INDUSTRY FIELD VISIT

ON

KHELO INDIA GAMES 2023

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Submitted By

(Ullas Kumar Roy)

Class: MSM (SEMESTER II) Div: B Roll No: 136

For The Course of

MASTER OF SPORTS MANAGEMENT

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF SPORTS & MANAGEMENT

ACADEMIC YEAR 2023 -2024

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sr. No. Particulars Pages

1. Acknowledgement 3

2. Introduction 4-8

3. Objectives 9

4. The Delhi Leg 10-16

5. The Arunachal Pradesh Leg 17-22

6. Observations 23-24

7. Learnings 25-26

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Acknowledgement

I undertook this internship through the IISM. It was a great opportunity where I learnt
a lot of things. I can't thank IISM enough for the opportunity. Aman sir and Krishna
Sir from IISM were there to guide us at every step. They remained available for us
from first day to the last. I thank them as well.
Also, I worked with SAI officials and people from KSR Sportseed for nominations. I
got to learn a lot of things from them - especially work ethics and professionalism in
the sector.
On Games location, I worked with different people from SAI, their coaches, young
professionals etc. They taught me a lot of things and made me aware about different
horizons. The experience of working with Assistant Director, SAI was a great one
too, he was humble, helping, and hardworking.
I am grateful that I got the opportunity to be around good people for this wonderful
project.

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INTRODUCTION

I got the opportunity to work in Khelo India Games 2023 from 26th December 2023 –
24th February 2024. It was an opportunity given by Sports Authority of India through
IISM. The opportunity was based in Delhi for first few days and then we were
allocated to different functional areas (FAs) according to the requirements.

About SAI

SAI – Sports Authority of India is the topmost sports governing body of India which
comes under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. SAI has the responsibility to
grow and develop sports in India. It was setup in 1984 to carry forward the legacy of
1984 Asian Games which was held in New Delhi. SAI does have following roles for
the growth of sports in this nation :-

- Talent scouting and nurturing them

- Training & international exposure
- Sports infrastructure development and maintenance
- To implement various schemes of MYAS. For ex – Khelo India, TOPS, FIT
India.
- To produce coaches and physical educationists of high caliber in different
disciplines of sports to broad base sports.

SAI for the development and promotion of sports has established 23 National Centre
Of Excellence and 67 SAI Training Centres. SAI manages a total of 189 centres
including STCs, NCOEs and Extension Centres. A total of 9025 athletes are trained
in these centres as per latest numbers. The numbers changes as per new
admissions and omissions.

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SAI for the elite athletes runs TOP scheme – Target Olympic Podium Scheme.
Under TOPS, Government of India provides assistance to India’s top athletes in their
preparations for Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Selected athletes are supported with funding from National Sports Development
Fund (NSDF) for customized training and other support not available under normal
schemes of the Ministry. Out of pocket allowance (OPA) is paid Rs. 50,000/- per
month to Core group athletes. Apart from OPA, entire expenditure for the training
plan submitted by the sportsperson, which is considered and approved by Mission
Olympic Cell (MOC) is met under TOPS. At present, 147 individual athletes & 2
hockey teams (Men and Women) as core group have been selected under the
scheme. Also, Under Development Group to ensure a focused approach in India’s
Olympic preparation the talent identification of 258 best sporting talents has been
completed for 12 sports disciplines. TOPS Development Group athlete are receiving
OPA of Rs. 25,000/- and customized training support at National Centre of
Excellence (NCOE).

Apart from above, the Government has launched the Khelo India Scheme in 2017
with a mandate for identification of talent and nurturing sporting talent to attain
highest levels of achievement at international levels. The Scheme covers pan India
i.e. both urban and rural areas.

(Source – pib.gov.in/SAI has established 23 National Centres of Excellence and

67SAI Training Centres to implement sports promotional schemes across the
country: Shri Anurag Thakur)

IISM and SAI has tied up for the successful organization of Khelo India Games. IISM
acts as knowledge partner in Khelo India Games and hence we get the opportunity
to work as representatives of IISM.

