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IDFC First Bank Data Science Intern

IDFC First Bank Data Science Intern

I am Ishan Pandit, currently in my fourth year (after second year when I did the internship). In my second year summers I interned at IDFC First Bank as a Data Science Intern. This article gives an overview of how I got this internship and my experience during those two months.

About the Internship:

Company: IDFC First Bank
Role: Data Science Intern
Duration: 2 months (8th May - 5th July 2025)
Mode: On-site (with some WFH days for tech roles)
Company Type: Indian Private Sector Bank
Department: AI Labs Team

How I Got the Opportunity:

I came across this opportunity through word of mouth and sent my resume through referral.

Selection Process:

  1. Initial resume screening
  2. Quantitative test - Math, logical reasoning, and English
  3. Psychometric test
  4. Final interview with Lead Data Scientist of AI Labs team

Preparation:

Key Focus Areas:

  • Thorough knowledge of projects - Main testing area for second-year internships
  • ML concepts and GenAI knowledge - Since interviewer led the GenAI team
  • Project understanding - More important than DSA for data science roles

Previous Experience That Helped: Projects were the main differentiator - they expect limited experience from second-year students, so strong projects are crucial.

Primary Responsibilities:

Main Domain: Generative AI

Key Projects:

  • SQL Query Generation Automation for IDFC First Bank’s extensive database
    • Built custom LLM agent using LangChain and OpenAI API
    • Implemented LLM-based evaluation techniques
  • Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) implementation
    • Optimized selection of relevant tables for query generation
  • AI Text Detection Research
    • Studied various architectures, models, APIs and tools
    • Found optimal solution for AI text detection
  • Custom LLM Application Development
    • Built content generation system for multiple formats (image, video, text)
    • Based on bank guidelines and needs
    • Implemented various prompt engineering techniques
  • Project Shadowing
    • Attended meetings for GenAI projects on SEO, call analysis, and VRM automation

Work Culture & Experience:

Onboarding:

  • Received laptop on first day
  • Access setup took 2-3 days
  • Proper work started from second week with clear problem statements and expectations

Work Environment:

  • Amazing work culture! Very supportive and approachable team
  • Proper mentorship - Allocated buddy mentor with excellent rapport
  • Could ask anything work-related or about career paths
  • Generally easy-going with interns (though this might create bias)

Mentorship: Excellent buddy system - mentor was very supportive for both work queries and career guidance discussions.

Key Learnings:

Non-Technical (Corporate Exposure):

  • Office etiquette and formal dressing
  • Communication with new, often older team members
  • Senior leadership interactions
  • Corporate meeting participation
  • Work presentation skills
  • Professional relationship building

Technical Knowledge:

  • AWS tools and cloud technologies
  • Advanced LLM concepts and models
  • Hands-on GenAI implementation
  • Enterprise-level AI application development

Career Impact:

Gained valuable insights into:

  • Tech ML work flexibility - Good work hours and flexibility
  • Corporate data science roles - Day-to-day responsibilities and environment
  • Career direction clarity - Understanding of preferred work environment

Important Note: Even if you’re not completely sure about your direction after internship, that’s perfectly normal - you have time to figure things out!

Recommendations for Juniors:

Best Strategy: Referrals - Send resume through contacts to directly reach OA stage

  • Ask parents for contacts in companies with relevant roles
  • Much easier than cold applications

Advice for First-Time Interns:

Mindset Preparation:

  • Be ready for a completely new world - New people, high self-expectations, potentially overwhelming corporate offices
  • It’s an amazing experience to meet people working in your desired field
  • Don’t hesitate to ask anything - Especially non-work related questions
  • People are happy to help - Most colleagues enjoy guiding interns

Key Benefits:

  • IIT tag advantage - Commands respect even before significant work
  • Don’t worry about team acceptance - People are generally excited to have interns

Maximize Opportunity:

  • Don’t limit yourself to just working
  • Talk to many people (even outside your team)
  • Learn from diverse backgrounds and journeys
  • Network actively

Common Misconceptions:

Reality: Office people are NOT busy and unhelpful. In fact:

  • Most people are happy to see interns
  • They love helping and talking to interns
  • They’re interested in your story and future plans
  • They don’t have unrealistic expectations
  • They’re more than happy to support you

Core vs Non-Core Decision:

Depends completely on your interests and passion:

  • Core interest + Core career plans = Core internship or research
  • Non-core certainty = Better to discover early through non-core internships
  • Early clarity helps long-term career planning

Contact Information:

  • Email: 22b2141@iitb.ac.in