New Delhi: The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) conducted its much-celebrated ' 3rd Internship Day ' on August 25. AICTE started this initiative three years back and this year, the apex body of technical education is offering 6.1 lakh internships in a single day, a never-before-seen thing in Indian history.
During the welcome address, Buddha Chandrasekhar, CCO, NEAT, AICTE, revealed that internships like this could help to empower education in India, and made it clear that this program is an ongoing journey that will help students to expand their horizons in the future.
"India is a land of opportunities. Our country has so many opportunities available. Students should obtain skills and should reskill them in real-time opportunities. Even though these opportunities are available in cities, we aim to provide the same opportunities for students in rural and tribal areas. Under this program, we are providing internship programs for students in various sectors of technology. We wish to create a skill-based, not just a knowledge-oriented society," added Buddha Chandrasekhar.
AICTE Vice Chairman Dr MP Poonia said, "Gyanam, Vigyanam, and Uddhmita makes education complete. Internships like these are the need of the hour. I strongly believe that initiatives like these could revolutionize the educational sector in India. I wish all the Btech students from the first year to the fourth year who are part of this internship program, and I hope programs like these could help India to emerge as a 5 trillion economy and fulfill the dream of our honourable Prime Minister Narender Modi."
"I thank all software and hardware giants for providing internship opportunities. Last year, 5 lakh internships were conducted, and this year, it could be more again. We are adding 6.1 lakh internships in a single day, which means whatever we reached in one year, we are achieving the milestone in a very single day. By 2025 AICTE has set up plans to have 1 Crore internships" said AICTE chairman Prof.Anil Sahasrabudhe.
AICTE Member Secretary Prof Rajive Kumar said, "AICTE aims to create a skill-based society, and internships like these can be considered as a crucial step for students to achieve their goals. Education is not just about learning, and it will be complete only if students get a real-time opportunity to reskill their talents and traits."
"Work from home is the need of the hour. The world is becoming a complete marketplace under one umbrella. We plan to provide one lakh internship opportunities for students. We work with the government and top corporates to achieve our mission, ''mission livelihood for all''. These internship programs will help students to shape their future in the most fruitful manner", said Munish Chawla of Jeevitham.
"It's nothing better than having an internship for the youth. The government of Assam will not leave any stone unturned to help any company which would like to come here and offer an internship to students here," said Kalyan Chakravarthy IAS, Principal Secretary, Higher Education, Assam.
"Youth is the key stakeholder for any nation. By 2030, 60 percent of the population will be young people. These internships which are being carried out in the AICTE portals should understand that they are an integral part of the country. They should also understand that they will not be part of any kind of substance abuse, and I request everyone to propagate the vitality of staying away from drugs," said Radhika Chakravarthy, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice, and Empowerment.
During the vote of thanks, Prof Rajive Kumar said that internship programs like these will help students to achieve the complete meaning of education.
"Education does not mean studying textbook lessons. It is the right blend of gaining education and practical experience. Practical experience, which a student can gain from internships will help to fine-tune their talents. I hope this program will help students to accomplish the ultimate goal of education," added Kumar.
