Dharmendra Pradhan launches ICSSR research internship programme; appointment letters distributed to 40 interns

NEW DELHI: Union Minister for Education Shri Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) Research Internship Programme in Social and Human Sciences in New Delhi today, December 5, 2024. The minister distributed appointment letters to 40 ICSSR Research Interns during the launch even.

As per the official press release, the research internship programme received over 3,600 applications. Following a selection process focused on inclusivity, the ICSSR has selected 40 candidates from various parts of the country to serve as interns.

The programme includes national and international workshops on research skills relevant to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, as referenced in Bharat’s G-20 presidency declaration.

Dharmendra Pradhan also distributed prizes to the winners of the National Argumentative Essay Writing Competition on “Simultaneous Elections in India: One Nation, One Election” to the undergraduates (UG), postgraduates (PG) and doctoral students.

Internship for social sciences

While speaking at the occasion, Dharmendra Pradhan, said that the internship will provide a unique opportunity to postgraduate students of social sciences and strengthen social science research, which is crucial for social progress, technological adaptation, economic growth, and the realisation of Viksit Bharat. He emphasised the role of social science research in navigating technological disruptions to ensure social development.

“The nature of jobs is changing rapidly with technologies like AI driving this change, and research in the area of social sciences will play a pivotal role in ensuring that technological disruptions aid social development,” he further said.

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According to the official press release, the introduction of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has placed greater emphasis on internships, which are being linked to awarding credits to students in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes through the National Credit Framework (NCrF).

The ICSSR internship programme aims to support individual development and build a pool of researchers equipped to contribute to areas such as policy research, data analysis, and social innovation.

ICSSR Internship Programme: Focus on research skills

The ICSSR internship programme focuses on bridging the gap between academic knowledge and employability skills. It aims to foster research skills, including ideation, data collection, experimentation, and report presentation. Interns shall gain hands-on experience in research tools, methodologies, and real-world applications by working with experienced and successful mentors from universities, research think tanks, industry and community.

The programme aims to be multidisciplinary, with the selected candidates representing different domains of social and human sciences such as statistics, population studies, sociology, applied psychology, public health and policy, international relations, development studies, language studies, anthropology, and others.