technical skills but also the right aptitude to succeed through career-enhancing courses and virtual internships.
The skill gap – continues to loom and is larger
National Employability Report Engineers 2019 by Aspiring Minds’s findings published by the EconomicTimes shows that only 4% of Indian engineers are able to write correct code as opposed to nearly 19% of American engineers. Additionally, only 2.8% – 5.3% of engineers are qualified in core technologies like Embedded systems, which includes the latest networking and wireless technologies.
Source: National Employability Report Engineers 2019 by Aspiring Minds
The AICTE regulation for internships
In 2018, the AICTE called for reform by reducing the credits or learning hours required by BTech courses from 220 hours to 160 hours. This mandated for all second, third and fourth-year engineering students that 14 credits be utilised for internships or practical training so that students could gain industry exposure to the skills they are learning. According to an article on LiveMint, 6000+ schools don’t have such a provision. According to the National Employability Report Engineers 2019 by Aspiring Minds, only 40% of students perform internships while only 36% undertake projects beyond their required coursework. The numbers don’t look too good in comparison to the 75% of engineering students in the US who undertake an internship during or after completing their degree. The reform has also called for courses to be reviewed on an annual basis as well as the retraining of more than 11000 trainers. “Sixty percent of faculty do not discuss how engineering concepts apply to industry” as stated by the National Employability Report Engineers 2019 by Aspiring Minds.
As highlighted above, tier-1 students from top engineering colleges have their college reputation aided with academic success in their favour when it comes to securing internships and campus hiring placements that become the stepping stone for their careers. However, when internships got mandated, students from tier-2 and tier-3 engineering colleges struggled due to multiple factors such as the lack of awareness of opportunities, being enclosed in a bubble of what they are taught from their seniors and trainers with limited scope for attending seminars or lectures by industry pioneers who could then serve to become their role models whilst simultaneously educating them on current best practices relevant to their field. This limits the scope of skill development and knowledge that companies are expecting potential candidates to have as their potential employees. It is for these reasons companies do not find it viable to invest in candidates hailing from tier-2 and tier-3 cities for the four or six-week duration of an internship, preventing high turnover. In addition, engineering students from tier-2 and tier-3 cities have to make an added effort to prove their worth due to the credibility stigma attached regarding internships being secured on false accounts, being detrimental to their career. Emertxe’s previous article, COVID19 – Careers in Embedded Systems – Challenges and Opportunities, address further challenges faced by embedded systems engineers, especially those from tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
Emertxe has taken steps by offering virtual learning classes for the safety of its esteemed faculty and students supported by an intuitive learning management system as well as extending its placement support for up to one year for its students. Emertxe’s virtual internships are the answer as they cater to the imbalance in the ecosystem by providing opportunities on a platform where talent and hard work will be the winning factors of success, preventing bias and giving internship opportunities to students throughout the country, irrespective of their location. Emertxe’s virtual internships are structured using a new and innovative model. The balance of theoretical learning and application of knowledge through real-time projects gives candidates the opportunity to demonstrate this knowledge with flair at the time of their interviews, through practical examples of the scenarios in which they implemented those very concepts. Internships are thus of prime importance and so have become an integral part of the completion requirements of a BTech degree to aid the development of competency skills vital to careers by increasing their employability.
About Emertxe’s Virtual Internship
In alignment with AICTE recommendations, candidates can choose between a four-week or six-week internship. All of Emertxe’s virtual internships are structured with a combination of up-skilling, building practical hands-on skills followed by project execution. Our assignment discussion sessions which will provide succinct explanations for the candidates to be able to complete their projects to a professional standard. Emertxe provides a full-fledged support system where trainers can be contacted multiple times for doubt clearance, code review and feedback to encourage growth and development during the first three weeks of the internships followed by a final assessment.
