Our #LifeOfAnIntern series featuring interns from around the world continues! Part Four stars Novo Nordisk intern Vashvi Shah. Throughout her ten week internship, she worked on exciting projects within the company, attended trainings, and networked with various Novo Nordisk employees. Read about her internship experience below.
Hi Vashvi, thanks for being a part of our #LifeOfAnIntern series! What did you do for your internship this summer?
Thanks! I interned at Novo Nordisk as a Digital Marketing Operations Intern for 10 weeks. My sister had interned at Novo Nordisk two years ago and she loved her experience there, from the people she met to the work that she did. I was interested in exploring the intersection of business and healthcare, and Novo Nordisk had many intern opportunities that would allow me to do so. I ultimately decided to intern at Novo Nordisk because I wanted to explore marketing in the pharmaceutical industry, an industry which is tightly regulated.
What was a typical day like at your internship?
A typical day at Novo Nordisk started with grabbing tea and working on projects and responding to emails. Throughout the day, I would have a couple of meetings, a training or informational session, a 1:1 meeting, and a meeting with my manager to check in. At around noon, I would take a lunch break with the other interns and once the day ended, I usually headed to the gym.
Describe a project you enjoyed working on.
Throughout the summer, interns got into groups and worked on a case competition. We were given a real life problem that the company faced and had to present a creative solution to it. It was interesting to research social media and millenials and speak to different people in the company to create a comprehensive business solution based on it.
What is a unique experience your internship has provided you?
I worked on the commercial side of a company primarily focused on diabetic care. It is easy for people to forget about the patients impacted by the work. During the summer, we were exposed to the realities of diabetes, a common but severe disease state, and the impact it has on the daily lives of individuals.
What is the top thing you learned during your internship?
Besides the technologies and strategies that I learned throughout the internship, I think the most important thing that I learned was that technologies are always changing and it is imperative for a company or any organization to keep up to make aspects such as project management or data analytics more advanced. Especially in this day and age, technologies are exponentially changing, and it’s important to use them to our advantage.
Why do you think internships are important?
Internships allow for people to explore the industries and job opportunities that are available to them after college. It allows people to learn their skills and interests on a professional level.
How did your intern manager help to make your internship experience better?
My internship managers understood the skills and knowledge we would need to make the internship successful. Scheduled trainings and informational sessions allowed us to learn about the company, technology, and products. These sessions also allowed us to be exposed to different parts of the company. In addition, they helped with recruiting aspects such as taking LinkedIn photos and offering resume guidance.
Now that you've completed your internship, what advice would you give to future interns?
Going into the internship, I had no clue what I wanted to do in the future. Coming out of the internship, though I don’t know exactly what I want to do, I have a better idea about what opportunities are out there and what piques my interest. This is primarily because I reached out to people in the departments that I was interested in exploring and set up 1:1 meetings with them, asking them about their background, experiences, and work that they do now. It was helpful to hear about how they got to the places they are at now and to hear all the advice that they had to offer.