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Khelo India Games

Khelo India Games were started in 2017 with Khelo India School Games which are
now called Khelo India School Games. Khelo India Games have since expanded to
University Games, Winter Games and Para Games as well which are held annually.

Khelo India Scheme aims to create a sporting structure for our youth and budding
athletes. The schemes wants athletes to experience the top level atmosphere which
they usually see in international competitions.

Its objectives are :-

- To create Inspirational value amongst budding players in the country.

- To benchmark Technical Conduct of the game with International Standards
- To reduce Dropout at early age
- Create a platform for Talent Identification

This 2023 edition was the 6th edition of Khelo India School/Youth Games, 4th edition
of University Games, 2nd edition of Winter Games and 1st Para Games.

KIYG ’23 were held in Tamil Nadu, majority of sports were held in Chennai while one
sports each were held in Coimbatore, Madurai and Trichy.

A total of 26 sports were organized, with squash being organized for the first time in
Youth Games.

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 KIYG – Chennai logo and mascot – Veeramangai

Veeramangai - Velu Nachiyar, known as "Veeramangai “, embodies unrivalled

bravery and a wild spirit, etching her narrative in the historical records of courage.
Celebrated for resisting foreign rule, she stands as the first woman to defy the
British. Nurtured as a warrior rather than a conventional princess, she mastered
swordplay, archery, valari, and silambam - traits mirrored in KIYG 2023 mascot. This
symbol is more than a character; it embodies our team's spirit, resilience, and
unwavering dedication. The mascot is not just a character, it's a living embodiment of
our team's spirit, resilience, and unwavering dedication.

The Khelo India University Games (KIUG) 2023 were held from 17th to 29th
February 2024, in 07 States of Northeast namely, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. KIUG featured competitions
across 20 sports. Close to 4500 athletes from 200 Universities participated in KIUG
2023.

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 KIUG’23 logo

KIUG’23 Mascot – Ashtalakshmi

Ashtalakshmi - Ashta is an elegant butterfly mascot that represents the rich

biodiversity and natural splendor of Northeast India. The mascot's wings are adorned
with cultural motifs and colours from each scale, depicting the diverse beauty of
Northeast India. The mascot is a symbol of grace and symbolism.

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Objectives of the field visit

Khelo India Games are at pinnacle of youth sports development in India. The
personal objectives and motive behind working in the project was to :-

- Observe how and what things happen at an event of this scale.

- Develop my communication skills through engagement with people with more

experience than me.

- Try to build good relationships with people around.

- Learn the trade of professionalism from the seniors of the fields.

- Learn skills which are needed to do good in the job.

- Know more about sector and the future possibilities around the industry.

- Learn the value of discipline and dedication needed in the industry.

- To enjoy and experience the fun of live competition.

- To witness best young talents in our country.

My experience at games can be divided into two parts - 1) Delhi 2) Arunachal

Pradesh

I worked at Khelo India Youth Games and University Games. While for Youth
Games, I was fully there in Delhi but in University Games, I also got the opportunity
to be at Games Location and working at ground zero.

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The Delhi Leg

The work at Delhi was all Computer based. We had the responsibility of nominations
of Athletes, Support Staff, Technical Officials and Chef De Mission in case of Youth
Games while University Contingent Managers in case of University Games.

The process of nominations came under the Functional area of GTCC (Games
Technical Conduct Committee)

GTCC stands for Games Technical Conduct Committee. GTCC is one of the most
important functional areas of the KIUG which is responsible for smooth functioning of
the event. Pre, Post, and After is the most crucial Functional Area (FA) of the Khelo
India University Games that guarantees the event's seamless operation. They
collaborate with entities such as the Association of Indian Universities (AIUs),
National Sports Federations (NSFs), and International Olympic Association (IOA).
Their duties include evaluating, inspecting, and shortlisting potential host sites;
registering and nominating athletes, TOs, SSV, CM, and UCM and obtaining their
verifications; creating a venue allocation plan; and ensuring that every FOP is
prepared in accordance with Olympic standards. Additionally, it guarantees the
timely conduct of contests and the technical conduct of all games-related activities,
such as ICT, TSR, technical handbook, schedules and fixtures, medal tally, and
checking for broken KIUG and National records.