Emertxe Virtual Internship Ecosystem
Once students have completed this first three-week phase, they then progress to the project implementation phase. Students who have opted for the four-week internship will be assigned one project, whereas those who have opted for the six-week internship will be assigned two projects. Emertxe will ensure students will complete their projects to an industry-standard through the implementation of programming skills to an acceptable standard, applying the SDLC framework, and testing the project functionality. All of these processes which occur in the industry, hence, following best practices. Students will gain credible skill and experience during the projects which they can add to their resume and flaunt to employers. This internship can be converted into credit points in academia as most engineering colleges recognize this program. In addition, soft skills training, resume building, and interview preparation through DISHA workshops are offered on all of Emertxe’s virtual internships.
Emertxe currently offers three different internships for students to choose from. They are as follows:
1.C programming Internship:
An intensive course, five days/week for six weeks encompassing 70% practical training + 30% theory combination to explore and hone all C programming constructs. This four-week internship is targeted towards first-year and second-year engineering college students from ECE / ECE / TC / CSE branches who seek strong foundations in embedded systems and IoT careers. This internship is certified by the Government of India from NSDC / ESSCI under National Occupational Standards (NOS) as part of the Skill India initiative.
Further details about the course, module structure, and enrollment details can be found on this link
2.Python programming internship:
This is the best Python programming internship on offer as it encompasses all C programming constructs. Since Python has emerged as a versatile programming language, having it in your skillset will enhance future possibilities. You build strong foundations like Object-Oriented Programming, which can later be used for long-term careers in Embedded systems, IoT, Web Development, Data Science and AI. This internship is targeted towards first-year and second-year engineering college students from CSE / ECE / ECE / TC / CSE branches. Similar to C programming internship, this program also accredited by NSDC / ESSCI.
Further details about the course, module structure and enrollment details can be found on this link.
3.Embedded programming internship:
This internship offers immersive hands-on learning in C programming followed by PIC-based Microcontroller programming for embedded systems. This internship is targeted towards third and final year engineering college students from ECE / ECE / TC / CSE branches. Along with building hands-on exposure to C, you will be able to transition into Embedded and IoT programming. This will expose you to reading data-sheets, interfacing, HW programming using a PIC-based controller as a use-case. Along with that, you will learn various protocols like I2C, SPI and CAN protocols.
Further details about the course, module structure and enrollment details can be found on this
link
The importance of an internship for an engineering student
As the article previously discussed, passion needs to translate to tangible action to prove to any employer you are the cream of the candidate pool.
Here are three ways Emertxe’s virtual internships qualify you to stand apart from the crowd:
1. As an independent self-paced learner utilising Emertxe’s learning management system (LMS) to gain practical and theoretical skills demonstrates your passion through the thirst for never-ending self-improvisation, self-motivation and knowledge. It is a prerequisite to being an engineer, no matter which stream you pick, where you will always be faced with challenges you haven’t premeditated and will need to unearth the relevant solutions. The experience through an internship will level-up your game as you will have knowledge of business acumen and industry operating processes, giving you an additional professional edge.
2. Interacting and practising technical and soft-skill fluency in your communication with Emertxe’s esteemed faculty will enable you to identify, formulate and model problems. This demonstrates that you are not just a good engineer but also have the potential for leadership positions that can enhance your career multifold as you will be required to interact with fellow engineers as part of a team to deliver solutions. At the end of the day, your career is your responsibility and Emertxe is here to assist you with offerings that encompass not just technical expertise, growth and development but also career counselling and guidance.
3. Through the internship, you will be working on live projects with supervision from industry experts that will again level-up your game and put you above the rest. The application of theoretical knowledge in real-life situations is the experience companies want you to demonstrate. Once you can prove to them your ability, the sky will be the limit for the opportunities that will come your way. To top it all up, you will be certified by the Government of India for having foundational skills and executing projects.
It is for these reasons internships are not just highly recommended but also essential for career success. Emertxe’s virtual internships are the next step to unlock your career aspirations and opportunities.
So, what are you waiting for? Start exploring online virtual internships with Emertxe!
