Effective internship normally takes a minimum of six months according to many industry practitioners. Realising the limitation of time on my hands, I was focused on self-learning the practices of the Islamic finance (IF) industry from the very beginning.

I was supervised by the Deputy Director of Talent Development & Strategic Communication. My first week was spent on analysing the pattern of talent growth in Malaysia based on a publication by TalentCorp. It became more interesting when I was able to communicate my opinions regarding the matter including the topic of education with the DD himself. Apart from that, the discussion during the following few weeks also evolved around the waqaf instituition and the limitation of Islamic inheritance law and how it held back the muslim economies in the past and a few more.

In addition to deepening my understanding of the industry through reading and discussions, I was involved in the event management of Global Islamic Finance Forum (Giff) 2014 too. It was very much administrative work such as calling the central banks and monetary authorities around the world to confirm their attendance and persuade them on coming to the event etc but I believe those kind of work are parts and pieces of working life.

Attending a project presentation on the relationship between CAPEX and financial institutions' performances was also an insightful experience on the technical side - learning lasts till the final day.

Short duration of internship tends to frustrate the interns due to lack of exposure and training received. As I said before, my expectation was to learn about the practices in the industry rather than contributing significantly to the organisation I joined (although if that would be the case, it was even better). My colleagues and supervisor gave me total freedom to explore and discuss anything I wanted to know, they did help me explaining things I did not understand and advised on what I should cover etc, and they also invited me to attend talks.

Although there is no structured project throughout the entire internship in my case, I gained a lot of industrial insights along the way, for example while deciding on what to include in a two-slides presentation to brief the IF industry to a newly appointed deputy minister and also while updating on INCEIF. Tiny experiences should be utilised wisely hence self-interest in learning is very important. My DD expected me to be able to explain at least the basic Islamic financial contracts and to grasp as much as possible what the international speakers (i.e. the industry players) were talking about during Giff 2014, and I was happy that both may be ticked off the list. Overall, few weeks were demanding with technical tasks, but in general the internship was a steady learning process.

Yes, they were helpful and very friendly. I guess it also depends on personality and which department you're assigned too. Sometimes interns are careful on taking other people's time that they refuse to ask too many things, and sometimes the supervisors themselves are extremely proactive and extrovert-like that interns do not need to make much efforts to occupy themselves. Many times the nature of certain departments simply do not match your interest or your skills and it needs patience to adapt and learn whatever possible.

It is a shame that the duration of internship accessible to many scholars is very short that both the employers and interns lack of time for a proper training. However, it is extremely possible to improve the structure of internship, for example by assigning relevant tasks on weekly basis or in the style of deadlined projects, and by promoting the work culture and delivering the right expectation to satisfy the aim of internship.

Mindset is very important. Be humble to help yet do not allow yourself to be blankly unguided. Ask for work when you think you deserve it or otherwise, be flexible and use your time wisely at the office. More importantly one must be realistic that you cannot always expect them to fulfill your needs of technical training due to the time limitation.

Scholars will normally go through another stage of training too before they join the workforce formally hence leave some room for you to enjoy other things during the internship too. And yes, internship also helps to improve your attitudes in academics once you know the level of quality expected while working!

The internship scope was unknown and not outlined to me beforehand. The list of the tasks and projects in which I was involved comprised the following: 1) Data extraction from the CreditEdge website (https://www.creditedge.com/) and from databases with limited access. This formed most of the initial part of the internship, coupled with further analysis on Excel. 2) Assisting my superior with a project whose goal was to improve the benchmark of one of the supervisory frameworks. This, we hoped, would improve the consistency of the opinions amongst supervisors on risk assessment and risk rating given to the banks, without compromising the need for critical judgement from the supervisors. 3) Using Excel to analyze historical data on the observed default rates (ODR) and the probability of default (PD) of internal rating based (IRB) banks in Malaysia based on 3 major asset classes, namely credit card, housing loan and hire purchase. The analysis sought to determine the trend lines of ODR and PD for the past 3 years. 4) Prepared a summary which will be part of pre-workshop reading material for future supervisors. I based it on research done on the evolution of banking regulatory regimes, which comprises Basel I, II and III. 5) Summary written on the comparison between Basel II/III and Solvency II. 6) Data extraction and financial calculation from 2012 financial statements of approximately 40 public listed companies in Malaysia which form part of the top 100 corporate borrowers of IRB banks, to assess the potential impact of the removal of government subsidies and the future imposition of a Goods and Services Tax (GST) on corporate institutions, from the perspective of credit risk.

