How important is internship?

I'll b finishing my third yr in a few days. Our technical University doesn't have industrial training as part of its curriculum, hence, a few of my friend's have started looking for internship in small companies or plants, etc(inspired by their friends studying elsewhere). My company placements are in end of 7th sem and early 8th sem.

I'd like to know, just before my campus placements, how important is an internship? Should it be done? Does it make any difference in front of a prospective employer? I'm an ok student with my GPA ranging about 8.2 to 8.5. Is it imperative that I also look for an internship?

EDIT: I was planning to learn ASP.net using C# as I'm interested in web technology and have previously worked with VB.

*to the mods: I'm not sure if this thread belongs here, feel free to let me know and I'll post it elsewhere*

Hey Smita,

My observations: If you are looking your career in Electronics Industry -internship really matters and if in an IT industry- No one cares for that.

Intership , hmmm if to be considered if you can join some companies which provide them, they are quite useful as they add value to your resume.

And if you really learn good things there you will be having excellent future.

So anyways after exams enjoy some time with industrial experience you will learn something ..

Aside from how it will look in your resume, think about the experience you will gain from doing an internship.

More often than not, internships provide valuable insight into a working environment and allows you to apply knowledge gained during studies into a real life environment. This will help you prepare for the actual job in the future 😀

And in case of mechanical teade??

I believe nothing would match the experience & learning you'll have in Industrial Training, if it's done properly. Doing it just because 'everyone is doing it' is absolute wastage of time.

Indian Engineering colleges, at least the ones I know, seriously lack in Industry-Institute relationships. This results into production of an engineer who has all the theory stored in his/her brain and no clue about where & how to implement it. Internship is aimed at bridging this gap.

I've been on the both sides of the table in interview boardrooms. For a perspective employer, 99% of the times, only following matters -

Whether you are a good fit for his/her team. This includes your overall attitude, knowledge and behavior. The 'knowledge' part is where you can get advantage over others if you've successfully completed internship.

Is it absolutely necessary? Not at all.

thanks big k
Can you give us instuction or advice to imprve our skill in intership?