The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisages the promotion of quality internship within the Higher Education system. Research and innovation are two inherently important aspects to ensure quality education by the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Societal needs of our country can only be addressed by having a strong knowledge, skill, value and research oriented vibrant higher education ecosystem for sustainable development. The integration of Research, Innovation and Technology Development is the foundation of Atma-Nirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India). An institutionalization of Internship at Undergraduate Levels is expected to play a pivotal role in catalysing inter disciplinary/multi-disciplinary/transdisciplinary and translational research culture embedded in NEP 2020. UGC has issued Internship guidelines for the Apprenticeship/ Internship Embedded Degree program or for the vocational programs. Internship programs aim primarily at employability of students and specified the outcomes by competencies desired at industrial centers.

Internships provide opportunities for enhancing research capabilities and career development. These are structured and supervised short-term task-oriented projects for defined duration.

For registrations please follow the link  

Following are the intended objectives of engaging under-graduate students in internship program:

• To provide an opportunity to the under-graduate students to carry out training in a real work environment with faculty guidance over a specific period.

• To provide the opportunities to the UG students to learn, understand and sharpen the research acumen, as well as the communication/ technical/managerial skills required for conducting research.

• To train students to writing proposals, scientific reports, presentations, and/or manuscripts for publication.

• To promote academic, professional developments.

• To facilitate students of HEIs To identify the organizations / Industrial training centres etc. for supporting internship programme.

Internship would involve a student from a HEI and would be attached to a supervisor, preferably from other HEI, for a specified duration at the facility of the supervisor and conduct a time-bound internship project. The HEI (parent Institute) and the Internship Provider Organization (IPO) would play important roles in facilitating smooth conduction of internship. Internship provides opportunities to gain new insights with exposures to instruments, tools, techniques and methodologies. The HEIs, the parent Institutions of the student gains through the benefits availed by the student. The HEIs are required to play an important role in arranging internships for its students by creating a structured internship programme under its Research & Development Cell.

Internship aims at providing hands on training in tools, techniques, methodologies, equipment and learning various other aspects in pursuing quality training and Internship experience can be gained by working with faculty, Industrial labs, nationally reputed organizations and individual persons distinguished in specific fields (Draftsmen, artisans, musicians, artists, choreographers, etc.). Such experience will help graduate students to build competence and capability, acquire professional working skills, expertise, and confidence to start their research work. The research internship programs should be interactive and conceptualized, building capabilities / skills of our young graduates/ faculties in Project development and its execution, Decision making/ confidence development, Working in team/ coordinating in team, Critical, creative thinking and problem-solving, Ethical values, Reference of resource persons in the field.

Internship to enhance employability of an individual student and to develop research aptitude of an individual student. Academic credit: The internships of 8-10 weeks of 10 credits, after 2nd or 4th semester, will be mandatory for the students desirous of exiting with a certificate or Diploma, respectively. The continuing students may, however, undergo optional research internships after 2nd / 4th semester, to enhance their research capabilities, by engagement as interns in HEI/ Institute/Industrial R&D labs.

The evaluation of research internship will be carried out by the internship supervisor for Host organization through seminar presentation/viva-voce at the HEI, for which group of experts from HEI including the supervisor would assign marks.

Institute may appoint a faculty as Coordinator to look into the matter of facilitating the interns on arrival with registration, identity cards / any other specific requirements etc. At the end of the internship, the nodal officer will ensure issuing completion certificates to the intern.

Interns will be selected by host organizations based on their selection criteria. The host organization will arrange to intimate the potential intern. On receipt of offer of internship, the student will arrange to consult the faculty mentor and obtain due permission from the parent institution and join the concerned host organization for Research Internship as per the suggested schedule. Student will undergo internship in the supervisor’s lab/ working space at the host organization. During the period of internship, the parent HEI through the mentor, will arrange to keep a track of the activities and performance of students as interns at the host organization, based on periodic reports submitted by students. On completion of internship, intern will prepare internship report and get it endorsed by research supervisor.

Host organization will arrange to evaluate the internship and will issue Internship Certificate on successful completion. The parent HEI will examine/evaluate the student’s performance following its evaluation method.