The Indian Institute of Technology Madras has introduced six-month internships for B Tech students to help them secure more pre-placement offers and gain better industrial exposure. According to the plan, students who joined in 2024-25 will not have any core courses in their sixth semester and the elective courses can be completed either in earlier semesters or in following semesters. Currently, B Tech students go for summer internships for a maximum period of three months. Industries and students have asked for longer internships.

“All departments will now uniformly ensure that there is no core course during the sixth semester. Now, students can plan well ahead and take elective courses in earlier or following semesters to keep the sixth semester free,” said Prathap Haridoss, dean (academic courses), IIT Madras.

The students can do courses online, as well. “They will have an eight-month window from mid-November to July. Students can do two internships, one long internship, or they can undertake projects in some universities or labs,” he added. IIT Madras has repositioned the curriculum and made it more compact.

Prathap Haridoss said the initiative was taken after receiving feedback from the industry and the placement office. However, for students studying from the second year to the fourth year, it would be a little tougher. “They have to do a little extra work to get the larger window,” he added.

Faculty members said the initiative would improve the pre-placement offers. “Companies will be able to assess students better in longer internships. More pre-placement offers will lead to less competition during campus placements,” said Sathyanarayana N Gummadi, dean (students), IIT Madras. Students will also get more time to evaluate the organisation. IIT Madras is planning to focus on placements and internship opportunities for PhD scholars, as well.

“We are collecting details on skillsets and areas of interest. We inform companies about the availability of PhD scholars. Unlike B Tech students, research scholars can sit for placements throughout the year,” said Parasuraman Swaminathan, co-advisor (placements and internships), IIT Madras.