Exchange Diaries  

Shivansh Mundra | Mechanical Engineering

Intern at start-up: Silo.AI, Finland

Research Area: Intern at start-up: Silo.AI

Duration: 2 Months

Where did you intern and how you apply for it?
I intern at the start-up Silo.AI in Finland. I know some of the seniors who did intern at the same start-up. I also come to know about this start-up from seniors and take guidance from them. I directly mail to the CEO of the company and finally, they allowed me.

What are the projects that you did here?
I was completely revolving around deep learning and machine learning. I am part of Kharagpur Robosoccer Student’s Group (KRSSG) and Technology Robotix Society. Here I did one Research project under a professor, and then I did one project on my own with the help of the senior after the second year in summers. In my winters I worked at a start-up in Gurgaon. These are basically the major projects that help me for getting this FT.

How you manage your finance?
The company provides me the stipend of 1200 EUR per month from which I come to manage all my expenses which include my flight cost, food, stay and visa. Visa for Finland is relatively expensive as compared to other countries because we need a residence permit there when you go there for the intern in the company.

How was the work culture there?
The work culture is pretty good there. The people there are very supportive. The company is very openminded. The moment when I go there they help me to know the formalities and the structure that they have. They have a formalized procedure for each and everything. They have very good social interactive programs and have very relaxed working hours. There is no such type of pressure and burden that I feel.

What is the role of CG in getting an intern in these types of start-ups?
I hardly see the role of CG while applying for this company. In my case, the company first takes the HR interview and then they take the technical interview. The technical interview was totally based on my CV. They hardly see CG as the deciding factor. They see my projects and the formal work done by me and asked questions related to the topics mentioned in my CV only. They go through each and every point of my CV.

Suggestions for the fellow KGPians?
If you want to apply for this company then the process of the visa of residence permit takes a lot of time compared to normal visa. Due to this, we get delayed by one month I would suggest you to apply early around October-November. Recently the start-up get a good funding. This startup is growing exponentially and thus will be interested in hiring more interns in the coming years.