EMI began the fellowship programme in 2019 as a way to continue professional experience beyond the internship. Two of the fellows who joined were staff from the India office. They have shared some of their experiences from the past two years.
What influenced your decision to join the fellowship programme?
C: We learned about this new idea of a fellowship programme in 2019, and was informed that this programme was important to realize the difference in experience between interns and full-time staff and to bridge that gap. Words of encouragement from many people and their insight gave me reasons to be in the programme and the boldness to take a leap of faith. The other reason is the experience I had in the office during my internship, which was a good balance between work and enjoying life in Delhi.
A: During my internship with EMI, I had opportunities to work on many projects and visit some of those sites as well. Seeing the way our designs impact people’s lives was very encouraging and allowed me to agree to join this programme. The fellowship programme was designed not only to give but also to learn as we go along and I think it was a perfect opportunity for me to grow and learn in my career.
How did your role as an intern differ from your role as a fellow?
C: The shift from an intern to a fellow was slow for me. The internship was more straightforward with similar architecture work on my plate. However, the fellowship changed the nature of how I worked. As a fellow had more project work, coursework and we were expected to do some professional development. Putting in the extra hours was not so easy and did not come very naturally to switch between coursework and architecture in the same working environment. The fellowship has made me more responsible for the work I was part of and has given me more confidence in some of the decisions I made concerning architectural design.
A: The fellowship programme required us to be involved in the office work along with undergoing the coursework, which was not a part of the internship. As a fellow, I was involved in different projects simultaneously as compared to an internship. During the fellowship programme, I also had the opportunity to help with EMI India publications and EMI social media, which added responsibilities. Being involved in office work in all those different ways and the coursework was challenging but at the same time helped me learn and improve my skills.
What did you enjoy most about the fellowship programme? Describe a highlight.
A: We had regular online calls with the fellows from various offices worldwide where I was able to share about our culture, experiences, life lessons and sometimes just fun things, and hear back from them. Most times our views were different - based on various reasons but that allowed me to understand their culture even better and learn from them.
C: This whole period from August 2019 up until now has given me the time to get to know people better at EMI India, something I would not do as an intern. Getting to know the other fellows from our cohort has been so good. Our calls would go beyond the scheduled time and it was fun to talk about things other than just coursework and dive into topics like food and culture. Hearing stories from different people from different backgrounds has broadened my views on life.
What are ways you have grown professionally during this programme?
A: When I joined the fellowship programme my goal was to serve people through my skills but I was still in the process of finding that right skill. It was during the fellowship programme that my passion for graphic design grew much stronger. The opportunities to design for the office and assist in EMI social media allowed me to improve my skills in corporate graphic design. One of the coursework topics focused on the meaning of our work and that challenged me to decide to step into a full-time graphic design from engineering. I experienced tremendous support from all the staff and mentors as I shared my thoughts with them. Slowly I was able to work on my graphic design skills and began as a freelance designer for many projects. As I finish my fellowship with EMI, I cannot wait to launch out fully as a graphic designer and apply the knowledge I gained through the fellowship programme.
C: I got to work on two detailed projects and it has developed my skills of transitioning a project from concept to detailed. So I feel confident about the decisions I make for the project. I am learning that it is okay not to know everything at once and rely on people for information. Communicating with the different consultants have been helpful in my professional growth to understand different building services. Even within India, working with people from different languages and cultural backgrounds is quite different and gave me more listening and understanding experience.
What are your current plans going forward? Do you think the Fellowship programme has helped you make these decisions?
C: I would like to work in North India and practice architecture here and my long-term plan is to be able to work somewhere close to my hometown. In the meantime, I am preparing to slowly transition into a firm for a few years and have different work experience as I have only worked with EMI since I graduated.
A: Currently, I am continuing to serve with EMI as a part-time consultant where I use the rest of my time building up the graphic design career. The process is slow but I can see growth in my graphic skills and connection with various individuals and organisations to help with their graphic needs. My goal is to establish a start-up where I can continue my vision to serve people with my skills, now that I know it is graphic designing. The fellowship programme will always be a key point in my life since it is where I truly identified my skill set and made the big decision of switching my career. The support from all the office staff and friends during this programme and in the transition is incredible and I feel blessed that I could be a part of this programme.