International Internship in EduCARE India

Working closely with staff, EduCARE-India interns acquire knowledge and skills in specific areas, work on critical assignments and projects, receive exposure to various professions, and gain first-hand experience working in a non-profit settings in India.

Who are EduCARE India interns?

Youth who demonstrate independence, maturity and responsibility and are -.
- Self-motivated
- Culturally sensitive
- Pro-active
- Flexible
- Innovative

The concepts and actions of EduCARE India interns are the foundation of the work achieved here. The founders of this unique NGO have a plan, and it is the interns' role to make it happen! This makes the interns a special bunch of people - we are driven towards our goals, we are sensitive to the community that we work in, and we work together as a team to make things happen. Working for EduCARE India at this current time is a rare opportunity to get stuck in with an NGO that is still in its project formation; you can take on responsibilities that other organisations mostly would not give you and make your own ideas form the structure of our work.

You will also face many frustrations and difficulties during your work. You will need to have a strong spirit and consider these moments as challenges, rather than problems. Try to stay positive, be patient and tolerant. These qualities are half of what makes a successful EduCARE India intern. Your role here depends on you, and the internship is what you make it.

Interns and volunteers usually work with office or field staff flexibly during the day / afternoon hours on weekdays. The weekends are generally free for weekend travels and cultural events. However, the staff, interns and volunteers do flexibly alter the working timings / days to accommodate each other's special needs or the organizational requirements.

Nature of Work

The exact nature of the work which the intern will do depends heavily on two interactive factors: the intern and her/his qualifications and interests; and the projects and the programmes which EduCARE India is engaged at the time s/he is with us.

It is important to us that an internship with EduCARE is a valuable experience for both parties. This means that our goals and aims should be furthered through the work the intern does while s/he is able to grow professionally, maximising the benefit gained from being with us. For this reason, we start off by developing a work-programme, to give clear structure to interns' time with us (although naturally it remains flexible).

Please read this section well as you apply for an internship with us. We would appreciate people that take the effort to learn about us and how they can become part of our team and our success.

Keep in mind that we are looking for people that will be passionate about their life interests matching with our work and are motivated to make things happen.

Types of Internship available

An intern's area of work will depend on their experience, knowledge, motivation and duration of stay. We coordinate interns to projects in which they have more knowledge or experience, and that they are most motivated towards developing. Their role (higher manager, lower manager or assistant) will depend on the length of the internship and the intern's preference. Interns staying for longer have more scope to take on higher level positions within the organization, although they are not obliged to.

TIME BASED INTERNSHIPS

Long-term (6+ months)
Higher management activity based roles (Cluster Centre Manager, VIKAS Centre Manager, Infrastructure Manager, Finance Manager, Communications and PR Manager, IT Manager, Facility Manager, Project Manager, Activity Manager)

Mid-term (3-6months)
Lower management project-based roles (Girls and Women's Empowerment Manager, After School Programme Manager, Waste Management Manager, IMFS Manager, ReSTORE Manager, Education Manager, ETE-CRC Library Manager). Some scope for higher management.

Short-term (2-3months)
Assistance (for any project or activity)

PROJECT-BASED INTERNSHIPS

As mentioned, internship positions can be Project based (focusing on a specific project) or Activity based (working across all projects).

Before applying for a specific internship you should thus think about which areas you character traits are suited for, based on:

- Your knowledge
- Your experience
- Your motivation/interest
- Your skills
- Your personality
- Your duration of stay

EduCARE India identified needs in the region of Punjab in the following areas:

Education & Life Skills Development
Employment & Career Services
Economic and Livelihood Sustenance
Empowerment, Healthcare, and Welfare
Environment & Conservation
E-communications, Documentation and Administration

We call these six focus areas of work the e6 net or e6n. We are currently actively working in some of these fields, with certain projects running whilst others are in the process of starting up, and some are still in the conceptual phase. Below is an outline of these projects and the personal specification for the different project-based job roles.

Projects already running

Projects that are already running need reliable and responsible workers that will be passionate about the project and dedicated to its success. You will also have to work well with your team and suggest developments, and there will still be a need for innovation and expansion to new areas.

