Call for Interns | ICS Virtual Internship Programme

Thank you for your interest in the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi!

The ICS Virtual Internship Programme is a two-month internship programme focused on nurturing young researchers to connect with the Institute through online channels to pursue projects or short assignments related to China. The internship is primarily intended to help research scholars gain work experience and sharpen their research, writing and other organizational skills while working under the guidance of Mentors who are experts in their own fields.

Our previous cohorts consisted of interns who came from various universities such as the Sciences Po, Pondicherry University, Presidency University, IIM-Indore, CHRIST University, University of Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Delhi and O.P Jindal Global University. From analyzing the “Belt and Road Initiative” and “Made in China 2025” in the aftermath of COVID – 19 pandemic, and understanding China’s economic engagement in the Persian Gulf region, our interns delved into a vast array of issues surrounding China's domestic and foreign affairs. They worked under the guidance of practitioners and experts such as Amb. Shyam Saran, Amb. Kishan S. Rana, Amb. Vijay Nambiar, Amb. Ashok K. Kantha, Prof. Amita Batra, Mr. Ravi Bhoothalingam, Mr. Santosh Pai, Dr. Hemant Adlakha, Dr. Raviprasad Narayan, Dr. Prabir De, Dr. Mirza Zulfiqar Rahman, Dr. Bhim Subba and Dr. Veda Vaidyanathan, who closely followed their progress and assisted them in successfully completing their projects.   The broad contours of the Virtual Internship Programme are as follows:  

1. The Virtual internship may be for a period of two to three months and may be extended by up to two months, if necessary.
2. The scholar will be required to present a project proposal which will be assessed by ICS in terms of its suitability, and the availability of ICS research staff to guide the scholar as needed.
3. An ICS Faculty, Fellow or Associate will mentor the intern. The scholar will be expected to work closely with the mentor and other concerned faculty members. The intern will be involved in various activities of ICS as feasible.
4. The intern will be required to submit a progress report on a fortnightly basis to the mentor and the designated ICS faculty member.
5. The end product of the internship should be a paper that can be offered for publication, or a report that fits into the scholar’s research agenda. That document may be published in one of the series of ICS publications, including Occasional Papers, Analyses and Research Blogs. Papers of exceptionally high quality may be offered for publication to the ICS journal, China Report: A Journal of East Asian Studies. Such publication is recommended but is not mandatory.
6. ICS will provide the scholar a certificate on successful completion of the virtual internship.

Interested scholars are requested to email their applications with a short cover letter with the below-mentioned documents to careers@icsin.org. Please specify email subject as ‘Application for Internship’. The cover letter (in the main text of the email) must provide a brief introduction to the applicant’s area(s) of interest, relevant experience and skills and also indicate the period of availability.

Shortlisted candidates will be called for a Skype interview.

General Requirements  

1. Preferably, applicants must have completed their Bachelors and pursuing their Masters. However, we are open to accommodating final year Bachelors students as well.
2. Applicants must possess a keen interest in China and/or the East Asian region.
3. Language proficiency in any of the related areas in the East Asian region would be anadded advantage. Language students in their BA final year are encouraged to apply.
4. Applicants must be interested in and demonstrate the ability to take up research as well as organizational tasks.
5. Social media and website management related skills would be of added advantage.

Application requirements

1. A detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV)
2. A writing sample of not more than 2000 words, if available.
3. One-page (500 words) research statement/proposal.
4. Two letters of recommendation (of which one must be from a faculty member)

Before submitting your application, we would urge you to go through our website (www.icsin.org) and browse through our various programmes and publications to familiarize yourselves with our work.