I
interned with IDSA (Indian Institute of Defence Studies) for a period of six
weeks – 15/4/19 – 24/5/19. IDSA is a think tank which specialises in national
security and foreign policy. My experience while working there, has been quite
enriching and beneficial. IDSA has multiple centres under it – Internal
Security, Military Affairs, South Asia, East Asia, Europe, Strategic
Technologies and many others. I was placed under the Strategic Technologies
centre as it aligned with my research interests in college. I have been dealing
with social media influence with regard to my research paper and by working
under this particular centre, I was able to gain insights by multiple experts
in the field.
I
wrote and published a research article titled ‘Agro-Warfare: Attack on
Agriculture and Livestock’ in the CBW (Chemical and Biological Weapons)
magazine of IDSA, which is compiled by the Centre of Strategic Technologies.
The article was based on the future of chemical and biological weapons, and
their detrimental effects. Accordingly, I researched into the prospects of potential
attack on crops and livestock (cattle), and its long term risks for the man. As
well as, the present available security system against it and the need to
strengthen it. At the same time, I
assisted in the preparation of CBW newsletter, dealing with recent developments
in the field of biological and chemical weapons. I was assigned the task of
creating a database concerning cyber security laws and data protection
policies, implemented or being formulated across major countries – USA, China,
India and European countries. In addition to this, I was asked to collect
resources and conduct my individual research work. The work assigned to me at
the internship place enabled me to expose myself to multiple levels of
learning. It made my six weeks quite informative and resourceful.
The
internship was insightful in terms of the multiple opportunities provided by
the think tank, to the interns to participate in various conferences,
discussions, etc. The first-hand experience in witnessing discussions and talks
by different experts, researchers and resource people on varied current topics,
helped me in broadening the sphere of knowledge. Also, I was able to acquaint
with perspectives, different from usually present across the board.
I
was able to consult about my research
topic with various research fellows at IDSA. My doubts and confusions were
welcomed and addressed, at the same time, my opinions were duly acknowledged. As
a result, I was able to have an engaging
interaction and gain knowledge, which helped me in redirecting my research
work. At every point, the research
fellows and research analysts were supportive of the interns’ ideas and work.
IDSA,
successfully, provided us, the interns, with various facilities and
amenities which made the entire
internship process a fruitful, learning experience. The library at IDSA was full of resources in
form of books and journals, which one rarely comes across. Six weeks were too
less, to fully explore the library. However, to conclude, the overall environment at the Institute was warm
and encouraging.
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