Despite being of Indian origin, this internship experience brought a new outlook of the world around me. During past visits to India, travels were limited to the Southern part of India, mostly visiting family and relatives. This visit to India was a real eye-opener which I hadn’t experience in the past. Coming out of high school with no prior knowledge on how to draft a scientific paper, this was a huge learning curve. Initially, I had less clarity about how to conduct research. Limitations led to a rocky start to my research work. I was very fortunate to get help and advice from my mentor, professionals, and researchers during the research. I wish to thank my mentor for helping organize the research paper, field visits and stay productive. Her leadership and timely guidance were critical to the success of this internship. The advice and technical knowledge given by the agricultural expert has been of great help when composing the research paper.
- Gautham Ajith
- World Food Prize Borlaug-Ruan Intern
- Project: Evaluating Challenges Farmers Face Implementing Modern Irrigation Practices
- Duration: 2019
I am happy to have completed the internship and am very grateful to have had this opportunity. In my research, I learned about the health care crisis in India and how it is perpetuated by a deficit in qualified medical practitioners. Little did I know about the degree to which rural populations struggle to obtain quality healthcare,
and my research led me to discover the ingrained role of uncertified medical practitioners in rural villages. Overall, this opportunity completely awakened my perspective of health care outside of the United States, and I’m eager to share my findings in pursuing the Biology of Global Health major at Georgetown University.
Internship Type:
Virtual
- Nina Gulati
- Georgetown University
- Project: Exploring the scope of accrediting informal health practitioners in rural India
- Duration: 2020
“It was an extremely pleasant experience. All the staff members were extremely helpful and supportive. I had the flexibility and freedom to work and received constant guidance by my mentor.”
- Sunandani Kakkar
- Amity University, Noida
- Project: Conceptualizing a strategy for individual fundraising
- Duration: May 1-June 28, 2013
“It was an enriching experience working in the social sector. Insights, learning, and hands-on experience was immense. I enjoyed my stay here with such a dynamic and open work culture.”
- Ankit Shresth
- IIM Kashipur
- Project: NGO Management Research on expansion strategies; research on rural development indicators and NGOs in specific states
- Duration: April 1-May 31, 2013
These two months at Sehgal Foundation were a learning experience in every sphere for me. I interacted with the women of Mewat. I learned about their economic and cultural lives.
- Shilpi Swami
- Jawaharlal Nehru University
- Project:
- Duration: 30 May to 25 July 2014
In the classroom while learning about the world’s water crisis, India has always been the leading example. While reading about the country’s problems, securing water seemed so daunting, and even hopeless. After interning here, my perspective has changed. The task is still daunting, but I have witnessed solutions – solutions that are working – and that is inspiring, exciting, and it has made me optimistic once again. All I can say now is, “let’s keep working, and work hard.”
- Julie Perreault
- Iowa State University
- Project: A study of Water Harvesting Structures in Government Schools in Haryana
- Duration: June 7 to August 5 2014
With a striking combination of team work and professionalism, I was amazed by the team of SMSF as they have a lot of theoretical and practical knowledge! Also, learning from their experiences through informal chats over lunch was enriching. As the team was friendly and other interns from diverse backgrounds were present, my experience, more than anything was very comfortable! Thank you!
- Shivee Bhardwaj
- IRMA
- Project: Documenting, analysing, reporting and evaluating technology driven
- Duration: 3 November to 26 December 2014
As an intern studying SAGY and other government initiatives that dealt with women’s nutrition I got to learn a lot about India’s government. There are so many schemes, and it is especially important that the schemes are converged to get the best results. I did research on women’s nutrition in India as a whole, and I was able to focus more specifically on Haryana. For my field work I focused on Mewat. I was able to visit villages that the Sehgal Foundation sees as “model” villages. In these visits I spoke with women health workers who are employed through the National Rural Health Mission and the Integrated Child Development Scheme. I also go to talk to women who had been beneficiaries of the scheme and get their opinions.
- Kate Kijinski
- George Washington University, Washington, DC
- Project: Studying the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana through a gender lens
- Duration: 11 May to 17 July, 2015
My internship experience at S M Sehgal Foundation was beneficial as a student and a citizen of the world. I had the opportunity to learn about development and society in a hands on way and not just through a classroom and a textbook, which was vital in growing my knowledge about the development sector. I was also able to learn about a different culture and people through visiting villages and learning from the community members with the support of my supervisors. I felt I was able to help make an impact that can continue even after my departure from the S M Sehgal Foundation. I feel confident that the work will be continued and expanded.
- Madison Cherry
- University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
- Project: Promoting Swachh Bharat Mission through village councils in Mewat
- Duration: 29 June to 7 August, 2015
Interning at Sehgal Foundation has really showed me the value in building and strengthening meaningful relationships with community members in order to connect and work closely in addressing their specific needs. Through field work I observed first-hand the value in being resourceful in communicating through various ways when language acted as a barrier.
- Natalia Cornejo
- University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
- Project: Promoting Swachh Bharat Mission through village councils in Mewat
- Duration: 29 June to 7 August, 2015
Every citizen should have the opportunity to participate in a democracy, and law is supposed to be the language of democracy. But in both the U.S. and India, and perhaps especially in India, there are large gaps between the letter of the law and its implementation in the most disadvantaged communities. After spending most of my first year at Harvard Law School with my head in a textbook, my internship with Sehgal Foundation was an invaluable opportunity to experience how law works – or doesn’t work – for real people. I especially enjoyed my conversations with ordinary citizens and village leaders at the grassroots village level in Mewat. In them I found as much wisdom, or more, than I have in the classroom.
- Aditya Pai
- Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Project: Analyzing the Effectiveness of Legal Literacy Camps in Mewat Through Case Studies
- Duration: 3 June to 24 July, 2015
I got to understand the professional culture being practised in a development organization. The strength of the organization is that they are targeting developmental needs from several aspects which are complementary in nature. I learnt how interventions are designed and delivered.
- Gaurav Khandelwal
- IRMA
- Project: Profiling of Madhya Pradesh state for Sehgal Foundation expansion
- Duration: 23 November 2015 to 15 January 2016
I had an excellent internship experience here. From day one, I had work to do and also felt quickly incorporated into the office culture. The team went out of its way to help me accomplish my work (and with logistical/administrative issues) and planned excellent meetings to give a depth to my research. It was amazing to witness all the different work being done here and to enjoy talking with everyone in the office about their work. Of course, it was also enjoyable to contribute some small portion of work to everything that’s being done here.
- Luke Holladay
- Harvard Law School
- Project: Analysis of functioning of the civil legal services with focus on District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) and preparing a set of recommendations based on learning from civil legal services from others parts of world.
- Duration: 4 - 22 January 2016
I’ve always been lectured on what it’s like to be in the field and have cross-cultural discussions, but I’d never before had the chance to experience it. Sehgal Foundation allowed me to experience and observe grassroots women’s empowerment firsthand. I was able to listen to women gather around issues directly affecting their communities and come to conclusions on how to address them. I was able to observe the curiosity of children at the sight of foreign students coming to their village. I was able to hear Hindi and, despite my linguistic gap, continue to understand the passion these women had through universal gestures and emotions. I saw laughter, and I saw community.
- Elle Gough
- University of Florida
- Project:
- Duration: July 2017
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