PAAi is an equal opportunity employer. We are strengthened by the diversity of our network and our differences in background, culture, experience, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, and much more. We strongly encourage applications from people of colour, women, the LGBTQIA community, and other groups that have historically been subject to discrimination.

PAAi Internship Programme is an intensive, highly selective, unpaid, non-resident programme for mentoring and training interested young students in the areas of IP policy (particularly Patents) research. The objective of this programme is to provide students and early-career researchers with a pre-professional, meaningful and practical work experience related to the student’s field of study or career interest. PAAi Internships provide an opportunity for career exploration and development as well as a chance to learn new skills. Interns may work independently or with the PAAi teams in our research areas. This is an excellent opportunity for those students who are planning for a career or further studies in international trade, public policy, ip law, think tanks or international organizations.

A Non-Resident Internship

PAAi Research Interns are able to undertake their work from their respective locations. It has purposefully been designed to be a non-resident programme for the students to be able to work with PAAi on a part-time basis whereas their university classes/job compulsions will prevent them from undertaking a resident programme.

Monetary Compensation

PAAi currently provides no monetary compensation in the form of stipends or otherwise. There may be some paid positions available in the future depending upon the availability of funding.

Who can apply?

  • Can be of any nationality.
  • Must have completed at least first year of the bachelors course.
  • Can be from any academic discipline ranging from social sciences to technology but should be highly motivated to work in a demanding think tank environment which would require excellent research and writing skills focussed on public policy issues of national & international relevance. Must be proficient in both oral and written English.

Number of Positions

There are limited internship positions depending upon research requirements and the availability of supervisors. This number may vary during each application cycle. The final candidates are selected through a competitive selection process.

Period of Internship and Application Deadline

Intern positions are available for three terms in a year of three months each. Following are the term durations with their respective application deadlines:

Summer Term (July-August-September) – Applications to be submitted by 31 May

Fall Term (September-October-November) – Applications to be submitted by 31 July

Spring Term (February-March-April) – Applications to be submitted by 31 Dec

Experience and Responsibilities

This programme is an excellent opportunity for students and early-career researchers to add the experience of public policy research in their professional profiles and learn the necessary skills of working in a diverse team with time bound delivery.

During the three month term, the intern will be provided with a specified theme to research upon (may work on multiple themes in some cases). An effort will be made to match the interests of the intern and research requirements of PAAi. Under the constant supervision of an PAAi member, the intern will have to submit one article per week/two weeks (around 1000 words) which will lead up to the preparation and submission of a final research report at the end of the term. The weekly article submission will help in the continuity of research which will be compiled and concluded in the form of a final research report.

The articles and the final report submitted by the intern will be considered for publication with PAAi after the necessary review. Upon satisfactory completion of the term, an internship completion-cum-assessment certificate will be issued to the intern. This certificate will contain an assessment by the concerned supervisor along with a performance grade.The intern may be offered other positions with PAAi based upon the research potential and performance during the programme.

How to apply?

PAAi accepts applications until the aforementioned application deadlines for each internship term. The applications received after the deadline will be considered for the following term (for the same term in case there is a position available).

PAAi only accepts applications sent electronically in an email to contact@paai.org.in. We do not accept paper mailings by post/courier or in-person paper submissions.

The applicant must enclose the following documents (in pdf format):

  • A formal, two-page CV (CVs more than two-pages will be liable for an automatic rejection).
  • A Writing Sample (1000 – 1250 words) related to any relevant topic which can be an excerpt from a larger published work, university project report, a blog piece, an essay, a letter to the editor for a newspaper, an article in your school’s magazine, etc.
  • Please provide a couple of sentences of context if you’re excerpting your selection from a larger piece.
  • The important thing is for us to get a sense of the applicant’s linguistic proficiency and research abilities.
  • A Letter of Motivation of not more than 350 words explaining your motivation and objective behind applying for this programme.
  • In case of need, a NOC from your college/university may be required/mandatory.