Not only did the internship meet my expectations, it surpassed them. I picked up quite a lot of things on banking and credit risk along the way. This was helped by the fact that Bank Negara is the regulator of Malaysian banking institutions; it meant that tonnes of guidelines and frameworks were involved. I was assigned to assist my superior with the improvement of one of the supervisory guidelines, and it was quite interesting to know how supervisors assign risk rating to the banks under their respective supervision. Since my main objective was to pick up new knowledge along the way, I was asked to prepare a summary of the evolution of banking regulatory regimes, comprising Basel I, II and III. The 9-page summary will serve as pre-workshop reading material for the incoming supervisors in mid-September 2013. Later on, I was then asked to prepare a summary of the comparison between Basel II/III and Solvency II, which I deemed was slightly more relevant to my course. The research later exposed me to eye-opening insights on the differences between the banking and insurance industries, and how both regulatory frameworks could complement each other to achieve certain similar objectives. My direct mentor was a Deputy Director (DD) and a risk specialist - yet he was so down to earth, humble enough to explain to me, in detail, his answers to questions I have had from time to time throughout the internship period. He actively involved me in various meetings in regard to credit risk with experienced supervisors and other DDs in other departments, particularly from the Banking Supervision Department. The plus point of doing an internship, or even working, with Bank Negara, is that you get to collaborate with colleagues from other departments so closely, as we all share a common objective without personal interest; ensuring the safety, soundness and stability of the financial system. Acknowledging that you have the privilege, through your work, to serve and contribute to the nation and its people brings ultimate working pleasure and satisfaction to your otherwise mundane working life.

Albeit it was a little bit less structured, everything else was pretty commendable!

-

Interns who aspire to expose themselves to specialist risk programme and gain insights and knowledge on the banking industry, emphasizing horizontal surveilliance and necessary analysis and inputs to preempt emerging risk in the financial system by utilising technical skills.

My tasks: 1) Contribute to the banking survey, which will be published in the annual Financial Stability Report. 2) Publish a departmental bulletin on the analysis of an issue relevant to financial surveillance. 3) Prepare, and present on a pertinent event to the whole department. Note that this is wholly your task, and you are to take full responsibility of it. Assessment method: It was never discussed, so I assume it was on how I conducted myself throughout the internship, the quality of my presentation and bulletin plus the feedback from colleagues.

The biggest takeaway from the stint is the importance of sound and well-evidenced research. Regardless of the task I was on - collating data for the survey, drafting the bulletin and preparing my analysis for the presentation - it was constantly drilled that the data should match the analysis. Because it can form the basis of policy-making, the analysis needs to be derived from actual happenings and well-linked to the data. I learnt that you have to be prepared to be questioned on the legitimacy of your analysis on the data, and on how such-and-such an event arose. Insights: It's an organisation that prides itself on being knowledge-based and knowledge-sharing is emphasized. The work environment differs between departments and so does the stress level. As a central bank, the work they do is unique and is from a different angle. It is essentially public service, but the Bank is regarded as one of the top central banks (Dr Zeti has been ranked as an A-grade central banker on a consistent basis). So it's none too shabby and personally I feel it is rewarding and satisfying.

My mentors ensured I gained from the internship and made up for lack of structure with active improvisation. They were really supportive and accommodating, but as they have a lot to do as well, it is expected that you are proactive in asking for help/clarification. I dealt mostly with junior-level executives. The general guidance structure: Explain the task at the onset, and they'll leave you to your devices, with the exception when you meet them to troubleshoot. I certainly had ownership and assumed full responsibility over the presentation. They helped brainstorm possible questions and we had a mock-presentation, but it was understood that this is my task alone. I liked it, because it gave me a sense of ownership and made me put in much more into my work.

1) Structure - Perhaps it was unfortunate timing (the week before Raya, so mentally and physically people were absent) but the logistics was severely affected (I couldn't proceed with my work on the banking survey because other parties were slow/unresponsive to requests for the required data). 2) Personalising the internship experience - While providing an insight into the work they do is sufficient, interns would benefit more if their tasks are aligned with their own goals, be it soft skills or technical abilities. Periodic sessions to discuss objectives and assessment methods would have been greatly beneficial.

Essential skills: Seeing the big picture, and verifying it by means of analysis data at a micro-level. Good communication skills (Proficient, if not fluent, in English). IT skills you can learn on the job. As with other professions, a genuine interest in the field and for public service really helps. Those who want to contribute to the development of our financial sector/economy in various ways - policy-making, surveillance at the economy level, entity-level supervision. The sentiment of my colleagues: the job is demanding and can require you to clock in extra hours, but the work is interesting.