The basic process for nominations which had to be followed :-

- GTCC will get the names of athletes qualified and nominated from National
Sports Federations or other competent bodies.
- The athlete need to register their names on NSRS Portal (National Sports
Repository System) where they will update all their details.
- We will check their details and nominate them according to their event and
sports on Khelo India Nomination Portal.

The competent authorities take trials and then decide the names of athletes to
be sent as per the results. There are also quota kept separately for CBSE

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 National athletes, Wildcard athletes to promote sports in the region where it is
not so prevalent. Some quotas are also for the athletes from host state.

Problems encountered while Nominations: -

- It took some time getting used to the nomination portal.

- Names of athlete came very late from few NSFs.
- Athletes were making lot of mistakes while registering on NSRS Portal. For
example - Wrong DOB, Leaving Address and Kit Size blank.
- Many athletes had multiple IDs on NSRS due to which it had to be confirmed
from them which one to nominate.
- - Many athletes and coaches were unreachable, so it was difficult solving their
discrepancies while nominations.
- Freezing of nominations were done without co-ordination.

To tackle the problems, multiple steps were taken such as: -

- NSFs were contacted frequently, and pressure was put on them to send
names in time for proper functioning of nomination process.
- A video instructing the athletes to register properly on the website was
circulated to those whoever was having problems. Also, we were there to
assist them on calls and chats.
- Athletes were contacted for verifying the IDs which is in use currently.
- Athlete’s schools and universities and their teammates were contacted in
order to reach the athletes who had given the wrong contact information.
- Co-ordination was set up for proper freezing of nominated athletes after few
initial mistakes.
- SAI consultants were always ready to help us to explain any difficulties in
operating the portal.

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 NSRS Portal

NSRS Portal

1. A comprehensive digital solution for all the primary stakeholders, including

athletes, coaches, sports scientists, sports training facilities, federations, and
administrations, is what the National Sports Repository System (NSRS) aims
to provide.

2. It is an accessible platform for the sports industry where instructors,

athletes, and training facilities can sign up. A special number known as the
KID, or Khelo India ID, is generated upon successful registration and is
needed to access the NSRS.

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 Nomination Portal

Keeping nominations aside, calling athletes to give them information was a huge
task. They needed to be informed regarding registration and their selection in some
cases. For the athletes who had done some mistakes while registering it was even
harder to explain. While calling athletes multiple problems arose like language
barrier, wrong numbers given and in very few cases, making them believe the
reason for call.

A lot of time, we faced problems while using portal due to various reasons, such as
improper allocation of quotas on website, incorrect events mapped, wrong university
names or missing university names shown on the website.

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Lets look at few numbers of total quota and names received, names nominated and
freezed:-

KHELO INDIA YOUTH GAMES 2023, TAMIL NADU

Stakeholde Total Nominated & Nominated & Frezzed Present
Quota
r Received Frezzed (Unique) (Unique)
Athlete 5805 5438 5365 4686 4449
Support staff 1741 1331 1331 1323 1240
TO 1020 1020 1020 1020 1020
SSV 480 479 455 455 455
CM 26 26 26 26 26
CDM 36 36 36 36 36

Total 9108 8330 8233 7546 7226

Basic Data from Khelo India Youth Games, Chennai 2023

Khelo India University Games 2023

Stakeholders Nominated Received Quota
Total Athletes 4401 4438 4628
Total SSVs 383 389 392
Total TOs 873 882 883
Grand Total 1256 1271 1275

Basic data from Khelo India University Games 2023

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Numbers of sports and nominations were divided among all interns. This made the
task easy and everyone had the sense of responsibility on their heads. Work was
tedious but clear for everyone.

