Education

The Columbia Global Centers Virtual Internship Program was initiated as a swift and critical response to lockdowns and travel uncertainties across the globe. The network of global centers offers unique and quality virtual internship opportunities to Columbia students and recent graduates.  In each semester of the seven cycles of the program, internship opportunities have been offered by a host of private, public, and non-profit partners across the world. Students in India were placed in organizations such as the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Society for Nutrition, Education & Health Action, ReNew Power, Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action, and the Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation.

Together with the Mailman School of Public Health, the Mumbai Center facilitates a summer practicum that enables graduate students to complete a planned, supervised and evaluated field experience in India. Student interns have so far been placed at Society for Nutrition, Education, and Health Action, a secular, non-profit organization that works on public health issues in Mumbai’s slums, Khushi Baby in Udaipur, a wearable mHealth platform that aims to reduce mortality due to vaccine-preventable diseases, and Partners for Urban Knowledge, Action and Research, an independent and participatory research collective based in Mumbai.

As the world’s largest democracy, India presents a unique opportunity to understand a long and multifaceted heritage of religious diversity. With this reality in mind, the Mumbai Center hosted Columbia University Chaplain, Jewelnel Davis, and nine Kraft  Global Fellows - four in 2016 and five in 2017 - for an  intensive field study on Religious Pluralism in India. Through visits to important sacred sites and exhibitions, and interactions with experts, the team learned about the history, practices and contemporary issues related to different religions in India and explored the relationship between religious communities.

As globalization increases, international cultural exposure and work experiences become important to successfully navigating and meeting the demands of a changing work environment. Since 2013, the Mumbai Center has been hosting the Columbia Experience Overseas program that offers undergraduate students a high quality internship experience in a diverse array of industries and organizations through alumni and employer partnerships. Students spend eight weeks between June and August interning with leading for-profit and non-profit organizations in Mumbai, including Barclay’s Bank India, AZB & Partners, Marg Foundation, Jaico Publishing House, Asia Society India Centre, Apne Aap Women’s Collective, Spencer Stuart and Mumbai Mobile Creches.

We hosted two virtual programs with Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies (SPS) on February 18 and March 22, 2022, for high school students aspiring to pursue higher education abroad.  The inaugural information session conducted by Anita Weiss and Michelle Gauman, admissions officers for pre-college programs, offered high school students, parents, and educators a chance to learn more about the university’s Summer Immersion Program for students in grades 8-12. A  writing workshop conducted by Ms. Weiss, Assistant Director of Recruitment for Pre-College Programs at SPS, delivered a very constructive glimpse of the nuances and considerations that go into crafting a stellar college application essay.

Columbia Global Centers in Mumbai and Beijing facilitated an intensive six-week summer program on Media Practices in India and China, with students spending three weeks in each country. It is organized as part of the Global Scholars Program (GSP) in collaboration with the Weatherhead East Asian institute and the Office of Global Programs at Columbia University. Unlike traditional study abroad programs, GSP builds on the expertise, resources, and cross-regional networks offered by the Columbia Global Centers, which enables students to delve deeper into the areas of their interests and conduct research across borders.