10,000 UG students to get apprenticeship exposure in 2026-27 session

Bhubaneswar: Skill development and industry exposure of students being two of the cornerstones of the National Education Policy-2020, the higher education department has targeted to extend apprenticeship and internship and community engagement programmes to more undergraduate students in the new academic session.Officials in the department said it has decided to rope in at least 10,000 undergraduate students in public higher education institutions (HEIs) for its Apprenticeship-Embedded Degree Programme (AEDP) in the ensuing academic session of 2026-27 to connect academic studies with on-the-job training.Started in 2025-26 session, currently only 1,299 students are pursuing industry-linked courses under the AEDP programme in just home science and commerce. The AEDP courses, which aim at making students job-market ready, will be offered in 11 traditional major subjects from the new session.AEDP programme integrates traditional Plus III undergraduate studies with hands-on industry apprenticeships. Aligned with NEP 2020, the three-year degree features two years of classroom learning and one year of mandatory on-the-job training with stipends to significantly boost student employability.Last year, AEDP was opened in 22 HEIs and two universities. Officials said with a focus on expanding the programme, the department has this year decided to open AEDP courses in 81 HEIs (degree colleges) accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and affiliated to 11 state universities.The department is also scaling up internship and community engagement activities across colleges and universities. According to official data, the number of students participating in internship and community engagement programmes has increased from 1.18 lakh to 1.51 lakh in the last one year.Aravind Agarwal, the commissioner-cum-secretary of higher education department, said that currently, over 850 HEIs are implementing the internship programme on a massive scale. Around 1.51 lakh students in these HEIs are undergoing internship in various public and private institutions and community engagement. He added that students are undergoing 35 working days of practical exposure at a variety of facilities which include community health centres, Anganwadi centres, agriculture sector and old age homes, besides other community-based initiatives.“Both internships and apprenticeships will provide students with exposure to real workplace environments, helping them develop professional skills, confidence and practical knowledge that cannot be acquired through classroom learning alone,” Agarwal said.