My summer internship at Institute of Rural Management (IRM) in Islamabad was a learning experience in a two-fold manner: I was living in a new city and away from family for the first time, and secondly, it was my first time gaining some work experience at a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO).
It was fascinating to see how Islamabad is so different from Karachi. I had read about the planning and building of Islamabad in the course, ‘Mega-Projects and the State’, last semester, and seeing and experiencing the city firsthand added another layer of understanding to what was read in class.
Interning at IRM and interacting with people in Islamabad put my entire education at Habib University so far, into perspective. I learned and absorbed the workings of an NGO – which is more technical than I expected, and also had the opportunity to observe how models of development work on ground.
My primary task during the internship was to write a research paper; I was researching on the laws related to employees with special needs in Islamabad, as well as their job satisfaction.
As a student of Social Development & Policy (SDP), it was extremely eye-opening to learn about the (quite inadequate) policy level provisions for employees with special needs and their (mediocre) enforcement. Most of the people I interviewed had no knowledge that such laws exist, and they found it very surprising that they were entitled to some services by the public and private sectors.
Overall, the internship contributed positively to my professional, academic, and personal growth. I would like to thank the Habib University SDP program management to have given me such an opportunity!
This blog was written by Uzair Ibrahim, Junior at HU’s School of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (AHSS), majoring in Social Development & Policy (SDP), Class of 2018. He spent his summer interning at the Institute of Rural Management (IRM), Islamabad.
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