Almost 1200 nominations in both youth and university games were divided among
each group.

There was great co-ordination among SAI, their consultants and IISM interns.
Everything needed to be done was conveyed properly. The work involved receiving
data and maintaining and updating excel sheets after nomination, updating sheets
after end of each day, solving queries received from the athletes and coaches. The
basic knowledge given to us prior to work, of how sports quotas work, the
qualification route, reservation of quotas for CBSE, Wildcard etc came handy in
dealing with athletes, parents and coaches.

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Work Experience

The experience working in GTCC was very challenging. There were daily deadlines
set for number of nominations. It was great that we were working with SAI
Consultant - KSR Sportseed for the nominations who had previous experience. They
explained the job and solved our queries at every step. The work hours were not
fixed, the working hours were extended on most of the days.

We all were told all this before the start and were ready and motivated to do and
learn things. We observed the things which happens in a corporate. We experienced
what is work culture, the basic know-hows of a office life. There were no holidays, we
had to work from home on Saturday and Sundays. The strict deadlines needed a lot
of work and motivation. There were times where we felt dejected but the realisation
of working for Khelo India Games gave a sense of satisfaction.

There were stressed environment on certain days as the problems were mounting
but were solved somehow. As a intern, it was an exciting place to learn new things
and how a sports event takes place as were cut some slack for being newbies and
there was no direct pressure on us.

The opportunity really taught us what to expect in future and how to improve and
tackle certain situations.

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The Arunachal Pradesh Leg

All the interns were allotted to different venues and different FAs. I got the
opportunity to work in Arunachal Pradesh where Weightlifting was scheduled.

Sportswise schedule and venue information in Khelo India University Games 2023

Sport Dates Venue State

Open Ground, Sarusajai Sports

Kabaddi February 17-21 Assam
Complex

Karmabir Nabin Chandra AC

Basketball February 18-21 Indoor Stadium, Sarusajai Sports Assam
Complex
Women’s
February 18-27 Nehru Stadium Assam
football

Kho Kho Ground, Sarusajai

Mallakhamb February 18-21 Assam
Sports Complex

Indoor Stadium, NSRCC.

Yogasana February 18-20 Tripura
Agartala
Men’s
February 19-27 Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Aizawl Mizoram
football
Dr Zakir Hussain Aquatics
Swimming February 19-21 Complex. Sarusajai Sports Assam
Complex
Maulana Md. Tayabullah Hockey
Hockey February 19-25 Assam
Stadium
Deshbhakta Tarun Ram Phookan,
Table tennis February 19-22 Assam
Indoor Stadium
Indoor Hall, Rajiv Gandhi Arunachal
Weightlifting February 19-23
University. Itanagar Pradesh

Tennis February 20-26 Chachal Sports Complex Assam

Shooting February 20-29 Shooting Range, Kahilipara Assam

SAI Archery Range. North

Archery February 20-24 Meghalaya
Eastern Hills University
Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium,
Rugby February 21-23 Assam
Sarusajai Sports Complex

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 Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium,
Wrestling February 22-25 Nagaland
Kohima
National Centre of Excellence,
Badminton February 24-28 Assam
Amingaon

Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium,

Athletics February 25-27 Assam
Sarusajai Sports Complex
Karmabir Nabin Chandra AC
Volleyball February 25-28 Indoor Stadium, Sarusajai Sports Assam
Complex

Open Ground, Sarusajai Sports

Fencing February 25-28 Assam
Complex

Deshbhakta Tarun Ram Phookan,

Men’s boxing February 25-29 Assam
Indoor Stadium

Women’s
February 25-29 Indoor Hall, Gangtok Sikkim
boxing

Bhogeswari Phukanani Indoor

Judo February 26-29 Assam
Stadium

We had to reach our venues few days ago from the start of competition, I reached 5
days ago and met Assistant Director, SAI who was incharge of conducting and
overseeing games from SAI. Sir was friendly and encouraging, he explained my role
and scope of work.

