This July, we completed the 19th edition of our annual summer internship program, the Researching Reality Internship. Each year, the research internship engages college and university students in critical learning, primary research and policy analysis, leading to a publication of original research papers addressing key governance concerns and policy frameworks.
This edition saw our cohort of 14 young learners researching K-12 governance in India, with a focus on the unease of opening non-governmental schools, enduring administrative prejudices against non-governmental providers and the scope of parental choice and the lack thereof in education in India.
Under the guidance of Research Advisor Bhuvana Anand, the interns delved deeper into understanding the challenges within the Indian education system through quantitative and qualitative research, data analysis, and critical thinking. Our flagship introductory course in public policy - ipolicy, was also conducted for the interns with interactive games, simulations, debates and introduction to fundamental policy concerns including the principles of sound policy-making, rule of law, stakeholder mapping in education, spontaneous order and pricing, RTE Act analysis, among others.
The interns also underwent dedicated sessions on 'How to Talk to Babus and Netas' by Shantanu Gupta, Author and Policy Analyst, and on 'Principles of Research' by Ajay Shah, Professor, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.