Joy is my currency,
Sincerity is my faith,
In my piggy bank of learnings,
I aspire for the coin of patience to be the highest in the count,
Trivial facts tickle me,
Reading is my place of solace,
Seeing greenery around me and humming to the old songs makes me happy,
That is precisely Shubhu which means auspicious.
Hello everyone,
I am Shubhu Chandra, a new Marketing Intern at Skillsoft and SumTotal Systems. The taste of failures and successes has kept me persevering to become the best version of myself.
I come from the city of Ranchi in Jharkhand, India. I moved around and changed several schools throughout my growing years and completed my school education in Ranchi. I then moved to Bhubaneswar to pursue my Bachelors in Electronics and Electrical Engineering from Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology. During my second year, I got an opportunity to intern at one of the largest thermal power generation plants at Adani Power Limited in Mundra. That was one of the best phases of my engineering education as it allowed me to see the real-life application of what I had learned and what I was going to learn in the course. It was also because of the way my mentors guided me, and I ensured to absorb everything like a sponge. That’s the experience that led me to love machines. In the subsequent year, I got an opportunity to build further on that experience and learn about the electrical power transmission and distribution process.
Coming to the final year, I sat for the placement process in my college. That was a different phase altogether. It was the first time I was appearing for a full-time job interview and also the fact that I and my batch-mates were all going to begin a new chapter of our lives. We were soon going to be a part of the working class and be on our own. You are right; this wasn’t on my mind right before the interviews, but it did come several times to motivate me to prepare well. I was elated to get placed at Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions. Bosch focuses on quality and works on the latest technology; that is something that resonated with me. I joined as an Associate Software Engineer designing, coding, and implementing software for Electric & Hybrid Vehicles. The experience at Bosch proved to be a great learning opportunity not only in terms of professional learning but also in terms of personal development. Stepping out from college and transitioning to this new role far away from home was not easy. It did have its challenges. The hopes and fears. The moments of highs and lows. But holding onto self-belief always helped. Another strength factor was the team that I was a part of. The camaraderie among my colleagues taught me many life lessons. Each one of us motivated the other to perform well and also extended helping hands whenever in need. The advice I received from my senior colleagues was invaluable. My experience also helped me to become more organized. I tried to catch up on regional languages that were new to me, and mine was a diverse team in culture and geography. Interactions with colleagues gave me glimpses of their varied cultural backgrounds, different languages, festivals, and the diverse set of cuisines. There would be so many healthy discussions on the latest happenings, technologies, of course, talks about our work and tips and tricks. So, there was lots to learn about. I tried to imbibe as much as I could.
Slowly, as I explored more, my interests furthered, and I decided to shift to a new domain and pursue an MBA. I took a break from work before joining the post-graduate programme at the Indian Institute of Management, Visakhapatnam (IIM V). There were again several challenges before reaching this check-post of the climb. But then again, that is how we grow in life.
A new chapter began at IIM V. The rigorous course plan, and the deadlines have kept me on my toes. In addition to academics, I also explored the creative part of myself by actively participating in club activities, drafting posts, planning, organizing, and hosting the flagship events of the college. It felt great to be back at college. With all these activities on, the process for summer internships kickstarted.
That is when I applied for the summer internship at Skillsoft. It was going to be a new experience and another great learning opportunity. The interview process was smooth and more conversational. I hoped to get selected for the opportunity, and to my surprise, I did. As soon as I received a confirmation on my selection, I began jumping around the house. Well, no matter how old we get, our little joys get us dancing.
The duration of my internship is two months, and there is a lot to try hands-on. It has now been over a month here at Skillsoft. The medium of the internship being online does not seem a hurdle with the support of my mentors and other team members. They have all been welcoming and accommodate all my doubts and queries. It is a relief to know that everyone is just a call away for any support needed. Although, I do realize missing out on the interactions near the water-cooler and during coffee and lunch breaks. Offline has an advantage here: it allows us to connect with people from different teams, and the learning is immense.
In the past month, I have worked on the demand generation activities, supporting channel marketing, building and maintaining the marketing calendar for the second quarter for both Skillsoft and SumTotal. The activities such as the BYOL (Bring Your Own Lunch) event and the bi-weekly interactions with other interns have been engaging and fills in for the offline interactions to a certain extent. The Employee wellness programs here are commendable initiatives. I have recently been a part of the meditation program and have found them helpful. I am keenly looking forward to how the upcoming three weeks unfold and contribute to the organization through my suggestions and efforts.
I shall be sharing more of my experience through this fantastic forum. Stay tuned!
