Objectives

An internship is gaining first-hand experience by an individual besides comprehending the way of working in an organization, leading to improve the skill aptitude for a specific job or job role and building research capabilities with learning opportunities. Internships should be such organized that benefits the intern as well as the internship providing organization. Following are the intended objectives of engaging undergraduate students in internship for employability and research internship programmes:

1. Integration of workshop with workplace: To see the internship in a broader, integrated and holistic manner where the delivery of the classroom is aligned with
   outcomes of the workplace. The objectives of the internship need to be designed with the intention of integrating workshop / classroom / lab/research lab learnings
   with the workplace (organization/enterprise/start-ups/corporate/farmlands/artisans/gig workers/non-government organizations (NGOs)/research &
   development organizations, higher education institutions (HEIs), local governments (such as Municipal Corporations, Zila Parishads, Block Smiti, Panchayats and
   Municipalities), media organizations, social organizations, artists, craft persons, or a professional (individual/organization) etc.)
2. Understanding of the world of work: To provide undergraduate students with an opportunity to improve their understanding of the experiences, challenges, and opportunities of the real world of work, as well as to set their expectations and behaviour in accordance with the demands, culture, and values of current and emerging jobs.
3. Hybrid model learning: To broaden learning opportunities by combining physical and digital modes of learning while working in industry, corporate, research &
   development organizations, workplace, within or outside HEIs, blended with a mentor or research expert and as per the need and convenience.
4. Developing research aptitude: To create and facilitate conditions that allow students in their quest for knowledge, its discovery, learn, understand and sharpen
   research acumen, familiarizing with analytical tools and techniques with appropriate usage, research methodologies, data analysis, integrity and ethical behaviour,
   manuscripts preparations, identification of appropriate journals, patent and intellectual property rights, and their application in solving research/complex/real- life problems.
5. Exposure in emerging technologies: To provide exposure to emerging technologies/automation and how it can support, facilitate, improve and reinforce
   work processes/culture/job roles/art and craft, including the traditional areas of art-craft/heritage skills, agriculture, etc.
6. Enhance entrepreneurial capabilities: Understand how organizations/enterprises are formed for sustainable progress so that start-ups and entrepreneurial capabilities are strengthened among students and they are encouraged to be job creators.
7. Development of decision-making and teamwork skills: To facilitate the development of problem-solving and decision-making skills, enable teamwork & collaboration culture to promote research, academic and professional developments.
8. Cultivate a sense of social imagery and citizenship responsibility: To develop a sense of social imagery (issues) and philanthropic versatility among the graduating students that will facilitate towards the development of an attitude towards citizenship responsibility.
9. Stimulate collaborative influence: To promote HEIs collaboration, industry-academia partnership will be developed to provide collaborative internships, apprenticeships, and research opportunities to the students in the predefined areas of importance which will lead institutions, universities, organizations, academicians, and students to collaborate on how to learn with one another.
10. Enhancing professional competency: The internship should not only focus on employability or research capabilities; there is also a need for professional principles, ethics, values, integrity and dignity of labour which will enable them to gain perspective, practice, develop as competency and perform professional tasks in the way that the employment market demands.

Internship Categories

The employability of graduates can be improved by developing practical experience and exposure with the required right kind of attitude for the workplace. The internship is one of the important apparatuses that help in improving these employability skills and can help in generating competency, capability, professional working skills, expertise, and confidence among the students for employability and developing interest/passion for research. The interns can understand the application of theory in the workplace.
The undergraduate internships can be classified into two types:

• Internship for enhancing the employability:

  Employability refers to the certain attributes of an individual that enable him/her to perform any job opportunity in line with the set standards of performance to meet expectations for the expected job. Employability is a set of skills and attributes developed through a range of experiences at workshops and workplaces. It states that when a student can demonstrate skills on the job. Individuals need to develop such competencies which reduce the obstacles as job seekers and also increase their potential as job providers. The internship programs build capabilities/aptitude/skills of our under-graduates/researchers/faculties for development of project and its execution, decision-making, confidence development, working/coordinating in a team, creative and critical thinking and problem-solving, ethical values, professional development, understanding of government/local bodies work, reference of resource persons in the field, development of online/simulation-based module for a virtual research internship, understanding the nuances of building a deep-technology start-up, study certain entrepreneurs, study of the enterprises, farmers, artisans, etc.

