The Vicharanashala internship is a two-month, full-attention engagement at the lab of Prof. Sudarshan Iyengar at IIT Ropar. We work on real, open-source software for India-centric problems — agriculture (Annam.AI), education (ViBe), and a steady stream of other research-driven projects. This page describes the programme; the FAQ answers the operational questions.
The programme
Every selected candidate sees a yellow VINS result panel when they log in to samagama.in. That panel contains the next steps.
VINS — Online
Vicharanashala Internship. Open to every candidate who performed well in the AI interview. Conducted entirely online; you work from your own location.
Start anytime in 2026. Two-month duration with a one-month grace period. Everything must finish by 31 December 2026.
No stipend. The programme itself is free for you — we charge nothing.
Week-by-week timeline
The eight-week programme at a glance — what you work on each week and how the badges relate to it.
The four-badge journey
This is the progression every intern follows. The first two badges are the internship proper; the last two are upside.
| Badge | Phase | What it is | Required to complete? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥉 Bronze | 1 | Training — a course or a direct assignment, decided per candidate by the mentor based on what you already know | Usually — entry |
| 🥈 Silver | 2 | An open-source project with a Vicharanashala mentor | Yes — the actual work |
| 🥇 Gold | 3 | A genuinely significant Silver contribution — a feature in itself | No — a quality mark on Silver |
| 🏆 Platinum | 4 | Open invitation to return to the lab in the next twelve months; nominal stipend on visit; the fourth star is earned during that visit | No — post-internship pathway |
What we expect
This is a serious internship, not a summer job. Plan for 6 to 10 hours of focused work a day, sometimes more, for the full window. The most common reason interns drop out mid-way is competing commitments — exams, other internships, job hunts, travel. If your time is fragmented, please don't take this up. Wait for a window where you can give it full attention.
Attendance and participation are tracked strictly. Over a rolling window of the last five working days, we expect you to attend at least 85% of the live Zoom session time, respond to at least 85% of the in-session polls and quizzes, and attempt every quiz with a pass mark of at least 50%. If any one of these falls below the bar, you are excused from the current batch and moved to the next one — so you can rejoin when you are able to give it your full attention.
If you complete both Bronze and Silver, you earn a certificate from Vicharanashala at IIT Ropar. If you drop out, you don't. The bar is high deliberately — the certificate means something because it's earned, not distributed.
Project, technology, domain
We do not pre-declare the problem you'll work on. The approach is problem-centred: based on your inclination and background, your mentor assigns a real lab problem, and you work backwards — learn the technology you need, then solve the problem.
You may end up working on AI/ML, NLP, LLMs, web development, systems, agriculture-tech (Annam.AI), educational tech (ViBe), open-source infrastructure, or any other area depending on what fits. Insisting on a specific stack or domain after joining is not viewed favourably — students are expected to do the research required to work at a particular lab before applying.
Why the interview is on samagama.in
Every candidate goes through a structured AI-led interview at samagama.in with our interviewer agent, Yaksha. This is not a gimmick. The interview gives every applicant — irrespective of college brand, network, or geography — the same calibrated conversation about their work. Prof. Iyengar reads every transcript personally and forms his own view.
If you have not yet completed the interview, please go to samagama.in, sign up, and engage in the chat seriously. The interview is the only formal assessment in this cycle. We do not use a separate test, coding round, or shortlist call.
Logistics in brief
- Result panel. Visible on samagama.in for one week after the result is declared. View it; opt in to VINS; complete the NOC step within this window.
- NOC. A No-Objection Certificate from your institution, signed and stamped by an authorised signatory (HOD, Acting HOD, Principal, Dean, or equivalent). We provide a printable NOC format — download it from the dashboard. Digital signatures are not accepted; we need a scanned copy of an original physical signature on the format we provide, with the institutional rubber stamp / seal applied in the designated area and the signatory's email filled in the designated field so we can cross-check.
- Offer letter. Issued automatically — immediately as a provisional offer if you submit a self-declaration, or on validation if you upload your NOC first. You may formally begin the internship only after your official NOC is uploaded and validated by us.
- During the internship. Discord for community, Zoom for meetings, GitHub for code, Yaksha chat for one-on-one queries.
Cost
The internship is free. We charge nothing — for the course, for mentorship, for any part of the programme. Vicharanashala is funded by initiatives, schemes, and funding agencies that cover the cost involved. Because someone else is paying for your participation, we keep the rigour high.
It is the duty of the lab to upskill and give every student in the country an opportunity that the student deserves. Stellar performers may receive a selected stipend; we hope you reach that stage.
What to do next
- Go to samagama.in and sign in.
- Read your result panel carefully. It tells you the track and the next step.
- Tell Yaksha you want to opt in to VINS, in the exact phrase shown on the panel.
- Download the NOC, get it signed and stamped, and upload it back via the Upload NOC button on the panel.
- Wait for your offer letter; show up on your start date with your full attention.
If you have a question this page doesn't answer, the FAQ covers most of it. If neither covers your case, log in at samagama.in and ask Yaksha — that is the only support channel we operate.
For your specific case, log in at samagama.in and ask Yaksha.