1. After School Programme

The After-School Programme is designed to provide greatly desired after-school activities for children in the local area where there is no organised community engagements or evening entertainment when children and young have free time for the same. These are currently being run Mon-Fri in the afternoon hours. It involves groups of both boys and girls and attracts roughly 30 children daily; the first hour is focused on English and sports teaching through topic learning, and is as interactive and practical as possible. The second hour is based on playing games/tournaments and activities. Cultural days will be realised every two weeks and sports tournaments once a week. There are also larger activities for special events such as Children's Week in November. The development of a systematic and planned approach is also currently high on the agenda. There is scope for tutoring students in academic subjects such as reading, writing, English, Math, Science, etc. and these options are currently being explored. Traits such as behavior management, discipline and interpersonal actions are also developed in the sessions. Team members act as role models for the children. Information is gathered on student participation, development, and achievement data and evaluations are conducted and documented for records and later reference.

JOB ROLES:

After-School Program Assistant(s)

2. English / Foreign Language Teaching & Cross-Cultural Education (Global Language Institute)

There is a large demand for English and some other foreign languages (French, German, Italian, Spanish) teaching in rural Punjab and many students must resort to taking expensive courses in the cities. The Cluster Centre therefore currently runs three levels of English classes running in the Cluster Centre: Beginners, Intermediate; IELTS (highest level). These charge a monthly fee which is at about 25% to 50% of normal charge as levied in cities (but are free for those than cannot afford to pay - from below poverty line group). These run Mon-Fri except Wednesdays. There is also a felt need for some facility for those locals who go to study, work or settle abroad in the developed countries to overcome stereotypes of the foreign cultures and better cultural integration. Thus, we are also introducing some of these customised courses on cross-cultural awareness along with a foreign language. The fees are used to sustain the other Cluster VIKAS Centre facilities, like Social Education, girls' empowerment, Rural IMFs, and environment conservation ReSTORE etc.

JOB ROLES:

Manager

Teacher(s)

3. Empowerment Project: Girls and Women Empowerment

This projects aims to provide support for young women in the local area. The Centre has begun initial activities focus on creative activities once a week for girls 12-16 years old; these will expand to become every weekday. The Centre will also develop English language classes; health and nutrition education; group discussions about attitudes and aspirations; and a mentorship program (young Indian women from the area as mentors). Within a year these will expand to leadership training; vocational education and training; savings, insurance, and credit assistance; legal education and self-defense lessons; and cycling & driving training for mobility.

JOB ROLES:

Women Empowerment Project Manager

Women Empowerment Girls Club Assistant(s)

Women Empowerment Vocational Training Project Assistant(s)
Responsibilities:

4. Environment Project: Village-based Waste Management

At the village level the Environment Project aims to address the lack of waste management and waster-water treatment in the local area. We have started the process of collecting hazardous waste from local houses, distributing information about its dangers and conducting related surveys. Talks are in progress with village leaders about creating a local landfill, for which manpower and resources have been offered. Waste collection outside of temples will begin shortly.

Waste Management Project Manager

Waste Management Assistant

 

Some sub-Projects currently in start-up process

Projects in the process of development require good team-workers and doers. You will need to be willing to go out there and start something; this will involve interaction with local people and a practical approach to work. You will need to work well with your team to make things successful, and be able to monitor progress and suggest improvements. Some research may be needed and documentation will be crucial.

Environment Project: Organic farming

The project for organic farming addresses the excessive use of fertilizers and chemicals used by farmers in Punjab, and their detrimental effects contributing to soil erosion and water pollution. The effect on drinking water is of particular concern. Interns in organic farming do hands-on farming, agriculture and related activities typical of rural Indian communities in the northwest India. The project is in its upcoming stages, and has the potential to plant organic vegetables & fruits, harvest, maintain and milk buffaloes & cows, and make cheese. They may work alone or in a team of interns or volunteers, or side-by-side with community members. They also distribute information about:

Environment Project: Alternative energies

This project addresses the excessive demand for energy in households and businesses, which has increased with globalization and consumerism, and which outweighs the energy supply. Currently the principle source of energy in India is coal and natural gas, creating high carbon emissions and coal ash waste, along with soil and water damage. Although there is a sizeable amount of renewable energy generated by big hydroelectric power stations, there is need to look for new trends for alternative and renewable energy resources, these may include -

The Alternative Energy Project aims to promote and facilitate the reduced use of renewable energies in a sustainable way. The aim of this is also to reduce the pollution of land, water and air caused by the use of coal and gas and the consequential health damages caused by their use. It aims to promote the reduction of dependency on consumable resources as a whole.

