Hello there!
I am Swarali Ghodkhande, presently in my final year of graduation. During the summers of 2019, I was interning at Dr. Reddy’s Labs Ltd. in Hyderabad. My inclination towards Chemical Engineering helped me to narrow down my options during the third year internship season. After trying my hand at research in the second year University Intern, my main focus this time was to get the perspective of Industrial Research happening in Indian Chemical Industry.But the harsh reality is that there are only a handful of companies offering this type of opportunity, and Dr.Reddy’s Labs is one of them. I am wholly satisfied with my intern as it perfectly aligned with my motives.
About DRL:
Dr. Reddy’s Labs Ltd. is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company based in Hyderabad. It is one of the major players in the Generic Drug market. The company had come for Internships on the 25th of August for both Chemical and Mechanical Engineering students. The selection procedure includes a Technical Test, followed by highly technical Group Discussion of shortlisted candidates. With the help of my experience from previous GDs, I was able to pass it. On the basis of the test result and GD, candidates were selected for Technical + Personal Interview. They only asked about my previous project and training and finally my motivation for this Intern. So, there were 5 interns selected from ChE and 4 from Mechanical Engineering. The company visits other top IITs for Chemical and Mechanical engineering and we were a group of 27 interns posted in different units in Hyderabad, Vizag, and Baddi.
Accommodation and Food:
DRL provides homely accommodation at their own guest house for the entire stay of 2 months.All the interns stayed in the same guest house, which made it more like a hostel environment. where we would chill out after the hectic working hours. The company also made all the arrangements for food and travel.
The Work:
The work profile of IIT interns was quite diverse. There were few of us posted in the RnD unit and remaining at different manufacturing divisions. My work profile was of a process Engineer working in the API division. The intern begins with a week-long induction program which gives a basic overview of the working of a generic pharma company and the market. I worked on the process improvisation of a particular drug. The objective was to identify the problems with the seed in the crystallization process of an API and to determine if in-situ seed generation was possible using wet-milling operation. I had to propose different approaches for in-situ seed generation and conduct experiments to support them. In the end, I had to come up with a protocol for in-situ seed generation using wet-milling operation.I also contributed towards developing a modeling approach for a scale-up of a wet-mill. Others interns were given projects varying across the domains of Chemical Engineering. From implementing basic ChE to simulating unit operations. The work atmosphere at the RnD center was what you would expect from a Multinational Company. Even the higher authorities were easy to approach and friendly. During the internship, I had been allotted a buddy and mentor who would help me bring my ideas into reality and provide me necessary help. The working hours were not so flexible and sometimes I had to work on Saturdays to catch up with the deadline.
Hyderabad - The Pearl City:
Hyderabad may seem like a city mostly visited by tech employees and businessmen. However, the city was the center of medieval history and the place where diamonds were first mined. It's filled with stories of war, conquest and love that makes it a historical heritage. Apart from that, Hyderabadi Biryani is what comes to mind first. There are so many places to be explored for food and shopping. The city is an amalgam of both old architecture buildings and world-famous skyline. Ramoji Film City, Golconda Fort, Wonderla, Charminar are just a few of the many wonderful places one must visit.
Takeaways:
When you choose to work in a corporate world, life is never smooth. There will be things which will not go as you wish, but all you need to do is set your priorities straight and get through whatever comes your way. Looking back, I feel immensely satisfied with the learnings and everlasting frienships that I have gained during my stay at Dr. Reddy’s Labs.