Andhra set to launch internship for UG students

VIJAYAWADA: In a first of its kind in the country, the State government is conducting a massive internship programme for about 2.5 lakh undergraduate (UG) students in Andhra Pradesh.  
The programme, to be implemented by the Andhra  Pradesh State Council for Higher Education (APSCHE), will be launched by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy soon.

Under the scheme, there will be 10-month mandatory internship programmes for students of both professional and conventional degree courses.Following the instructions of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the APSCHE, Commissionerate of Collegiate Education (CCE) and  universities mapped students for the internship programmes which will be held in virtual as well as physical mode.

The first internship on Community Service Project will be held after the second semester examinations. The second apprenticeship/internship/job training will be held after the fourth semester examinations and the 3rd and final apprenticeship/internship/ job training will be held during the  sixth semester of the UG programmes as per the revised Choice Based Credit System  (CBCS) curriculum, which came into effect in 2020-21. The internship programme was designed to ensure that the students develop hands-on technical and practical skills, thereby  increasing their employability. For the students who are admitted in the first year for the academic year 2021-22, the Community Service Project can be done anytime during the third or forth  semesters.

APSCHE chairman Prof K Hemachandra Reddy said, “We have made extensive arrangements for the internship of 2,43,000 students,  and from next year, the number will be increased. In the present academic year, since we revised the curriculum in 2021, only second-year degree students of BSC, BCom and BA will undergo internships for two months.” The APSCHE will provide virtual internships for 1,13,264 students by signing MoUs with several multinational companies  such as Oracle, Microsoft, Paloalto, and Salesforce.

Of them, 45,370 are conventional degree students  and the rest engineering graduates. The mapping of 1,12,847 degree students of 10 universities for the internship was completed. Of them, 45,370 students will be accommodated by the APSCHE  for virtual programmes, 23,974 will be accommodated by the Commissioner of Collegiate Education, and 43,503 students will take part in the training programmes to be organised by the universities. The internship programmes for the rest of 1.5 lakh students will be organised by the collectors of the 26 districts at Micro Small Medium Enterprises, business establishments, industries and professional bodies.“From next year onwards, almost 7 lakh students will take part in internship programmes in the State,” said Prof Hemachandra Reddy.