UGC's Guidelines To Make Internships Compulsory For Undergrad Students

For a long time, internships remained a trend and a practice among a limited few at institutions in tier-1 cities. However, more and more students across the country are now bent on gaining early experience in working in a professional setup. In today’s professional world, students need to have an edge on their candidature when landing a job and internships are a perfect way to gain practical learning, polish their skills and add work experience to their resumes.

It’s high time that the Indian education system also focusses more on holistic learning, including students gaining hands-on knowledge and practical education. University Grants Commission (UGC) has taken note of the need for a new approach in the education system and announced that internships will now be compulsory for undergraduate students.

In a recent announcement, the UGC made internships compulsory for undergraduate students under the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The newly released guidelines are a progressive step towards increasing the employability of young graduates by inculcating skills and professionalism in them at a young age. Additionally, the initiative paves the way for college students to figure out their career paths.

If you are an undergraduate student, let’s take a closer look at how the initiative is going to benefit you:

Preparation for the real world

Internships are the best way for you to prepare yourselves for the real world. It provides you with enough exposure to acquire industry skills, polish your existing skill sets and discover your strong points. At the same time, you learn about work ethics before starting your first job, which will help you in the longer run.

Competitive advantage

If you have interned somewhere during your college and you put it on your resume, it gives you an edge when applying for a job in the future. Recruiters prefer candidates with a certain sense of working in a corporate environment and relevant skills. You can add your learnings and projects you worked on during your internship to your resume. This will make your resume more impressive to employers. Along with the internship completion certificates, you can also land a great recommendation letter from your mentors which will improve your odds at landing your dream job in the future. Such additions on your resume and overall candidature give more confidence to the companies in evaluating your competencies and fitness for the job as well as the company during the hiring process.

Exploring career paths

Internships are a great way to explore your interests and find your true calling. As a college student, you often do not have a specific idea of what you want to pursue for your career in the future. Here, you can start by pursuing an internship in a profile of your choice based on your skill set and interests. This will help you understand whether it is the right fit for you or not. If it works for you, you can explore your niche and expertise in that field. However, if it doesn’t work for you, you can take up the next internship in a different work profile that interests you and explore it. It makes for an incredible journey to find your calling because there isn’t much time to divulge in pursuing different interests post-college.

Conclusion

The New Education Policy 2020 guidelines bring an exciting shot for undergrad students to make the most of their college life. After all, it cannot be just about the campus and campus-based activities. Additionally, paid internships are an excellent way to make some extra pocket money. Students should not hesitate and use this to their benefit. 

Sarvesh Agrawal

Guest Author The author is Founder and CEO, Internshala, the career-tech platform