The Social Enterprise Development Centre (SEDC) at the Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDSB) launched its internship programme to enhance the capacity of students interested in the development sector. The internship programme was commenced on June 5th 2017.
The programme is designed for LUMS’ students with an interest in policy issues related to development and fact sheets on specific issues that the Centre is working on. The internship has honed technical writing skills and provided exposure to interns to enter the development sector post-graduation. The programme had 3 modules with deliverables at the end of each:
- Fact Sheet writing skills development
- Policy Brief writing skills development
- Immersion: Practical Work Experience
Students were also engaged in the development of project proposals and marketing activities that the Centre has in the pipeline.
Immersion Module: Punjab Commission on the Status of Women
Following the successful completion of the first two modules of the internship programme, in order to provide practical experience to the students, the SEDC has engaged the trainees with the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women. The students were exposed to a professional work setting and were able to gain first-hand experience in a development sector organization. The students were also required to write research-based reports, based on primary as well as secondary research methods, after successfully completing their term at the organization.
The cases currently being worked on include Access to Criminal Justice System for Women in Punjab, Cyber Crime-Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act, Punjab Safe Cities Authority App, and Long Term Impact of Crime on Victims of Violence.
The purpose of the immersion module was to provide the trainees with exposure to primary data and research through field work, as well as to engage with secondary data to gain a thorough learning experience.
The internship will culminate in a September Policy Forum, where students will be given an opportunity to present their policy briefs to policymakers, development sector professionals and academics. This will also provide students with critical networking opportunities.
SEDC’s trainee programme will serve as a launching pad for students hoping to work in the nonprofit sector, industry or the policy world.
