Testimonials from Dr. Rakesh Malhotra's Mentees
Dr. Rakesh Malhotra has guided over 100 students in his career. Scroll down to see what they have to say about their experience with the man behind the machine that is IDEA.
Ms. Snehil Shandilya , another one of his intern, says:
I had an enriching experience and learnt a lot.
With regards to my time at TrustIDEA, I had an enriching experience and learnt a lot. Here, I managed to grasp the concepts of conducting a thorough primary survey, analysing the data and drawing meaningful conclusions, which ultimately helped me write a well-curated research paper. Under the guidance of sir, I have learnt a lot and will continue to use your teachings in my endeavours ahead.
Ms. Shimone Jaini, another one of his intern, says:
My experience as an intern under the supervision of Rakesh Sir has been immensely constructive, enlightening, and gratifying.
He not only taught us the fundamentals of doing research but also guided us through every step of the way. I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with him. It was great working with you sir. The lessons learnt from you will always be with me.
Thank you for your support, Sir.
Ms. Sakshi Lambhate MA Postgraduate from JNU in Spanish Language says:
My experience with Trust IDEA was very enriching. Rakesh Sir was really very supportive at every step of my research.
His profound knowledge and experience has guided me throughout my internship. Thank you so much Sir for giving us this opportunity and teaching us the ABCs of research. Thank you Sir I look forward to gaining more knowledge from you.
Ms. Nandini Singh from Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi, says:
Sir guided me throughout my course of internship with his brainstorming sessions on policy making and taught me how government organisations work on ground level. The amount of efforts he puts into enhancing the skills of his interns is commendable.
Ms. Moni from IIFM, Bhopal, says:
“Under your guidance, it becomes a privilege to work. Learning becomes a fun process altogether.
How to design your research document, collection of primary and secondary data, being supportive in all the decisions and many more, have helped me and shaped my professional career. Every day was a new day with new challenges and new ways of handling them, under your guidance. It is truly a great privilege to call you my mentor because you model strength and positivity of the mind.“
Ms. Kanak Maleyvar, another one of his interns, says:
“Internship under Sir’s guidance was insightful. He is great as a mentor who taught minute detailed discipline and work ethics with such an ease.
Sir has a vision and according to me when I was his intern he made my perspective and vision broad, which helped me a lot and is helping me now as well.”
Ms. Narayani Gupta, has nothing but gratitude for his belief in her talents. She says:
“I wish to thank you for providing me with this opportunity of being a part of the wonderful UNDP family. You have been my ‘office parent’ throughout my tenure with you. I wish to thank you for helping and guiding me at every step of my academic and professional learnings. The journey has become a memorable one for me. You not only supported, but also put in concerted efforts in making us learn the various life skills.
Each day brought different circumstances and I had the opportunity to make decisions on my own and learn from both my successes and failures from the visits to the field (community interaction), presentation on the important platforms, and your thrust to interact with very senior government officials/ departments. The internship was a worthwhile experience and I feel that it has prepared me well for my professional career.
Here is what Mr. Manu Joshi from RGPV, Bhopal, says:
“It is a very pleasant experience when we work with a personality which is an institution in itself. During my internship period, there was an opportunity to learn things like office management, documentation, file processing, project report development, content writing, budgeting, etc
Also, every task learned with you such as discipline of daily life, regularity, work-dedication and likewise is important for personality development.
Ms. Atifa Naaz from RGPV, Bhopal, says:
“It was a privilege to get the opportunity of serving UNDP as an intern under the guidance of Dr. Rakesh Malhotra Sir, for a tenure of three months that was abundant with responsibilities and duties.
Sir always ensures that his interns get their fair share of achievement, experience and knowledge. Moreover he imbibes the passion and devotion for the work you undertake. He makes learning a life time memory to cherish.”
Similarly, Ms. Chetna Chaturvedi speaks of her experience with Sir, and says:
“I had the privilege of serving as an intern under Rakesh sir. I feel lucky to have had the chance to have him as my first boss and mentor. Sir is extremely passionate about developmental causes and has many years of experience and knowledge to share for those working with him.
He is a humble individual, who is supportive and always invested in the growth of those around him. Whenever I had any questions or concerns, he responded to them right away with patience and willingness.
It would be an incredible opportunity for anyone to have him as a mentor and work along with his inspiring vision.”
