Amrita University Internships: Integrating Learning and Community Impact
During summer 2025, UA Human Rights Practice students undertook internships with Amrita University's LiveIn Labs program. From left to right they are Aaron Womack, Beatriz Winters, and Anusha Sharma.
In summer 2025, three Human Rights Practice students completed internships with Amrita University's Live-in-Labs®. The experiences were funded through the Resilience Internships and Student Experiences (RISE) Program provided by the Arizona Institute for Resilience. The Human Rights Practice Program is grateful to AIR for providing this opportunity to our students. This overview was written by Anusha Sharma. To read more about the experience of Anusha and other students, see links below.
University of Arizona intern Anusha Sharma spending the evening with the children and a playful goat, sharing laughter and building connections beyond the day’s activities.
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, a world-class research and education institution in India, provides unique immersive learning opportunities through its Live-in-Labs® and community-based internship programs. These initiatives engage students in rural and coastal communities to address sustainable development issues, combining academic learning with real-world impact.
The Seaweed Livelihood & Coastal Resilience Initiative, for example, was designed to empower women in the coastal community of Solakuddi in Tamil Nadu. The project promoted sustainable marine resource management, such as seaweed farming, seagrass restoration, and ecological awareness, while also building confidence through lessons in swimming and group activities. Interactive learning games like the "Ocean Bazaar" inspired discussions about sustainable harvesting, while reflection activities and community mapping enabled players to share their own ecological knowledge.
Team members and community women proudly holding the ‘Pink is the New Blue’ banner, celebrating women’s leadership and empowerment in coastal livelihoods.
Amritapuri, the spot where the internship took place, is located along the peaceful Kerala coastline and is home to Amma's Ashram, which attracts individuals from all over the world looking for clarity and peace. This rare setting transformed Amrita into a cultural melting pot, where I met students and professionals from all backgrounds and perspectives, resulting in an interesting, multicultural experience.
This internship displayed how grassroots interventions may improve both student learning and community resilience by building trust, confidence, and meaningful connections while assisting women who have traditionally been excluded from marine-based livelihoods.
To read blogposts by individual students, you can visit:
Building Coastal Resilience and Women's Empowerment: My Internship at Amrita University by Anusha Sharma
RISE Internship Lessons in India: Building Life and Career Skills Experientially by Aaron Womack
Threads of Resilience: Lessons from Women Entrepreneurs in India by Beatriz Winters