Ever Wanted To Run Your City? This Unique 4-Month Internship Is Giving Students a Taste of Governance

What if you could lead your city for a day?  

During her school years, this was among Harsha Haridas’ favourite essay topics. So, when, as a 23-year-old, she spotted an opportunity that allowed her to do precisely this, she seized it. An initiative by the Kozhikode district administration, the District Collector’s Internship Programme (DCIP) is a bridge between young changemakers and district-level governance. 

This programme was started by N Prasanth, IAS, in 2015 as part of his Compassionate Kozhikode initiatives.

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And Harsha, wide-eyed and curious about what being part of the system that shaped her city’s policies would feel like, applied to the January 2025 batch. It’s important to note that this year also marked a decade of the programme’s completion — a revolution across 30 batches and 300 inspired alumni. 

IAS officer Snehil Kumar Singh, the district collector of Kozhikode, under whose aegis the programme has been running for the last two years, ever since he assumed the post in October 2023, beckons to think of the four-month internship programme as a window into real-world governance, a portal that enables collaborations between students and public departments to drive community-focused solutions. 

And, as Singh and his team have discovered, when young enthusiasm meets real-world urgency, change is inevitable. 

From classroom to council

Has Kozhikode found a way to ensure no one goes hungry? 

It seems like it. Enter ‘Operation Sulaimani’, launched in 2015 by Collector N Prasanth. Geared towards food security among the city’s labourers, migrant workers, homeless people — just about anyone who needs a meal, Singh confirms — the project has looped in 100 restaurants across 25 distribution centres in 14 city zones, where beneficiaries can redeem their food coupons. 

Empathy drives the modus operandi, Singh shares, adding that the DCIP interns are tasked with supporting outreach, coordinating beneficiaries, and monitoring the quality and effectiveness of the drive. Through Operation Sulaimani, 150–200 meals are distributed every day; the project’s impact lies in having served over 1.25 lakh people. 

Coordinating this enormous exercise isn’t easy. But it’s worthwhile, Singh acknowledges, hailing the interns for their out-of-the-box solutions. “They do not ask the questions that a traditional bureaucrat would,” he reasons, adding that this open-mindedness fosters a more solution-oriented approach. And when an open mind is tempered by the ability to critique, in that dichotomy, solutions are born.

“In the induction sessions, I ask the students about the problems that come to their minds. I tell them that being critical is a good starting point. Once they share their concerns, I explain the complexities of addressing these issues and where the government actually faces challenges,” he emphasises. 

For students, becoming a part of the system has a dual vantage: it textures their understanding of the system, while also giving them common ground with policymakers to dialogue and make themselves heard. And what emerges from the programme is the realisation that new ideas don’t have to be at odds with time-tested policies. The two can co-exist. 

Shaping tomorrow today through participatory governance 

Harsha is an applied maths post-graduate. But she’s always been intrigued by the issues that plague communities. “In college, I’d always wanted to be a part of something where I could contribute to society,” she shares, adding that the programme she worked on as part of the DCIP was focused on the welfare of scheduled tribes. 

Despite her internship having ended in April this year, Harsha continues to lend her time to the project by visiting the tribal hamlets and ensuring the families’ documents — Aadhar Card, PAN Card, voter’s ID, and Ration card — are in place. 

These projects are very different from the academics she is pursuing. But Harsha believes this is where the beauty of the programme lies. And Singh agrees. Having students from diverse fields partake in the district administration helps add a bold new dynamic to their work. The assigned project is decided on the basis of the essay written during the application stage, and the interview that follows. 

Singh, however, interjects here, “We are not looking for people who are highly qualified, highly academically oriented or great talents. The idea is to find people who genuinely want to do something. They must have compassion and empathy.” To this, he adds that motivation is a key factor. “The students must have a sense of pride, too, in working with the government.” The overarching goal is to impact the maximum number of people. 

Where young energy meets governance

The programme’s cumulative impact stands at two million people. 

To be selected for the internship opportunity, one must have: 

● Strong compassion quotient 

● English and Malayalam communication skills 

● Graduate qualification (any discipline, under 30 years) 

Singh also emphasises that the programme, while open to those who wish to later join the civil services, isn’t restricted to them. “We’ve kept it such that the batches coming in are vibrant and dynamic. We see budding doctors, social science professionals, engineers, and even those who have taken a career break and are figuring out what's next.” 

Through the last decade, the core focus of the programme hasn’t shifted one bit. It started with a simple thought — “to provide our youngsters an opportunity to actually understand government administration at a deeper level,” Singh shares. Even today, this infusion of young energy remains crucial. “The idea was to use their talents in ways that the government gains in terms of their ideas, energy, and unique approaches to projects, while enabling them to learn something too.” 

Vesting them with the right to make their voice heard lends these students a steady confidence. 

From widow upliftment to schemes for the disabled 

Khabil CV (26), who was part of the 2020 cohort of the programme, recalls what an enjoyable time he had working on the ‘Nammude Kozhikode’ project, under the guidance of IAS officer Srisram Sambasiva Rao. The programme involved integrating digital tools to drive efficient and accountable local governance across sectors like health, education, tourism, and infrastructure. 

Meanwhile, the ‘Enabling Kozhikode’ project tasked students with brainstorming ways to ensure equal opportunities for persons with disabilities (PwDs). Think early intervention, educational support, vocational training, job placement, establishment of Community Disability Management Centres and schools that offer specialised education and vocational training, as well as developing a proposal for a barrier-free panchayat (village governing body) to make local governance more inclusive. 

Through the programme, over 1,500 PwDs have been connected with services and employment opportunities.

When the Women Protection Office in Kozhikode assessed the condition of widows in the district, the findings were not too good. Many widows, they found, were oblivious to the schemes that were available to them. This led to the creation of ‘Jeevika Handbook’, a valuable resource that provides detailed information on government welfare schemes and the application processes. The handbook and other schemes are facilitated under ‘Widow-Friendly Kozhikode’. 

The programme encourages a supportive and inclusive environment where widows can access essential services like legal aid, healthcare, education, and financial support, while also providing them with skill-building opportunities to improve financial independence. Over 25,000 widows have benefited from it. 

While these are some of the programmes that the DCIP has been instrumental in pioneering, led and scaled by the students, Singh says there’s so much more that is being done. The contribution of N Prasanth IAS, U V Jose IAS, S Sambasiva Rao IAS, Tej Lohith Reddy IAS, A Geetha IAS have been instrumental in giving the programme direction and purpose.

As for whether this model can be replicated across cities, he believes it is possible. “Once the students feel that sense of belonging and ownership towards these projects, that’s where the success of the model lies.” 

All pictures courtesy Kozhikode district administration