Enhancing our students’ global employability skills and cross-cultural learning through virtual internships
India Centre and Mijwan Welfare Society (MWS) are delighted to announce the second round of KAVI in collaboration with GRD College of Commerce and International Business, India and the University of Western Australia.
Students from Southampton, India and Australia will collaborate and work virtually to gain hands-on experience undertaking live community oriented projects addressing real life challenges in real times in rural India. KAVI equips students to adapt to new norms of remote working and digital engagement, and develop international collaboration and networking, without having to leave home. The first round of KAVI launched in 2000 during the peak of COVID, which engaged students from Southampton and India, became one of the most successful programmes of the University India Centre. An interim report of the first round of KAVI is available here.
Successful interns will work on specific projects for a maximum period of 6 weeks, 20 hours maximum per week, through digital platforms. The date of commencement of KAVI is Monday 20 June 2022.
This year, students from UK, India and Australia will join hands, work collaboratively from three different time zones and contribute to Mijwan Welfare Society’s live projects in rural India:
- Sports and development: Developing a database system (online or offline) where rural youths could register their sports interest and can locate sports facilities and competitions nearby.
- Girls’ education: Developing a tool to analyse the learning capabilities of girls from grade 9th-12th on English language and mathematics.
- Computer education for rural youths: Creating a database for online free MOOC computer education courses available for youths (considering youths from rural areas) and creating a training module to access it.
- Artisans and craft: Creating a product catalogue for different craft products designed by artisans using artisans’ story and UN SDG goals.
- Business modelling: Developing a business model for a Rozgar Dhaba (employment exchange and information café) mobile app, facilitated by Social Impact Lab, University of Southampton
- NGO human resource: Creating a capacity-building guideline for a different cadre of staff for a grassroots organisation.
- Organization impact: Creating a digital impact data-based report of different programmes for a grassroots organisation
A brief description of each project and specific skills requirements is available here.
The proposed areas cover a broad spectrum of real life challenges and opportunities reflecting on the MWS’ ethos ‘Empower One, Empower All’. The virtual internship is named after eminent poet and founder of MWS Late Kaifi Azmi who firmly believed that India’s progress inevitably require empowerment of women and girl children in rural communities.
Successful interns will work under the direct supervision of a project team consisting of programme managers based at MWS supported/ co-supervised by academic staff from UK, India and Australia.
Who is eligible?
Students currently enrolled in the third year of their undergraduate or those undertaking any postgraduate taught programme, with demonstrable skills and academic track-record (based on available grades obtained in their current study). We have three internship places available for students from each institution, who will work in pairs with those from partner institutions.
How do you apply?
Please submit your CV with a supporting statement (maximum 200 words) explaining your motivation and skills to undertaking the virtual internship programme. Please include a transcript showing your grades of your taught modules in both semesters.
Please send your expression of interest to indiacentre@soton.ac.uk by Wednesday 25 May 2022.
Places are not guaranteed on submission of application and will be selected by the project team based on evaluation of all applications, which may include an online interview with shortlisted candidates. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews, which are expected to be held during the first week of June 2022.