I had the job of co-ordination between AD and State who was organizing the event.

State had the responsibility of arranging ACT – Accommodation, Catering and

Travelling while SAI had to oversee the work done by state. Selection, and allocation
of hotels were needed to be completed well in advance of first day. Catering for male
participants were arranged by the hotels where they were staying and for female
participants, the arrangement for food were done at the games location which was
Rajiv Gandhi University. Girls were kept at Girls hostel facility in Rajiv Gandhi
University only. Travel plans were made according to the arrival and departure of
athlete and support staffs. One shuttle bus was allotted to each hotel for hassle free
travel of athletes and support staff between hotel and games venue.

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We were in touch with athletes for everything they needed or any problem they had.
SAI took stock of the things everyday to monitor the smooth happening of things.
Though problems occurred due to few reasons:-

- There were lack of required quality hotels near the games location and also
with simultaneous organization of Santosh Trophy in town, accommodation
were difficult to arrange.
- Numbers of Support Staff slated to come exceeded and the accommodation
facilities were needed to be adjusted.
- Support staff were not ready to adhere to what was being told to them. Few
denied sharing rooms and it was difficult to sort things out.
- There were regular complaints initially from athletes for the quantity of food
being served to them which was later corrected with the intervention from SAI.
- In Travel, things were better with exception in few cases where the drivers
were late in picking up the athletes.

Things were sorted out with proper intervention and discussions required, in
the end it was a well arranged event leaving minor incidents aside.

An example of accommodation

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 An example of Vehicles arranged for travel

A lot of coordination was needed between different stakeholders for the success of
games. I also had the responsibility to be constantly in touch with the volunteers who
were responsible for receiving the athletes, making sure they reach their
accommodation etc. These volunteers were first point of contact for the athletes and
hence it was important for us to give all the required information to them and be
available when they need us.

The major responsibility given to me was accreditation.

Accreditation process was important for assuring that the right person is present to
compete and there is no unfair measures are being taken by anyone. Also
accreditation was important to get kits and and be allowed to compete in the games.

Accreditation Process included verifying the athletes through their University IDs.
After this, 3 indent forms were printed, signature from athletes were taken on all the
forms and one indent was given to athlete after giving out their accreditation cards.

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Weightlifting included 160 athletes, almost 40 Support Staff, 5 UCMs, 1 CM, 4 Nada
Officials, and Sport Specific Volunteers. The indent form was printed through the
Khelo India Portal which looked like this.

Same process was done for kit distribution which was more hassle work as it took
longer time. The copy of indent forms were distributed to athlete, SAI and distributor
so as records are kept with all stakeholders.

Athletes received Generic Tracksuits, Generic T – Shirts, Sports Specific Kits,

Kitbags, Socks/Stockings and Caps while the Supports Staff received Generic T –
Shirt and Tracksuit.

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Work Experience

At the games venue there was a motivation to make the event success, there was a
continuous need of coordination to make things work systemically. We were required
to be available every time. Data needed to be shared with competent people around
in time to decide further plans and all this required continuous work.

Before the games it was important to understand venue, hotels, arrival and
departure schedules of athletes and how to distribute accreditation. It was a bit
hectic initially but then after settling down things were quite calmer and things started
running in order. The people were very helpful and made us feel like home.

Dealing athletes for queries and accreditation was a unique experience. It felt
wonderful talking and knowing about them. The pressure was there to solve things
as quickly as possible and talk to different people who were incharge of different
FAs.

I got to meet a lot of people from Arunachal Pradesh which was a lot of fun. Getting
to know about different culture and places enthralls us all and it was a memorable
experience to be a part it.

The experience gave great happiness and taught a lot of things. I felt extremely
satisfied after the end of event.

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Observations

As a intern, I had the freedom to observe things as they happen. Here are some of
my observations based on this :-

Communication is the key – In this field, it is very important to have clear

communication to execute things right. People are judged on the basis of these
skills. A good communicator usually progresses quicker and further than a not so
confident one. It is important to overcome your fears and express your thoughts. This
trait help you build networks and enter into different communities nonchalantly which
is a boost to your career.

