Practice School

Practice School (PS) is different from Industry Internship. Generally, a student joins an industry internship in the 8th semester with their respective employers only. A placement/ job offer is required for this type of internship. Practice School is an extension of the traditional internship. It allows students to gain practical work experience either in 7th or 8th semester without a binding employee-employer relationship.

No. Even if a student is eligible, interested, and has applied for Practice School, s/he has to compete and qualify in the selection tests conducted by the different organizations. Students have the choice to participate in the selection tests depending on their preference of technology domains.

Yes! Depending on the student’s preferred technology domains and the industry requirements, the Industry Interface Cell (II Cell) may allow participation in multiple PS drives. The II Cell will try its best to maximize the benefits to students based on their academic caliber, technical knowledge, preferences, and competencies.

In general, the student has the choice of which PS offers to accept. However, considering various other factors, the II Cell may allocate an organization beneficial for all stakeholders.

A student can indicate her/his preference while applying for Practice School. Whether a student joins in the 7th or 8th semester depends on his/her selection, allocation, and requirements of the host industry/research organization. The Industry Interface Cell would try to find the best match between the needs of the student and the organization.

There are pros and cons involved in both decisions.

If a student joins in the 7th semester, the host organization can use the summer break after the 6th semester for the pre-practice school (Pre-PS) training. If the student performs well during the PS, the host organization would likely offer them remote, part-time work assignments when the student returns to the institute in the 8th semester. This is because the student is already trained. This way, by the time the student graduates from the B.Tech program, she/he would already have about 1-year of work experience, which will help increase their professional value a lot. On the other hand, after working for nearly eight months in an organization site, a student may find it a bit difficult to switch back to regular classroom learning in the 8th semester.

If a student joins the Practice School in the 8th semester, s/he can continue with the usual student life in the 7th semester. Pre-PS training can still happen in the summer break after the 6th semester, but it may not be that effective due to the one-semester gap between the training and the beginning of the PS engagement. The organization may want to offer you the opportunity to work remotely during the 7th semester, but the chances are less. At the end of the B. Tech program, the student will gain at most six months of work experience. Therefore, the professional value-addition would be comparatively less.

Yes, the chances of getting a Pre-Placement Offer (PPO) is high for students from core branches like EEE/ECE/EIE who do not want to join the bandwagon of an IT/ITES company but pursue a career with their core strength in electrical, electronics, communication, instrumentation, VLSI, etc. In most cases, such students can get a high-salary job in the core engineering sectors through their participation in the Practice School.

Nowadays, most of the placement drives are online, so students will rarely miss an opportunity. However, Practice School is for students having high academic caliber and competency. Their skills will get multiplied by the practical work experience gained at the PS Station. Employers always look forward to industry-ready candidates who can be productive from day one. A student opting for Practice School should have higher career goals instead of only depending on traditional campus placement drives offering fresher level salary packages.

No. The student does not have to pay a fee to the Institute or the industry organization (PS Station) to undergo Practice School. The Institute will not provide any financial assistance to the students for the PS stint.

The concerned PS Station usually supports the Practice School stint with a stipend, but the PS Station does not need to pay a stipend, nor does the Institute guarantee it.

No. Practice School is designed for experiential learning by working in an industry under real-life situations with the guidance of working professionals. A continuation of this working relationship after B. Tech. is solely by mutual agreement between the student and the industry. The student has every right to join any other organization after B. Tech. based on the merits and personal preference.

No. A student will undergo a PS stint only in one organization. A student working for any organization other than the one allocated by Industry Interface Cell shall invite disciplinary action. This may lead to termination of the Practice School opportunity.

No. A student may accept the PS Station’s offer to work remotely/part-time during the Non-PS semester provided that s/he is competent and confident to manage the workload along with the academic loads. Such part-time/remote engagement cannot be used as a reason for the shortage of attendance or any other lapses in academics.

No. A job offer depends on a student’s attitude, learning ability, teamwork, and overall performance during their PS stint. It also depends on the requirements and recruitment process of the organization. Though in most cases, the PS Station will offer a job based on the competencies and performance of the student, it is not mandatory on their part to offer a job during/after the Practice School.

As the PS course is a rigorous practical internship, most organizations would prefer that the student is available on site. However, it depends on the type of organization, its rules & regulations, and work culture. The PS Mentor may permit working from home at his/her discretion.