Summer Research Internship Program (SRIP) 2021 at IIT Gandhinagar

 

The Summer Research Internship Program, also known as SRIP, is conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGn), one of the most prestigious institutions of India. This internship is highly sought after by students because of the learning and networking opportunities offered by this Research Internship. In this blog, I will be walking you through my experience in SRIP 2021. Before proceeding, I just want to clarify that it is highly recommended to check the website of SRIP for eligibility, duration, stipend, projects available, etc.

Basic details of SRIP at IITGn

Duration: 8 Weeks

Eligibility: Students pursuing Bachelor's and Master's degree at any prominent institute in India. First-year students, as well as Final year students, can apply.

Stipend: 2000 INR per Week

Note- It is strongly recommended to the reader to check the SRIP website thoroughly because these details might change.

I am a student pursuing B.Sc. (Hons.) Biochemistry from Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi

At the time of applying for SRIP 2021 at IITGn, I was in the 1st year of my college. Thus, this is one of the ways in which SRIP is different from most of the other research internship programs. Usually, most of the research internship programs are open for students in their 2nd or 3rd years however, even first-year students can apply for SRIP. When you visit the website for applying to SRIP, you will find a table containing the list of professors and their projects. It is advisable that you go through the list of those projects carefully and then decide which one you are interested in. After deciding on your project of interest, it is better to gain some background knowledge in that field. Read some research papers, watch some youtube videos, and learn the basic terminology of that field. The most important part of the application was the Statement of Purpose (SOP). After you have gone through some of the research papers and got a basic gist of the field, you can start writing the SOP. In your SOP you can write why are you interested in this project, what can you contribute to this project, why should the professor take you for this project and what do you expect to learn after SRIP ends. So my research at SRIP was in the field of DNA Nanotechnology under the mentorship of Dr. Dhiraj Bhatia. So when I was applying for SRIP, I had little idea about DNA Nanotechnology. I went through research papers, watched videos on youtube about DNA Nanotechnology and tools which are used in it.

After getting selected, I was in constant touch with my professor. He was guiding me at every step. I really enjoyed working under his mentorship. During my internship, I computationally created DNA Nanodevices. If you want to read more, click here. Moreover, there were special lecture series called SRIP Lecture Series where professors gave really interesting and informative talks. Moreover, we had to submit a report twice a week about our work. It was called a Tuesday-Friday report because they have to be submitted every Tuesday and Friday. It is strongly recommended that you remain consistent in submitting this report. Lastly, you will have to submit a final report, and thereafter, you will receive a certificate of completion from the institute. However, you should not be motivated by the stipend or certificate. You should be driven by the thought of doing research under highly qualified professors. Your enthusiasm in doing research and learning matters a lot more.

All the best!

Visit my website- https://zeaan.github.io/website/