New Delhi: Union Minister for Education, Dharmendra Pradhan, inaugurated the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) Research Internship Programme in Social and Human Sciences today in New Delhi.
He also distributed appointment letters to the ICSSR Research Interns. Shri Pradhan also distributed prizes to the winners of the National Argumentative Essay Writing Competition on “Simultaneous Elections in India: One Nation, One Election” to the UG, PG and Doctoral Students.
Prof. Dhananjay Singh, Member Secretary, ICSSR; Prof. Deepak K. Srivastava, Chairman, ICSSR; academicians, Heads of Institutes, scholars and students were also present at the event.
Shri Pradhan, while speaking at the occasion, said that the internship presents a unique opportunity to postgraduate students of social sciences and will strengthen social science research, which is pivotal to achieving social progress, embracing technological disruptions and driving economic growth and aligned to the national objective of Viksit Bharat. He further said that the nature of jobs is changing rapidly with technologies like AI driving this change, and research in the area of social sciences will play a pivotal role in ensuring that technological disruptions aid social development.
Shri Pradhan also said that the National Education Policy 2020 has recognized the need for quality social science research, which plays a pivotal role in shaping societies. ICSSR internship program is yet another step towards fostering individual growth and creating a pool of skilled researchers who can contribute to areas like policy research, data analysis, and social innovation, he said.
The Minister said that India is a living ancient civilization, which has embraced modernity while retaining its basic character. He added that robust social science research plays an important role in ensuring civilizational sustenance and growth and expressed confidence that this initiative will strengthen the civilizational ethos of Bharatiyata and pave the way for the future.
With the introduction of the NEP 2020, there is an increased focus on internships which is being used to award credits to students pursuing undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) programmes through the National Credit Framework (NCrF). ICSSR internship program is yet another step towards fostering individual growth and creating a pool of skilled researchers who can contribute to areas like policy research, data analysis, and social innovation.
The Internship Programme at ICSSR has been designed with a fundamental objective to match education with research skills to prepare young social scientists and a humanist for the changing dynamics of employability and ensure their meaningful contribution towards national development. The uniqueness of the Internship Programme is the integration of modern education and skills with traditional knowledge and techniques.