Mr. Sarvesh Chaturvedi from XSRM Bhubaneswar, shares his views too, and says:
Sir is a visionary who takes everyone along throughout the process. The way he shows confidence and faith in the individuals is something that motivates and encourages the person to give their best. I always felt lucky to have been associated and learnt from a personality with such a great experience who is yet so humble, kind and down to earth. It will be a great moment for anyone who gets a chance to work along with sir.
Ms. Ankita Pawar, a student of SDMIMD, Mysore, says:
“Fun along with lots of learnings and life lessons!
He is always open to explore and experiment new things. Though I was an intern but I always had the ownership towards my project and a sense of belongingness for the organisation. Basically, this is what is required in the long run and I am privileged to be a student of Dr. Malhotra.”
Ms. Veasini Shaozae of IIFM, Bhopal, says:
“I am grateful for having the opportunity to work for Dr. Rakesh Malhotra during my internship at UNDP, Bhopal. Throughout my journey, he mentored and provided me with insightful feedback and suggestions and was always keen to hear any new ideas from his team.
He always offered his support through encouraging his words and never missed to appreciate good work. I’ve learned and grown not only personally and professionally, and I owe this to his guidance.”
Ms. Sonal Sharma from Jagran Lakecity University, Bhopal, says:
“I don’t think it would be justified if I write about my internship experience under the guidance of Dr. Rakesh Malhotra in just one paragraph because it has been one of the most substantial and vast experiences throughout my academic career.
Apart from learning skills like documentation, content writing, articulation of projects, convergence and collaboration with other teams, management, under the mentorship of Dr. Rakesh Malhotra, I also learnt how team leaders accomplish their work, how they react to certain things and what their temperament or personality is like.
On the whole, my experience was immense and exuberant.”
Mr. Nihal, who is now on the IDEA Team, says:
“My 3-month internship under Dr. Rakesh Malhotra has been a scintillating experience.
He is an amazing teacher, an incredible motivator, and a fantastic guide. I have developed great skills and had a valuable hands on experience in drafting development projects for the government. To put it in a few words, work experience under him has been one of the most memorable days I could count on.”
Ms. Taneesha Shekhawat says,
Every morning we’d have a brief meeting discussing the tasks to be done during the day and at the end of the day, everyone would report back to him with the status of the assigned tasks. This ensured efficiency. We were encouraged to reach out to anyone whom we thought could contribute to the research and he always helped us find a way.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that my first professional experience was as good as it could have been. I’m very grateful to Dr. Rakesh Malhotra for guiding me through the process and helping me learn a lot about the development sector.”
Mr. Gurjeet Singh, says:
“Whenever I recall time at UNDP with Rakesh sir as my reporting officer, I remember opportunities and freedom. Right from the start, each intern was made aware of the opportunities i.e. different engagements that were underway and each one had the freedom to choose and design one’s project.
The best thing about the internship was the culture. An open culture where the interns could seek support even from the project head directly. Such culture trickles down from top only and it requires intention and commitment. The time with Mr. Rakesh helped me grow as well because we challenged each other’s perspectives. His vast experience at the grassroots, particularly with the community collectives, is learning resource.”
Ms. Namrata Chandorkar, from ILS Law College, Pune, says:
“Often internships in India work in a detached manner where the trainee receives very little guidance from the mentor. The interns are supposed to observe and learn by themselves.
Such is not the case when you intern with Dr. Rakesh Malhotra. Rakesh Sir makes it a point that each one of his interns leaves with the knowledge and work experience they had signed up for. He is systematic in his work and aims at inculcating the same attitude in his interns/disciples. For every morning of my 2-months long internship with the UNDP, Rakesh Sir would take time out of his busy schedule to personally catch up on the work progress of every intern and gives his suggestions to improve our work. His guidance is pragmatic, patient and thorough.
Lastly, this is what Mr. Ayush has to say:
“My experience with Mr. Rakesh Malhotra as a mentor and a guide for the period of my internship at UNDP Bhopal, has been exciting and fruitful to say the least. Since the internship was in the field of development, there always were an array of ideas to choose from. Mr. Malhotra’s immense experience in the field helped me identify the and learn the basics of carrying out a research with a large number of variables, in a structured and organised manner.
Given the amount of exposure I received, I was able to learn and nurture my research skills from best experts in the field.
The internship provided me with valuable hands on experience and a better idea about what knowledge areas I should attach more importance to and make further improvement on.”