Updated on: Wednesday, June 19, 2013
A group of 14 students, including two from India's O P Jindal University, have been selected to participate in an innovative global internship programme on human rights and governance in Europe.
The students from various universities, including Oxford University, Harvard University and O P Jindal University (India) are undergoing a six-week internship in the field of human rights and governance which started last month. It is being organised by the Open Society Foundations and School of Public Policy at Central European University.
Apart from these, other universities whose students have been selected by Soros Foundation are Sciences Po in France, Di Tella University in Argentina and Tsinghua University in China.
A press statement issued by the O P Jindal Global Law University (JGU) said the open society internship for human rights and governance is supporting the 14 students from top graduate level programmes to work on intersection of public policy, advocacy, and human rights.
It said the internship programme promises to build a dedicated alumni network that will support innovative policy making in the rights and governance fields.
"This internship reflects my long-standing commitment for seeding the next generation of leaders dedicated to building open societies," the statement quoting George Soros, Founder and Chairman of the Open Society Foundations, said.
From India, the students who have been selected are Rupinder Kaur Bhalla and Amith Kaushik Tanneru, pursuing their Masters degree from JGU.
The statement said the programme allows limited number of students from top public policy schools to immerse themselves in the ideas and practice of open society through a 10-day clinical seminar in Budapest at the School of Public Policy of the Central European University.
The programme will be followed by a six-week internship at a policy and rights oriented non-governmental organisation selected for its outstanding work, the statement said.
Expressing delight over selection of JGU's two students, who will represent India, for the programme, C Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor of the University said it underscored the importance of interdisciplinary education in public policy that JSGP is deeply committed to pursuing.
"It is a befitting tribute to the growing importance of public policy as a discipline that goes beyond understanding only certain dimensions of policy such as economics and political science.
"It recognises the importance of the study of ethics, human rights and justice in policy studies and international relations and how these issues will shape the future of public policy - both domestic and international," Kumar said.