With over 4.33 crore students currently enrolled in higher education in India (AISHE 2021-22 ), times are changing. Internships are no longer optional credits. It is now mandatory to be part of every student’s curriculum, and the question is no longer whether students will intern, but where.
The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) has reshaped how the higher education system in India prepares students for their future. Under NEP 2020, every undergraduate student is encouraged to undertake meaningful, real-world experiential learning as part of their degree. This experience is in the form of internships which carry academic credits as per the student’s syllabus and curriculum.
SVM internship: Policy meets purpose
With Smart Village Movement’s internship programme, students are able to connect with rural communities and work on the ground. For decades, internships have largely been only in large organisations and companies where students get a glimpse of the 9-5 routine. While this gives students a peek into corporate life, it also leaves them stagnant with little room to grow or discover what they are capable of.
But this is changing now. With the NEP 2020 and University Grants Commission (UGC), Curriculum and Credit Framework for Undergraduate Programmes (CCFUP), students now have the opportunity for meaningful and real-world experience outside the four walls of the classroom.
For the Smart Village Movement (SVM), internship programmes have been at the forefront since 2021. SVM connects young people with communities that need them the most, welcoming interns from different educational backgrounds and enabling them to create a transformative impact in rural communities. India’s pool of young talent is enormous.
On the ground in Meghalaya
Since SVM launched its internship programme in Meghalaya, a total of 35 students from nine colleges have contributed to rural development in the state. Students have engaged directly with villagers and built rapport with them. They discover their capabilities, and in turn, communities develop trust in them. Development stops being something that happens to villages and starts being something that happens with them.
Rural internships offer something that no corporate internship can. Students experience the ground reality of what is actually happening and the challenges that they face first hand which goes hand in hand with what NEP is aiming for.
“Working with the highly driven, but humble crowd at SVM has been an enriching experience. Having suggestions from an ‘intern’ heard, and seeing appropriate ones blossom to fruition is a huge boost to my professional credibility and skill. The most beautiful aspect (if I’m compelled to choose just one), would have to be the organization’s core reliance on out-of-the-box approaches! SVM’s model is the epitome of ‘open-innovation” said Jovie Benson Lyngdoh, Intern from Christ University in the 2022 batch.
International Student Internship
SVM believes in fostering real-world learning experiences for young people who are passionate about technology, sustainability and social impact.
Roshan Gurjar, an Honorary Scholar at Westminster School, London, immersed himself in an experiential learning journey with SVM with a ground visit to our project sites in Meghalaya. He gained firsthand insights into innovative healthcare, education, and environmental solutions in rural India.
Inspired by the depth of impact these programs create, Roshan has been a Young Brand Ambassador in the UK for Smart Village Movement and successfully spread awareness and raised funds to help contribute for an SVM agriculture project. He also participated in a two-week online English communication workshop with 20 students from Mawngap District Christian Multipurpose Higher Secondary School.
For Roshan, the experience went far beyond delivering lessons. Using tongue twisters, dingbats, storytelling, and a whole-class debate, he watched students who had started the programme sharing their interests in technology and science begin asking, by the end, how they could continue learning languages.
“My internship with the Smart Village Movement has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Creating and teaching an online English programme for students in rural Meghalaya was a genuine privilege, and watching their confidence grow with every lesson was immensely gratifying. I’m incredibly grateful to Smart Village Movement for this opportunity, and I’m really looking forward to seeing where my journey with SVM takes me next,” said Gurjar.
What the policy says
NEP 2020 states that students at all Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) must be provided opportunities for internships with local industry, businesses, arts and community organisations specifically with rural and grassroots organisations.
TheUGC’s CCFUP mandates internship as an integral and essential component of the degree, carrying formal academic credits. Students are required to participate in work experience or professional activity with an entity external to their educational institution, under expert supervision. The framework explicitly includes government organisations, NGOs, community cooperatives, R&D labs, and social enterprises as valid internship-providing organisations.
The internship programme built by SVM aligns with NEP’s vision. Students are able to fulfil their mandatory internship requirements while contributing meaningful work. Interns are under expert supervision and are assigned different tasks everyday. They are entrusted with meaningful responsibilities, enabling them to grow professionally while creating tangible outcomes for the communities they serve.
