My Research Internship at SSPL @ D.R.D.O, Ministry of Defence, GoI. 👨🏻💼✨
I have been a Technical Research Intern at the Solid State Physics Laboratory (SSPL), Defence Research and Development Organization (D.R.D.O) located at Lucknow Road, Timarpur, Delhi from 09.06.2021 to 09.08.2021 (8 Weeks) under Shri. Raj Kumar Gautam, Scientist ‘E’, in the IEEE Deptt. of SSPL-DRDO during my 3rd Year of B.Tech in Electrical Engineering (EE) at Delhi Technological University (Formerly DCE).
Landing a Research Internship/Training at DRDO is not at all a big deal, being a Government of India (GoI) organization under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), it is a very smooth process if the procedural steps are followed attentively! Let’s get rid of some false myths regarding Internship/Training at DRDO Labs:
- DRDO Internships are only for those who have good contacts within the Organization.
- Landing an internship/Training here at DRDO is a very tedious process.
🔰 General Information & Procedure
DRDO has around 52 Laboratories under it spread across all over India. In DRDO Delhi there are around 8 main Labs :
- Solid State Physics Lab (SSPL)
- Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS)
- Laser Science and Technology Center (LASTEC)
- Defense Institute Of Physiology & Allied Science (DIPAS)
- Centre for Fire, Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES)
- Scientific Analysis Group (SAG)
- Institute of Systems Studies & Analyses (ISSA)
- Defence Scientific Information & Documentation Centre
DRDO offers an Unpaid Training cum Internship program for UG/Graduate/PG Students. Generally, DRDO offers its Internship in Summers (June-Aug) and Winters (Nov-Jan). but if someone has some contacts and references working in the lab or the organization they can intern anytime in the year with prior discussion with the respective Lab HR Deptt.
Step 1: Select any Lab according to your area of interest from the list. I chose SSPL-DRDO Delhi Since I was in the Electrical Engineering Deptt so in order to work in the embedded systems domain, therefore, being a physics laboratory SSPL was a perfect choice for me.
Step 2: Apply Physically by April for Summer and by October for Winter Internships. (Don’t be late like me, I applied in may)
- Physical Application Documents: Cover Letter + Resume + Training/NOC Letter + Previous Semester Result + College Identity Card.
- Enclose 1-1 printed copy of all five documents mentioned above in an envelope. (Demonstration attached below)
- On the envelope write the official address of the Director of the respective DRDO Lab which can be found on the contact us tab on the official website of a specific DRDO Laboratory. (Demonstration given below)
- Take the envelope and go to the Respective Lab and submit it at the reception. SSPL, CFEES, INMAS these labs are in DRDO Timarpur, Delhi near Vishwavidyalaya Metro and SAG, ISSA, LASTEC, DESIDOC, DTRL these labs are at DRDO Metcalf House, Delhi. (which is 5 Kms from Vishwavidyalaya Metro Station.)
Step 3: Now, wait for your Interview call followed by Selection mail from the HR Dept. of the Lab. (In the month of May you can start calling the HR Department asking about your internship application.)
- Some Important Contact Details for SSPL-DRDO Lab:
1) HR, SSPL official Email ID: hrd@sspl.drdo.in
2) Director, SSPL official Email ID: director@sspl.drdo.in
3) Telephone Number: 01123903830 / 01123903540
So above I have discussed the potentially right/correct procedure covering every minute detail as to how to apply and how to monitor the status. remember if you are applying for some lab other than the SSPL Lab of D.R.D.O, find out their Telephone numbers in order to directly ask for queries.
🔰 My Internship Application Documents 🗎 @ SSPL, D.R.D.O, Delhi.