Skills – The field values your skills. It is must to be fluent in basic hard skills such as
MS Word and Excel. It does gives you a edge if you are better than others in the
surroundings. Soft skills such as leadership are very important, it is true that we learn
this with experience but showing that you are capable enough is very important.
Other Skills such as time management, critical skills, creativity, adaptability etc are
key skills on whose basis you can be evaluated.

Realities of industry – We got to see the industry closely while working in the system
for two months. We became friends with people, noticed their lifestyle and work – life
balance. There is pressure on people to continuously to give results. Especially on
project based work of such scale, you are under scanner everyday. It is important to
keep this in mind and give your best. The best way is to enjoy the process and this is
the good thing about it. If you love sports and have passion for the growth of sports
in India, the work will surely feel lighter.

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Sports Ecosystem in India – The Sporting community is expanding and new people
are coming in the sector more and more. It was heartening to see such scope and
growth in the sector. New opportunities are arising in the sector and the future
seemed bright for the industry.

Govt. view on Sports – While working in SAI Office, it was pretty evident that the
government is committed for the growth of sports in India. The employees were
working their socks off. There was real dedication on the field and not just for the
sake of it. Govt also increased the budget of Khelo India Games. With new schemes
such as FIT India, TOPS, government aims to build a sporting environment and also
support the top athletes in India. It was great to see efforts from government of India
to boost sports ecosystem in India.

I observed some negative points as well :-

Disparity between Northeastern and other athletes – I got the opportunity to work
with STC and NCOE employees of SAI Itanagar. The coaches were not happy with
the opportunities given to Northeastern athletes and coaches in comparison to
Northern athletes. They said that coaches are ignored for the bigger jobs despite
being equally experienced to their counterparts who got better jobs. This also affects
the athlete as they are usually ignored behind due to undue favours to their
counterparts from their coaches.

Egoistic battles and sycophancy in Weightlifting Federation – On the ground, to look

or show themselves better in front of their masters, some officials tried different
tactics which resulted in delay in various processes. For ex – Changes were made in
Accreditation Cards. The officials from federation also had fights for reasons such as
food in exclusive sections, it was clearly evident that few people were there just for
showboating and not promotion of Sports.

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Learnings

The 2-month stint was full of learnings. It gave the sneak peek of what to expect in
future. Following are the key learning that I will take away from my experience at the
games.

Relations – I made some great friends while working in the field. I also learnt it is
very important to keep your friends closer in this field. The support and knowledge
gained from seniors and colleagues was immense, the awareness which was
missing before came and made me think of wider landscape. These relation will
surely be needed and helpful in future endeavours in some way or other.

Professionalism – The industry craves for professionalism. It is so important in any

environment to be at disciplined enough. Professionalism stands for the conduct,
aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional person.
The characteristics of time abiding, empathetic, well mannered are important part of
it.

Always be ready – You need to be always ready for different scenarios. Situations
change drastically and in so dynamic field, it is imperative that you will find
yourselves in these kind of situations many times.

Be Vocal for your Problems – Sometimes, we get stuck in situations and are unable
to resolve it ourselves. In this case it is important to talk to people around. People
usually understand what you go through and will certainly try to help you in different
ways. If you don’t speak, problems can mount due to more pressure at workplace

Process – In internship, I learnt the process of things. There is a system placed in

different setups and it is needed to adapt yourself around that. More than skills, it is

25
important to learn how things work. There is a hierarchy in place in organizations and
for every decision it is important to take all in confidence. For every step you need to
take authorisation from seniors. It is important to respect the system and adhere to it
wherever you go.

Enjoy – The most important thing is to enjoy the work. There should be the sense of
happiness while you working. We must prioritize our well-being and do things which
keep us happy. The fact that it heals most of the problems is one thing you must
remember. My time working on field was very enjoyable and memorable and one
which I will savour for long time.

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