February appeared to be uneventful apart from a movie bonanza gifted by my roommates after a weary week. After the movie, I received a horde of messages congratulating me, but I did not have a clue what it was about. I called a friend who informed me of my selection through JNCASR- Summer Research Fellowship Programme 2019. I was on cloud nine as this fellowship is highly competitive and only 10 to 20 Masters students get selected from all over India. The fellowship offers a two month research internship in some of the premier scientific institutes in India along with a stipend of 20,000 for two months.
I got my offer letter by mail and was lucky enough to be placed under Dr. V. Nagaraja, Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (IISc). Dr. Nagaraja is the President of JNCASR and a pioneer in the research field of Mycobacterium tuberculosis gene regulation. He had won several accolades like the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar prize, JC Bose fellowship, TWAS prize and also a state award from the Government for his contributions in the field of science.
After the initial excitement, I pondered on how I landed up with the internship. I realized that if I had not attempted to apply I wouldn’t have known if I had any chance of bagging it. My suggestion to all would be to apply for as many internships as possible. Even if you don’t get through, you wouldn’t regret trying. There are many internships for science students pursuing their second year under graduation and first year masters.
INSA, IAS, NASI Summer Research Fellowship program – Around 300-400 students get selected which increases your chance of selection. Deadline- November 30 of every year.
JNCASR – SRFP program : 120 fellowships are offered. If selected, guaranteed internships in IISc, IISER’s or IIT’s. Deadline: December first week.
TIFR – VSRP: Offers intensive research internships for two months. Those interested in Neuroscience and evolutionary biology must apply here. Deadline – January 28 to 31.
AcSIR – APJ Abdul Kalam Summer training program : Students who get selected and pass the interview get to work in any one of the CSIR laboratories in India with a lucrative stipend of 25000.
CCMB – Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hydeabad offers research internships to over 70 Masters students from all over India. This internship is a great opportunity for students interested in core science. Deadline : February first week.
IIT Madras – IIT Madras offers a two month internship and this can be utilized for students who want to stay close to home. Deadline : February 28
IISER Pune, Trivandrum – These internships focus on students working under a professor for a specific project.
These are some of the internships that a student interested to pursue a research career must apply for. There are many such internships offered by prestigious institutions that I did not add to the list. But one can start with these to kick start their research career. Happy interning folks ! Stay tuned to get updates on my internship experience.
Microphile's musings 