Back in 2012, with the background of working with a reputed firm, CnT Architects, I always had the vision of creating a practice that supports theory and practice in balance. Being visiting faculty at one of the best schools of architecture in Bangalore back then, I had started the practice with interns (whom I taught in school) as an extended class. We had an amazing (internship) team, and a few joined back to our practice after completion of their graduation. Many of the interns have become fellow professionals, academicians, and good practitioners.
Interns as energy: Interns do bring fresh energy to practice along with fellow staff. Next-gen interns bring us new design skills and the latest software skills to our table. The multi-cultural and geographical experiences of each intern have a different approach to the same problem.
Internship as finishing school: We do consider the internship programme very seriously as it’s their first encounter with the design industry. The tenure is very important as it leaves a lasting impression on the rest of their lives. We inform the interns that we expect them to be thorough professionals and allow them to explore their potential, nurture their skills, and work on their weaknesses.
On the internship programme, we have design processes that define the stage of the project. Interns are scheduled to work on multiple stages of the different projects. During the tenure, we teach the design process, design drafting, details, software shortcuts, and professional model making. Enthusiastic interns do perform well to the challenges thrown at them, and few do not live up to the expectations.
Inducting an intern means that the architectural practice needs to add a real estate space, software subscriptions, stationery and printers, and most importantly, our personal time to hand-hold the intern.
Considering my personal background and experience with the hardships of life, we do pay our interns irrespective of their background.
It is not wise to look at our time invested in each intern versus productivity or quantity.
Advice to the upcoming students and interns: be focused and motivated and bring about change!
One Response
True, that. If we consider, most of the colleges have internship in 5th year of college, the same time as other B.tech students start their jobs. The physiological effect of not paying a intern, or paying so less than bare minimum makes any student uninterested in the profession.