The Project will team up with ReStore, which is partnered with Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA), to promote community education about energy conservation and energy efficient products, such as CFL bulbs. REstore will promote and sell solar power equipment and other alternative energy products. The Alternative Energy project will conduct applied research and field development activities to innovate new practices for alternative energy resources, along with researching the suitability of existing methods in the Punjab region.

Environment Project: REstore

The idea of the REsore is to implement a place to go for connecting rural environmental problems with the institutional services of EduCARE India. On the one hand it will be a collecting point for the huge quantities of waste which hasn't been concentrated anyhere until now. These things, which include all kinds of domestic waste, caused a lot of environmental problems, e.g. pollution of the ground water reserves that provide the households with drinking water and the local farmers with water to irrigate their fields. The store will also be connected with the educational services of EduCARE's Cluster Center. Therefore, the store will be a point of representation for the organisation itself and a possibility to advertise the whole services and projects. In the long term, the shop should provide the following goods and services:

ETE-CRC cum Library (ETE Career Resource Centre)

The ETE-CRC (Education, Training, Employment and Career Resource Centre) addresses the high levels of un/under-employment in rural Punjab along with the lack of information and support for career education, career decision making and work adjustment. Whilst the ETE-CRC's focus is to promote better employment, its aims expand to address issues of indecision, parental expectations and a lack of self-awareness that inhibit career and education opportunities. Its specific objectives are therefore threefold:

We currently have a wide variety of career and education focussed books, around half of which have been filed in a database. We still have to complete the database and move all of the books into their position in the Cluster Centre. From there our aims are to create:

IMFs - Rural Insurance & Micro-Finance Services

Microfinance is the extension of very small loans (micro-loans) to those in poverty designed to spur entrepreneurship. Approximately 8 to 15% of people in different areas of Punjab live under the poverty line. These individuals lack collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimal qualifications to gain access to bank accounts and traditional credit. This lack of access inhibits their ability to become entrepreneurs and resolve their own financial issues. The IMFs project plans to offer community education on the micro-credit facilities by the government and other NGOs, promote good insurance and savings habits, work to create innovation based small micro-financial loans so some poor people who are willing to empower themselves by starting a few entrepreneurial economical sustenance activity and improve their(family's) living standards.

HealthyLife Resources in Rural Areas

The aim of HealthyLifeRA (Healthy Life Resources in Rural Areas) is to provide supplementary and complementary healthcare services in the Punjab region, to support those which currently are insufficient to deal with basic needs. We plan to develop community and individual health care education, medical care, wellness and fitness support, and community care resources. Various focus areas and activities will eventually include -

Projected future Projects

Those that have not yet started functioning need thinkers and innovators. You may need to work on a project / facility / activity from scratch, seeing through the conceptual and realization stage. You may need to work with little guidance and take a lot of initiative on a daily basis. You will need to be a flexible thinker and a very good problem solver, and have nigh levels of self-motivation. Good computer sills and document-making skills are needful. Experience in research would be a bonus as this will be a crucial and necessary task. You may suggest some areas of interest within our scope of works to create a possible new project / sub-project, that we believe in harnessing new ideas and innovations for community / rural development.

ACTIVITY BASED INTERNSHIPS

There are job roles that span across all projects and are crucial to the overall progress of the Organization's objectives:

Internet Communications
To design, create and update dynamic organizational / project websites
Create online database management
Participates in some additional social enterprise, community education / development programmes within the cluster

Marketing & PR
To inform other NGOs, governmental organizations, universities and partners about our activities.
To communicate with the local people in the villages and to try to explain the motives of our activities.
To be in touch with local media and to make them interested in our activities.
To create necessary marketing materials as required by EduCARE projects.
Participates in some additional social enterprise, community education / development programmes within the cluster