• Internship for developing the research aptitude:

  Research aptitude refers to the attribute of inquiry/investigation, analysis and interpretations in a scientific and objective method that facilitates to uncover facts and present an individual viewpoint in an organized manner. Research internship aims at providing hands-on training to work on research tools, techniques, methodologies, equipment, policy framework and various other aspects in pursuing quality research. Research internship will mainly be helpful for the students of Single Major programmes under Scheme C who want to pursue Honours programmes or Masters programmes. Apart from gaining relevant research experience, the interns would learn the following, through research professionals/mentors:
  ● Ideation and conceptualization of a research question/problem
  ● Learning about new tools and handling of equipment
  ● Experimentation and collection of data
  ● Simulations and development of models
  ● Preparation and presentation of report

Research Internship experience can be gained by working with faculty/scientists/mentors in HEIs, research institutions, universities, Industrial research labs, nationally and internationally reputed organizations, farmers, and entrepreneurs, using local experts through recognition of prior learning models and individual persons distinguished in specific fields. The integration of research, innovation and technology development is the foundation of Atma-Nirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India). Institutionalization of internships at undergraduate levels is expected to play a pivotal role in catalyzing the inter-disciplinary/multi-disciplinary/trans-disciplinary and translational research culture embedded in NEP-2020.

The internship can be done by a student to get the opportunities for active engagement in on-site experiential learning preferably in their respective discipline at an Internship Providing Organization (IPO) with the permission of the DCI. Internship Providing Organization is an organization, HEI, philanthropy, farmer, government organization, R&D institutions, research labs, artisans, enterprises, institution/person of eminence, cooperatives, corporates providing an opportunity to the student for Internship during the programme.
Different categories and types of the internship providing organizations are mentioned below:

• Local industry;
• Government or Private Organizations/Institutions;
• Business establishments (micro, small and medium);
• Local governments (such as Municipal Corporations, Zila Parishads, Block Smiti, Panchayats and Municipalities);
• Media organizations;
• Social organizations;
• Artists, craft persons, or a professional (individual/organization);
• Research laboratories;
• HEIs for doing survey studies regarding social, economic, agricultural,cultural, educational aspects;
• Placement cell;
• Alumni;
• Libraries;
• Organizations working for adult education;
• Community service;
• Organization/enterprise/start-ups/corporate;
• Farmlands;
• Gig workers;
• Non-government organizations (NGOs);
• Research & development organizations, and
• Educational institutions

Training/Skill Development Certificate courses/programmes from Govt./Govt.approved agencies/bodies, of equal duration i.e., minimum 4-6 weeks will also be considered as internship courses.
Internships offered through Central/State Govt. portals for offering internship/apprenticeship/skill development/training programmes shall also be considered as equivalent to internship courses.
The internship cell will explore the possible internship positions in different areas in different organizations and make the students aware about the same through regular notifications, mentor-mentee meetings, counselling sessions and other such programmes organized at College. Local organizations should be given preference for doing the internship. Students should be encouraged to choose the organization for doing internship and to seek the consent from that organization.

The students can also generate internship projects based on their own contacts. Students can choose industry mentor from HEIs/ research organizations/industrial R&D labs/Universities/other national repute institutions/organizations/industries/ emergency professional/NGOs/local government officials/outside India experts working at the international level/social networking sites (e.g., LinkedIn).

• Application Form to apply for Internship
• Recommendation Letter from Institute to Internship Providing Organization
• Consent of Internship Mentor
• Internship Completion Certificate
• Format of Internship Report