AICTE aims to encourage rural internships – Times of India

Speaking to
Education Times, Anil Sahasrabudhe, chairman, AICTE, says, “We have made internships for Engineering students mandatory for the last three years because creating these opportunities for students by providing exposure to the industry practices and startups etc is essential for making them employable. Under the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, running for the last five to six years, we encourage Engineering colleges to adopt at least five villages and make an attempt to improve the lives of people through technological intervention.”

The institutes are expected to work in upgrading general education, girl education, entrepreneurship, sanitation, health and hygiene, providing value addition to their existing products, improving in agriculture practices and finding ways to overhaul the village economy and doubling their income. Training in digital literacy is also undertaken.
“Students can get internships in all domains where KVIC is operating and will be given a stipend of about Rs 10000. This includes various interventions in Handicrafts, Textiles, small scale units and the value addition to the produce.”

“We have been on-boarding various start-ups and big and small-scale industries on AICTE’s internship portal. Now KVIC shall also be on-boarded. In addition to this, we have also been providing internships to students through government departments such as the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Transport Ministry and Ministry of Railways etc,” adds Sahasrabudhe.

A majority of the country’s population lives in rural areas where opportunities can be increased through technological interventions by the students. “Internships may not guarantee employment, but if some openings exist in some small scale & medium scale industry, KVIC, start-ups and the particular student who has experience in the required area, shall naturally become a preferred candidate to get employment,” he says.