Human Resources Manager
Identification of human resource needs and allocation of suitable job roles
Organisation of living situations in accordance with job roles
Definition and development of job roles as progress demands
Acceptance and receipt of new interns. Communications and expectance setting before arrival
Orientation, objective setting and personal progress monitoring of all interns
Continuous direction, encouragement and mentorship of interns
To inform the volunteers about the news in each team (environmental team, women empowerment team etc.) and in the organization.
Conflict resolution
Participates in some additional social enterprise, community education / development programmes within the cluster

Finance
Monitoring and evaluation of Cluster financial activities (book-keeping)
Organisation and approval of spending across all projects
Responsible for the book-keeping of interns living expenses
Participates in some additional social enterprise, community education / development programmes within the cluster

Infrastructure
Responsible for the infrastructure of: the Cluster Centre and its operations area; the VIKAS Centres and their operations area; interns houses.
Finding, buying, maintaining, selling items in consultation with Cluster Manager, Finance Manager, Environment Manager, and ReSTORE Manager
Participates in some additional social enterprise management, community education or development programmes within the cluster

VIKAS Cluster Manager
Support to all Project Managers within the Cluster
Monitoring and evaluation of activities in the Cluster; planning for future activities
Organisation of meetings and reporting procedures
Development of long-term structures and procedures
Support of the Chief Director on all Human Resources matters including: the acceptance process of potential interns; receiving new interns; management of job roles and holidays; management of accommodation availability; conflict resolution
Participates in some additional social enterprise, community education / development programmes within the cluster

VIKAS Centre Manager
Coordinate and manage the activities of the VIKAS Centre and its operations area
Responsible for the implementation and quality of activities in the Centre operation area, monitoring and evaluation of activities
Responsible for the financial management, infrastructure management and human resource management of the VIKAS Centre and its operations area in cooperation with Cluster Manager, Cluster Infrastructure Manager and Cluster Financial Manager
Participates in some additional social enterprise, community education / development programmes within the cluster

Project Management Assistant
Coordinate and manage the activities of the VIKAS Centre and its operations area
Assist the project director / project manager with ongoing projects as well as with daily tasks. Take responsibility for certain activities when the manager is absent.
Organise meetings and the agenda, take telephone calls and reply to emails, represent the project manager in certain internal or external meetings.
Co-ordinate the organisation of project activities in the field (events, meetings, workshops) with other stake-holders
Meet local stake-holders in order to monitor the different stages of the project\
Publicise the results of different actions on the project website
Manage folders to collect together all the communication tools established for the project(s)
Assist with the writing of a logistical plan for a project
Monitor the link between the activities carried out and the initial progress, direction, objectives and budget: produce reports
Participates in some additional social enterprise, community education / development programmes within the cluster

 

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Selection Criteria

Interns, or Trainees, can come from almost any discipline, from any part of the world, though ideally s/he would come from a background which is of direct relevance to our work.

Interns work exclusively on dossiers under the supervision of the Chief Project Director, who also happens to be Internship Mentor and Coordinator.

Traineeships at EduCARE India are based on a win-win partnership: on the one hand, we are very selective in recruiting the trainees, and we will ask from them a lot of thought and seriousness; but on the other hand, we commit ourselves to giving them a solid and complete traineeship and enriched cultural experience.

Attitude is as important as aptitude. Thus, at EduCARE India we look forward to people who are intellectually motivated, curious and committed to work in their chosen field of interest and at the same time looking forward to explore Indian culture and heritage through alongside organized travels. An easy-going attitude is therefore indispensable.

Applicants must be between the ages of 18-35 with an ability to speak, read and write in English though other languages are a bonus.

If you are interested in any position at EduCARE India, please send an e-mail at hr@educare.in ALWAYS with a CC at >> educare.org.in@gmail.com, including 1.your CV,
2. a short letter explaining your motivation, work areas of interest, expectations and the duration/dates of internship.
3. copy of your ID

Please also mention clearly in your application letter about the source from where you learned of this opportunity with EduCARE-India.

 

NOTE:

If this link doesn;t open up in your browser, the problem may be due to a google-analytics script being tested in our webpages, in such a case please send an e-mail at -hr@educare.in ALWAYS with a CC at >> educare.org.in@gmail.com, including:

1.your CV,
2. a short letter explaining your motivation, work areas of interest, expectations and the duration/dates of internship.
3. copy of your ID