1. Cover Letter
One must prepare a quality cover letter that mentions one’s field of interest, work experience, and most importantly, references. Along with the cover letter, one needs to attach N.O.C from his or her University / College, a Resume, and a copy of Student ID Proof. (Example 👇)
2. Training Letter / N.O.C from the College
Due to the ongoing 2nd wave of Covid-19, my university did not provide us a proper hardcopy of N.O.C or Training Letter instead provided an E-Mail which was treated equivalent to the N.O.C. (Attached Below 👇)
3. Envelope of Documents 🧧
Here is my envelope of documents consisting of : Cover Letter + Resume / CV + Training Letter / N.O.C + Previous Semester Marksheet or Result copy + College Identity Proof. (Illustration 👇)
Now after the submission of the Internship Application at the D.R.D.O Office in Timarpur Delhi, we need to wait till the month of May, if you want you can make a call to the HR Department of the Respective lab in which you have applied, ask them about your internship application (They will ask your name, college, and date of submission of the documents). They let you know the status instantly.
Once your Internship application gets approved, in the last week of May or so you will receive a Mail from the HR Deptt. of the concerned Laboratory regarding the Acceptance of your Internship at the Laboratory stating the Joining date and other useful information.
🔰 Internship Offer Mail 📧 from HRD-SSPL D.R.D.O 🎊
It was 09.06.2021 a fine Wednesday morning, Vacations had just started, as usual, I was doing some work as per my routine, at sharp 11:30 am a pop up showed up on my desktop and it said “HRD SSPL” — BANG! guess what, it was the Acceptance mail of SSPL D.R.D.O Summer Internship 2021. That day I was extremely happy about that because initially, I did many mistakes to secure it, Finally, I made it! 😇
Whatever may be your circumstances you have to work hard and give your best at everything you do — rest, leave it on the Divine.
Here is the copy of the offer email received by me on 09.06.2021 from the H.R Department of Solid State Physics Laboratory (SSPL), D.R.D.O regarding my 8-week internship cum training under Shri. Raj Kr. Gautam Sc. ‘E’ in the Infrared Electronics Evaluation & Engineering (IEEE) Department, SSPL.
When I applied for the internship/Training at SSPL, at that time Covid-19 was in full swing in Delhi so my internship was in online mode instead of the Offline Training. so I successfully completed my internship at SSPL virtually from home. (Mine was a special case of D.R.D.O Internship in Covid-19).
Generally when it is offline, one has to go to the D.R.D.O Complex in Timarpur for document verification and allotment of I.D cards. Also, the H.R officer asks about one’s field of interest. Accordingly, students are sent to different departments and under different scientists. (Quite a different process for the Offline Internship)
🔰 My Experience as Intern, SSPL-D.R.D.O, MoD 🏅
My online internship at SSPL started on 09.06.2021 under the Shri. Raj Kumar Gautam, Sc. ‘E’ in the IEEE Deptt. My topic of Research was “Study of Read-Out Electronics for Shortwave Infra-Red Technology”.
After a vigorous hard work of 8 weeks, I could complete my research and presented a satisfactory Research report to my mentor. On the next day, I was called up to meet Ms. Maya at SSPL D.R.D.O. for my final report submission and Certificate issuance formalities. Following which on 12.08.2021, I made a visit to SSPL-D.R.D.O. There I got myself issued a Temporary Visitor Pass — I went straight up to the H.R Deptt., 3rd Floor GM Building, SSPL, and there I found Ms. Maya Ma’am (Pvt. Secretary to the Head HR, SSPL).
Finally, I completed all the formalities, and following which I was issued a Prestigious Training Certificate from SSPL-DRDO on successful completion of my Research Internship cum Training.
🔰 My Prestigious Training Certificate from D.R.D.O, GoI 🏆
So this was my Internship story, moving towards the end of my answer I want all the candidates/students out there reading my answer to firmly believe in the following saying: || योग: कर्मसु कौशलम् || 🧘♂👨🏻💼
I have tried my best to cover each and every point with respect to the Application of Internship/Training program at SSPL, D.R.D.O but still, I am a human being I might have forgotten to address some of the aspects, then please do let me know.
I hope I have cleared most of your queries and doubts, even then if you have any type of additional queries or doubts please let me know in the Comments section below. Ping me anytime on my social media handles without any hesitation, will try my best to help you out!
To know more about this event: Internshala Blog
Best Wishes & Warm Namaskar, 🙏🏻😊
Er. Vinay Kumar 👨🏻💼
