InternFeel: Hello Neelakanta, please tell us about yourself. (Your profile, interests, hobbies etc.) What makes you different?
Neelakanta : I am Neelakanta Rao pursuing my Masters in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from Manipal University. I love to work in Development Sector and for the same I would be taking some time and participating in it quite often.
I love travelling, volunteering etc..
Internfeel: Which internship did you get the chance to take? What was it all about? Stipend, duration, place?
Neelakanta : I worked with National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Delhi during Dec 2014- Jan 2015 which is a one month internship program. I worked on the project “Criminal Law Amendment Act and Violence Against Women”. The stipend I received was 8000/- .
Internfeel: How did you come to know about the internship? To what all sources you kept yourself connected?
Neelakanta :I came to know about this internship through NHRC website. I do search very often to know about internships everyday, I spend at least 1 hour venturing out all such opportunities.
Internfeel: How competitive is the selection process? What is the eligibility criteria?
Neelakanta :Students pursuing MA in Human Rights, Political Science, Sociology, Social Work, Economics, Commerce, Anthropology, International Relations and any of the disciplines of social sciences are eligible.
Students must have attained a minimum of 65% marks over all till graduation.
A 500 words write-up (hand-written) on the topic “Reason for joining as Intern in NHRC” should be submitted.
The merit will be made on the basis of marks calculated out of a total of 100 marks.
Account of Class XII @ 30 Marks, Graduation @ 30 Marks and the Marks scored in the Write-up of 500 words @ 40 Marks.
Internfeel : Any common mistakes which you feel students should avoid while searching and applying for internships?
Neelakanta : Students should be open to learn from the internship and showcase all the past achievements relevant to internship. Most importantly commitment to the project and learning new things must be given more priority. Working with the teams is a critical part and one should be an understanding group member in order to succeed as a group.
We should not give false information during interview process. Try to be as honest as possible.
InternFeel: So Neelakanta, could you please highlight the work/research project you carried out during the internship period? It’s application in near future and your work in it?
Neelakanta : I have undergone a research topic on Criminal Law Act 2013 and violence against women.
This law came into force after brutal incident that happened on 16th December, 2012 in Delhi. Government of India appointed a judicial committee headed by Sri J. S. Verma, a former Chief Justice of India, to suggest amendments to criminal law to deal with sexual assault cases and kinds of violence, women face in everyday life etc.
We did some critical analysis with the available numbers from National Crime Records Bureau and highlighted the no of cases registered throughout India.
We also had field visits to Police Station, Jail, NGO’s and observed the conditions over there and submitted timely reports to the NHRC.
My overall performance was as being adjudged as Distinction in this project.
InternFeel: How was the work culture of your place? What was the best thing about it and the internship? Work timings?
Neelakanta : The work culture was really awesome. I met people who worked for Govt. of India as Senior Bureaucrats whom we see quite often on T.V’s and it was really great interacting with them. I had an opportunity to chat with Former DGP’s, Chief Secretaries of different states, Former IPS, IAS officers etc. The hospitality was really awesome and I made friends for life time and we had a group of 50 amazing people from across India from different universities. The timings of the internship was from 09:30-05:00 pm.
InternFeel : Let’s now talk about some negatives. What problems did you or your friends face, during the internship, which your juniors may be able to avoid?
Neelakanta : There were no Cons as such but the duration of the internship should have been extended to 2 months at least. Learnings from each stage of the project, interactions were a great takeaways for any intern.
InternFeel: To whom all would you, like to thank in context of this internship?
Neelakanta : I would like to thank the entire NHRC team for having selected me and keeping faith in me and training me at each stage. Special thanks to training division of NHRC and Dr. S.K. Jain sir for treating us very well throughout the internship.
Under his able guidance we were able to finish the internship with flying colors.
Last but not the least I extend my sincere gratitude to all my fellow interns for having supported me throughout and encouraging me in every walk of the project.
InternFeel: How much difference this period of 1 months made in your intellectual capabilities and mindset. In broad terms what are your gains from this?
Neelakanta : When I got to know about this internship opening, I was very much interested to work with NHRC as an intern because I was very much sure that this opportunity would give me hands-on experience. I was thrilled to know about it. I would like to intern with them to help coordinate the project and give my best to make difference in my work.
This 1 month internship in Delhi in freezing winter was a great challenge for me, though I successfully finished it.
The words “Opportunity “and “Possibilities” are what excite me the most. My purpose drives me to take action; I want to equip myself with the necessary skills to succeed in my future.
InternFeel: What are your future plans after this internship and how much impact this internship will have on it?
Neelakanta : My future plan is to work for top notch multi-national for some time and achieve my set goals. And also I want to work for development sector like teaching kids from rural backgrounds and helping farmers in supply chain process which are my long term goals.
What I strongly wish is to contribute to the community in an attempt to make a significant change in this world, to wipe out the dominant evil which has been the reason for human decline and establish peace.
InternFeel: Any views about this initiative of InternFeel, and how beneficial it would be? Any suggestions for improvement?
Neelakanta : This is a wonderful initiative I can tell, because most of students are in dilemma whether to grab the opportunities that they get or not.
Relocating to another city for internship is a great challenge when it comes to managing the finances, adjusting to the new environment, finding place to stay and move in the new city etc.
This could give first-hand information and make people aware about the conditions and prepare them to face the challenges boldly. It can make much difference in an individual’s life.
And also it helps them building self-management skills which are very essential to go about.
InternFeel: Neelakanta, it was so nice to know all about this. We agree you would have been busy with your academics. Even then you took out time for this. We thank you and wish you best of luck for all your future endeavors.
Neelakanta : Thanks a lot.
