Mid-rung B-School campuses await clarity on summer placements amid pandemic

Internship duration likely to reduce from the usual 8-10 weeks; while virtual internships might happen, offline might be somewhat impacted in summer 2021

Owing to a delayed start in academics due to the Covid-19 pandemic, mid-rung business school (B-school) campuses await clarity on conducting summer placements even as summer internship duration is most likely to reduce from the usual 8-10 weeks. 

With student on-boarding yet to take place at several campuses, summer placements, which usually take place in November and December, might be somewhat impacted or may happen last minute before students leave for internships during summer break.

According to some of the mid-rung B-schools, while virtual internships might happen, offline internships might see some impact in summer 2021. 

"Students are yet to be on-boarded which will happen by end of November. While most of the internships might happen virtually, live offline internships might see some impact. Also, since there is a delay in starting of the academic year, the usual period of internship might get curtailed," said Sam Linson, placement in-charge at PSG Institute of Management. Usually, students go for summer internships for a span of 8 to 10 weeks which might get reduced across campuses in 2021 due to a delayed start. 

Another mid-rung B-school, St Kabir Institute of Professional Studies (SKIPS), is yet to take a call on summer internships as it awaits clarity from government in terms of commencing sessions as well as recruiters.

"We are not yet decided on summer placements. There is still some want of clarity and hence, we have not yet decided on internships. While online classes are on, we will be able to take a call only once government allows colleges to resume offline classes," said Lawrence Menezes, placement head at SKIPS.

Moreover, recruiters who are unable to offer virtual internships are also unsure of providing any timeline, say B-schools. "While some recruiters have promised virtual internship, in case of those offering offline internships even recruiters are unsure of providing any timeline," Linson added.

At the United World of Business (UWB), the summer placement process for the new batch is yet to take place even as the B-school awaits completion of one full semester which has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic this year, said Jaydeep Banerjee placement head of Karnavati University which runs UWB.

Recruitment experts are bullish that hiring has more or less gone back to pre-Covid levels. However, with certain sectors being affected more severely by the pandemic, recruiters are in a 'wait and watch' mode.

"The Unlock phases have led to a revival in demand and led to a surge in hiring by leading global companies. While e-commerce, ed-tech, HR-tech, fintech have reported a robust hiring activity in this quarter, the remaining sectors are in a 'wait and watch' mode and are likely to start hiring in a more structured manner post the pandemic," said Ravi Kikan, head marketing and growth, Zing HR, a recruitment consulting firm.

According to Ishit Jethwa, CEO, JobSquare, sectors like aviation, tourism, hospitality, automobile, real estate and MSME at large have been unfavourably affected by the pandemic. 

"While hiring has more or less gone back to 70 per cent of pre–COVID levels, the pace is comparatively slow and the focus is more on skill-based recruitment with companies re-working on their sales, marketing and technical strategies in response to the pandemic, as recruiters are looking for employees who can now help them adapt faster to the new hybrid model of work," Jethwa added.