UTSIP

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Contributed by: Sheetal Jain (UTSIP Summer Research Student, 2016)

UTSIP stands for University of Tokyo Summer Internship Program. It is a 7 week long internship program that takes place in June-July in the Kashiwa Campus of the University of Tokyo, Japan.

Application
This program opens as a JAF/IAF via the Placement Cell (PT Cell) for our department. One needs to sign the JAF via the IIT-B portal as a first step (only resume is required). University of Tokyo also hosts a separate online portal for applications, which needs to be filled as well.

Requirements/Materials needed
Since the internship opens via the PT Cell, it has some CPI cutoffs, which seem to vary from year to year.
The materials required for completing the application are:
  •          2-page resume
  •          Latest transcript copy
  •          Two recommenders (they have to upload reference letters directly)
  •          1-page letter of intent
  •         Selecting upto 3 project topics from the exhaustive list provided

Timeline
The application usually opens in mid-October, and deadlines are in December. Results are released in late February/early March. Since Japan visa has a hassle free procedure, this timeline works out well, without much anxiety after results, if accepted!

Allowances/Stipends
Travel allowance of 50,000 yen was given in my term (which is supposedly discontinued), contingent to producing the boarding pass stub on arrival.
Living stipend of 1,80,000 yen was given for food and subsistence. Accommodation was provided free of cost in the university campus (truly awesome rooms!).

Personal Notes/Advice
Choosing varied topics rather than from one field is usually beneficial, since chances of getting accepted increase manifold. Also, letter of intent should be more focused on convincing them that you will work with sincerity and that you have NO plans of doing other activities in working time (you shouldn’t treat it as a foreign field trip!).
Special note for those who feel Japan has a language barrier and food issues: I follow a strictly pure veg diet and had no knowledge of the Japanese language before going to Tokyo, and I had NO problems whatsoever with food and communication. Once accepted, the University takes care of EVERYTHING.
It is highly competitive(<1% acceptance), so you must apply elsewhere too, and not go by trends of acceptance in this program. 

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