How Nitin Anjaneya went from intern to employee: a Pollinate Energy story
Are you passionate about social service and the environment?
Pollinate Energy is a not-for-profit social business that provides people in India’s urban slums with access to affordable clean energy technology. Pollinate Energy runs an Internship program three times a year from its headquarters in Bangalore. The program matches Indian university students with international Fellows (primarily from Australia) to work directly with local entrepreneurs (we call them “Pollinators”) to start their clean energy business.
I was lucky enough to participate in the July 2013 Internship program after completing college, and enjoyed my time with Pollinate Energy so much that I joined them as their first Business Operations Officer. The Internship was a different experience altogether and exposed me to two very different cultures – both international, from the Australian Fellows on the program, as well as local slum communities. It helped me to understand the reason for their current economic status and what a life of poverty is like in urban slums and what can be done to help these communities to lift their standard of living. One of the most rewarding experiences during my Internship was seeing how happy our customers were when they bought our solar light, and how it made such a big change to their lives.
During the program, we spent time working on projects in small teams with the international Fellows, which also made me aware of different working styles and approaches. I’m hoping to complete my Masters in Australia or UK someday soon, and these international networks will be invaluable.
Here at Pollinate Energy, we love new ideas and implement the best of them in our communities. We are always learning, from our customers, our employees, our Interns and our Fellows. Currently, we are working to introduce fuel-efficient cookstoves into our product range, which is proving to be quite challenging. But, by working together with our Pollinators, we know that we will find a solution that is sustainable both for us and the communities we work with.
Since my Internship with Pollinate Energy, I’ve greatly improved my time management and communication skills, and am more confident working in a cross-cultural environment. If you can speak Kannada and are interested in serving society, Pollinate Energy is the place to be this December and next February! Our Internship programs run from 25 November – 20 December 2013 and 3rd February – 28th February 2014.
Find out more and apply by clicking here.
(This is a guest post by Nitin Anjaneya who started as an intern at Pollinate Energy and is now currently its Business Operations Officer)