Internship Day 2019 organised by AICTE and Internshala at AICTE headquarters Delhi

The AICTE and Internshala, conducted Internship Day 2019 at the AICTE headquarters in Delhi. The event was conducted as part of an initiative to improve the employability scenario of the students in the country. All the colleges approved by the AICTE were felicitated with awards during the event for their individual contribution towards improving the employability of their respective students by encouraging them to take up internships from April to July 2019.

Launched in 2018, Internship Day is an event conducted to encourage institutions to take the initiative to create awareness among the students regarding the importance of internships in preparing them for the professional world. The AICTE has also been taking up new initiatives to improve the employability of the students by emphasizing on the value of practical experience with the help on internships. After the mandatory internship programme for the students in the AICTE approved institutions, Internship Day is just another step towards tackling the issue of unemployment in the country.

The event was conducted in the presence of AICTE chairman Dr. Anil D Sahasrabudhe, Vice-chairman Dr. M.P. Poonia, Deputy Director, Dr. Neetu Bhagat, Adviser Policy and Academic Planning Bureau, Prof. Rajive Kumar along with Founder and CEO of Internshala,  Sarvesh Agrawal, Vice President HR, Hindustan Times, Monika Aggarwal. The event was also attended by 400 plus training and placement officers from colleges across the country.

Speaking at the event, the AICTE chairman, Dr. Anil D Sahasrabudhe said that many had first opposed the idea of implementing mandatory internships for all technical students when the idea was initially brought in, however, with the collaborated efforts of the officers AICTE was able to push the idea and help reach one third of the students and encourage them to take up internships. He also added that Internship Day competition recognizes and awards institutions which provide internships to the students. He also pointed out that the institutions have begun to approach industries which have resulted in a culture of internships being funneled in which leads to better employability of the students.

Internship Day is an initiative which has helped the colleges across the country to spread awareness regarding the importance of internships by providing the students with meaningful internship opportunities. Internshala which is India’s largest internship and training platform have helped colleges in guiding the students in registration on Internshala and training them to make good applications for securing internships. With the help of these initiatives, AICTE and Internshala along with the training and placement cells of the different colleges have helped students to find suitable summer internship programmes from April to July 2019.

During the event, more than 35 colleges which included Paavai Engineering College, Maharaja Surajmal Institute and Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology were awarded for their efforts in helping students find internships. Along with these three organizations which include Times Internet Limited, Out of the Box Solutions and Today’s Kalam Foundation were also felicitated for providing the best internship opportunities to the students.

Speaking on the occasion Sarvesh Agarwal founder and CEO, Internshala said that internship day is a joint venture of the company with AICTE conceived in order to handle the skill gap issue and unemployability among students. The initiative was brought in order to encourage the students to gain necessary jobs, skills and practical experience in order to become employment-ready, he added.

He also pointed out that in India, colleges and training and placement cells play a vital role in shaping the career paths of the students and they look up to them for guidance at every step. He also congratulated the AICTE for the efforts and the training and placement cells in the colleges for the participation of the colleges in the initiative and also added that he is extremely satisfied that the programme is helping students in moving ahead with their career. He concluded by added that he is hopeful of the combined efforts of the AICTE and Internshala will help every student to build a great career.