Enabling young researchers

Mandatory research internships will bring undergrad students closer to real-world research and careers

Successful professionals will vouch for the benefits of engaging with the best masters or learning from the top minds in their field. The internship is a way for that. But what is special with the new mandatory research internships for undergraduate students?

Research is a way of responsible thinking at the centre of all domains. It involves extensive reading, identifying variables, digging through dense literature and making sense of messy data. Using hypotheses, descriptions, frameworks and mental models, research leads to discoveries. In a distracted world, these are the skills needed to make sense of information. Mandatory research internships scaffold a broad range of research skills in the curriculum, with a focus on critical thinking, creative problem-solving abilities, employability and research progression.

Excitement of discovery

A draft regulation of the University Grants Commission (UGC) suggests that all undergraduate students should undergo research internships for eight to ten weeks. While there is an embedded credit allocation, the aim is to inculcate the much-needed discovery mindset in educational settings. It exposes the student to the nuances of practical research across disciplinary and organisational boundaries while navigating the real world.

Research experiences for undergraduate students are recognised worldwide as an instructional approach and progression tool to research careers. Yet, in India, it is limited to master's and PhD courses. In this context, institutionalising research internship at the undergraduate level across all institutions of higher education is the first time in the country.

Internships are already a part of the curriculum for many professional courses and in many national institutions. But its possibilities are less explored at the undergraduate level, particularly in general courses. Much of the current efforts do not go beyond a theoretical paper of research methods and short project works. The new efforts on mandatory research internships will bring more rigour and relevance to the process. Rigour, as an educational approach, is the degree of the challenge presented to the student. Relevance reveals the value of that challenge. Internship, as an interface activity, bridges and makes meaning for both.

Where and what?

Research internships allow students to work with research-oriented faculty members and scientists in different institutions. It can be research labs, industrial labs, businesses, social enterprises and other organisations where meaningful research is valued. This allows collaborative work alongside research scholars and post-docs. It exposes the undergraduates to problems and the process of building solutions. Students may also engage with individual masters, such as musicians and artists, as mentors. The idea is to learn from the field experts.

What do they do?

Interns assist the supervisor and conduct a range of tasks, such as assembling a messy dataset, doing lab work, making reports, assisting in experimentation, developing concepts, writing codes, conducting field works, doing interviews and a host of other works. Irrespective of the activity, experiences suggest the intern should be in a learner mode, not in a consultant mode, to make most of the learning opportunity. An integrated portal that lists internship opportunities is a good starting point for an internship hunt. It facilitates search and application based on eligibility. But there are institutional challenges to be addressed.

Student preparation

A well-structured internship can help students build critical work and life skills. As an opportunity for experiential learning, the internship is a key method to pilot test potential careers and develop transferrable skills. A starting point of student preparation is to decipher internship descriptions from different internet sources. Explore external programmes by different organisations, and surf the web for professional organisations and likely mentors who may be willing to reach out. If you have a target supervisor, familiarise his latest works, read research papers, and look for an interest alignment. A self-taught course on Google Scholar and library resources will help. Search and shortlist the areas where your interests, expertise and opportunity overlap.

Research internships need not be an extension of the classroom. It can be a new area or a new tool that is significant for a practitioner. It can have an on-the-job component for meaningful work experience. There comes a better sense of time in the work setting that forces students to spend long hours in deep work.

Vital institutional factors

Four institutional factors emerge as crucial to the success of a research internship. First is competence-enhancing initiatives. Courses to boost the research capability at institutions should go beyond the customary research method classes. There are practical, field-tested, research-backed practices available for the help of institutions. The practicum arrangements and colloquiums in research training are examples.

The second is exploring research or industry clusters and screening the potential internship providers. It may appear difficult to get enough research internship providers for all students in the beginning. The third is ensuring compatibility between the candidate and the research space. Fourth is monitoring and safeguards. The parent institution should have a good grasp of the work the student is undergoing. Safeguards are required against dilution of the learning value and potential student exploitations.

So, the challenge for educators? Co-create learning contracts between the learners and the potential research spaces. Building a research culture in institutions is a long-term challenge. But the above activities enable it in the short term. One can see the efforts are multi-inter-transdisciplinary and span across different academic areas. Therefore, one of the institutional pre-requisite while designing research internships is to ensure collaborations. For students, it is also a method to test their career options.

Outcomes

Many internships end up as one of the milestones in life. The real outcome of a research internship does not end with the work exposure and its formal evaluation. The work may result in a research paper or a certification or trigger a new set of inquiries. The least is to get clarity on the career paths. In the end, a successfully completed research internship is a commitment demonstrated before us. Then, what is the challenge for the rest of us?

Every expert in any area was once a beginner. To address the future challenges, the current beginners need mentors with a lot of integrity and competence. How many of us are prepared to make that magical difference in the life of our mentees?

(The author is Deputy Secretary, UGC. The views are personal)