By Arpita Dutta
I learnt of the internship opportunity at TECHB while undergoing training in embedded systems in the final year. The selection process consisted of two roundsa written test and a personal interview. The hour-long test consisted of multiple choice question. Only 17 out of the 30 students who had given the test qualified for the interview. I was one of them.
At the interview, I was asked questions about myself, my ability to impart training and conduct workshops, and what I knew about the Atal Tinkering Labs or Atal Innovation Mission.
I was soon offered the internship with a monthly stipend of Rs 20,000.
On the first day of my internship, I learnt that TECHB is an indicative vendor for Atal Tinkering Labs, which is an innovative step under Atal Innovation Mission by NITI Aayog. As a part of this initiative, labs were being set up in schools across India, with the objective to foster curiosity, creativity, and imagination in young minds, and inculcate skills such as design mindset, computational thinking, adaptive learning and physical computing. The labs contain educational do it yourself kits and equipment on science, electronics, robotics, open source microcontroller boards, sensors, 3D printers, and computers. Our job was to train the students in the basics of electronics and robotics.
During my training, I was asked to present how I would teach the students the concepts of electronics and robotics, and was given feedback to improve. After about two weeks of training, I was given the green light to begin training students.
My first assignment was with Krishna Public School, Raipur. On the first day, I conducted an orientation programme for the students and faculty. I was also given the responsibility to make a day-wise teaching module and a presentation on the topics I would teaching. I also wrote technical and non-technical content, which was published and handed out to the students in the form of a booklet during the workshop.
I conducted a nine-day workshop at Krishna Public School and taught the students about robotics and Arduino programming. I had to train ten faculty members and 30 students who were selected after a screening test at the school. I conducted three-hour long training sessions, starting with basics and then slowly moving towards advanced concepts. We also made several projects like line follower robots, obstacle avoiding robots and LED matrix. It was amazing seeing school students learn and perform these advance and innovative projects, and I felt proud of being a part of this. Some students also decided to work on projects of their own and I guided them. The good part is that if students needed any help even after the training ended, the firm would provide it.
My next assignments were at the Government Higher Secondary Schools in Basna and Narra, two villages in Chhattisgarh. Many students could barely speak English, so I began to train them in Hindi, which was a new experience for me too. Nevertheless, the students understood quickly and performed well. I was happy seeing the students work enthusiastically on the projects and bring in new ideas. We also made a project on home automation after a request by one student, who wanted to learn to control the lights using his mobile phone.
The TECHB team was very supportive and encouraging. During the internship, I learned so much. Although I had some knowledge about embedded systems, working on the projects with the students helped me strengthen my concepts. I learned to make better presentations, improving my communication skills and confidence. All in all, the internship gave me an experience I will cherish forever.
Arpita Dutta is a student of Bhilai Institute of Technology, Durg. Her story is published via Internshala, an internship and training platform.