Government plans six-month internship for engineering students

Soon, undergraduate engineering students may spend one full semester in a dedicated internship, a “new strategy” planned by the higher education department is aimed at producing industry-ready graduates.

A proposal to this effect was discussed in a meeting chaired by Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan in Bengaluru on Friday.

A committee, headed by the vice-chancellor of Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) Prof Karisiddappa and comprising members from various industries and commerce, was constituted to formally decide on the duration of the internship and other modules.

Currently, it is mandatory for students to undergo a four-week internship during the end of the seventh semester as per the guidelines from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

All the experts present in the meeting opined that the existing four weeks internship will not help students to learn anything. “They need first four weeks to get exposure to the subject/industry or to that atmosphere,” mentioned official.

Ashwath Narayan said the proposal to enhance the internship was to make “our graduates industry-ready with hands-on experience” during the internship period.

Meanwhile, the committee will also look into the possibility of paid internships under the concept ‘earn while learn’.

A senior official from the state department of technical education said, “There are a plenty of industries in our state in all sectors and the committee constituted will discuss with industry representatives about stipend along with certificates during the internships.”

Officials also mentioned that this will be decided and implemented from the 2021-22 academic year.

Industry collaboration

Considering the difficulty for several students in getting internship opportunities, mainly those who are from government engineering colleges, the meeting, chaired by Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, discussed bringing a higher level of collaboration between colleges with the industries.