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ORGANIZATIONAL TRAINEESHIP SEGMENT 2011: A BRIEF RECAP
Nikita Bankoti1 and Saurabh Sharma2

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtues, but we rather have those because we have learned to act rightly through practice. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”

Akin to the aforesaid thoughts shared by Aristotle, the significance of practice and training for success has been highlighted by a number of thinkers and practitioners across the world. The eight week long Organizational Traineeship Segment was initiated at IRMA based upon similar idea so that participants’ exposure to rural organisations is strengthened and they are able to understand organization’s structure and dynamics, and assess the challenges that such organisations face. It is also an opportunity for the participants to gain first-hand knowledge regarding working in a professional environment. Manish Chaurasiya (PRM31) who worked with the American Indian Foundation very aptly puts it, “It was like working without the pressures of a regular job. We were so closely associated with the organization that learning was just a small part of the whole experience. I am confident that this experience will help me a lot when I join a real job after IRMA.”

OTS 2011: A quick glance

Organizational Traineeship segment 2011 was conducted from 30th May to 22nd July, 2011. A huge number of projects were offered and in the end the participants from PRM31 visited 46 organizations for 68 individual and group projects across the length and breadth of the country. Different kinds of organizations such as Co-operatives, NGOs, Corporates and Government institutions participated in OTS 2011. PRM participants were provided the opportunities to work in different sectors and with diverse communities. For instance, Apurv Gupta and Aditya Gole visited Lahaul and Spiti district in Himachal Pradesh and worked with local hill tribal population under the organization Ecosphere. While sharing their wonderful learning experience, they recall, “It was an out of the world experience as we lived with the local community adopting their life style and understanding the constraints faced by them. We also got to associate with many international development workers who were working with the local tribal community there. In addition to this, the process of acclimatizing to the difficult hilly terrain was a challenge in itself.”

Diverse horizons, diverse experiences

OTS 2011 was notable in terms of the variety of organizations which offered internships to the participants that enabled them to explore diverse spheres of rural management. The organizations were diverse not only in terms of the activities pursued but also the administrative structure and managerial practices followed in these organizations. Thus, there were corporate organizations such as Ernst and Young, Tata Consultancy Services, ITC and RBS which are working in the social sector. Similarly Non-Government Organizations such as Action Aid, New Delhi, Bihar Development Trust, Patna, and Development Alternatives, New Delhi participated and offered internships in diverse sectors such as Health, Livelihoods, Education and Agriculture. Research organizations such as The Energy & Resource Institute, New Delhi, Cereal System Initiative South Asia and International Water Management Institute also participated in the OTS 2011. Such opportunities ensure invaluable learning to students on the subject of the functioning of different type of organizations as the experiences are shared by the participants in the presentations after returning to IRMA. As Pushpendra Saharan (PRM31), who got an opportunity to understand the functioning of Punjab State Electricity Board under the research project offered by IWMI shares his experience, “It was an eye opener as I closely observed the nuances of a bureaucratic structure and how it affects the functioning of an organization. It enabled me to learn from the interactions with the higher-ups in state Government’s bureaucratic hierarchy.”

This diversity was apparent in the kinds of offered projects also which varied from the social sector as well as the business sector. The sundry competencies of IRMA participants were in full display as organizations offered projects ranging from market research to livelihood solutions. A lot of participants worked with the marginalized segments of community, for instance, Sandeep Ramteke worked with the farmers struggle in the Vidharbha region of Maharashtra and Md. Shabbir Haider worked to provide education solutions to slum children in New Delhi. Such a first-hand experience helps the participants to make an informed decision regarding their career choices as Krishna Raj Pandey (SERP Hyderabad) shares, “My OTS with SERP was a good experience with regard to getting a feel of what it was like working in the development sector. Certain truths and realities about the sector hit me like lightning and I came to realise the genesis of the “Sector Vs Non – Sector” debate that is one of the favourites at IRMA. In all, I hope those two months will go a long way in helping me make a careful decision about choosing a career in the development sector.”

The Way Forward
It can be inferred from the comments of various participants that OTS was an enriching experience. For the future, the number of organizations visiting IRMA for different kinds of internships is bound to increase which will further the scope of learning in these two months. To conclude, we share the thoughts of Avantika Garg, participant from PRM31 who visited TERI, New Delhi for her OTS “The Organizational Training Segment (OTS) provides a great learning opportunity while opening newer avenues in the domain of rural management. It gives a diverse set of perspectives into the organizational systems by gaining a practical exposure in a professional environment. This helps to expand our knowledge horizons and sharpen managerial skills required at a workplace. The organizational entity can be understood from an internal perspective while appreciating its inter-linkages with its external environment. This helps to appreciate the mechanisms working within the organizational boundaries while observed through our theoretical knowledge. Overall, it blends with our course curriculum helping us to appreciate our learning at the institute.” Similar thoughts were echoed by all the participants who returned to IRMA after OTS, enriched with knowledge and first hand experiences. It can be said that OTS 2011 was quite successful in its objective and helped in teaching the participants in more than one way.
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1.  email id: p31027@irma.ac.in
2. email id: p31047@irma.ac.in