The VTU headquarters Jnana Sangama in Belagavi.
Credit: DH Photo
Belagavi: Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) has introduced a mandatory one-year internship programme across all branches of its undergraduate courses, marking the first such initiative of its kind in India. The programme aims to provide students with structured internship opportunities, beginning this August for final-year undergraduates, who must register on the new web-based platform.
VTU has 215 engineering colleges and architecture colleges in the state affiliated to it of which 39 are autonomous colleges, 16 government engineering colleges, 25 schools of architecture and 2 constituent colleges imparting technical education to more than 3 lakh students under its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
About 923 departments in various engineering colleges and other institutions have been recognised as research centres under VTU.
Speaking to DH on Monday, VTU Vice-Chancellor Prof Vidyashankar S announced the launch of a centralised online internship registration platform. This portal allows companies to post internship openings directly and review student profiles, while enabling VTU and affiliated institutions to monitor and regulate internships to ensure compliance with AICTE and VTU credit requirements.
“This platform replaces the previously unorganised internship system, where students received certificates without formal monitoring,” said Prof Vidyashankar. “Now, with around 80,000 students expected to undertake internships, each will be tracked through designated internship coordinators at their colleges to ensure quality and accountability.”
The platform simplifies the internship process by reducing paperwork and providing students with personalised dashboards displaying guidelines, deadlines, application statuses, and formats. Integration with academic records allows automatic calculation of internship grades or credits, he explained.
The initiative is designed to benefit students, educational institutions, and industry partners alike by enhancing transparency, efficiency, and the overall quality of internship experiences. Additionally, the platform offers students opportunities to pursue internships anywhere in India or even globally, he said.
Registration on the internship portal is mandatory for all VTU students and can be accessed via a dedicated link on the VTU website, Prof Vidyashankar added.