CIS Internship Programme

Job Description

CIS is excited to be restarting its internship program for the summer. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and continued requirements on physical distancing, this program will be run remotely. Applicants can apply for a slot running for a minimum of 4 weeks between April 15 – August 1, 2020.

Interns may be expected to work on a range of tasks-from undertaking literature reviews, to editing or proof-reading documents, and writing or co-writing pieces of their choice. The exact nature of work will be decided on a case-by-case basis, in consultation with supervisors.
Interns will be expected to work full time, i.e. they should be working on CIS related tasks for 40 hours a week, and will be expected to respond to calls/texts between 10AM-6PM Monday to Friday. Supervisors will schedule check-in-calls twice a week.

Interns will receive a stipend.

If you are interested in applying for any of these slots, please send in an internship application to internship@cis-india.org by April 4, 2020. Applicants can expect to hear back from us by April 12, 2020. Unless asked for by a prospective supervisor, there will be no interview, and applicants will be judged on the basis of their written application.
Your application should include:
- An updated CV
- Two writing samples
- A covering e-mail clearly stating your top 3 work areas of preference, and why you are interested in these areas.

Presently, the work areas for our internship program include:
- Regulating AI: Developing regulatory frameworks for AI technologies, from a value standpoint of advancing both public interests as well as innovation.
- Geopolitics and Regulatory Frameworks for Cybersecurity:
- Promoting norms for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace;
- Developing coherent frameworks for governing emerging technologies in India.
- Freedom of Expression on the Internet:
- Analysing the Constitutional provision that enables the right to free speech, and jurisprudence around what is permissible speech online;
- Analysing content moderation policies;
- Researching intermediary liability regimes.
- Intermediary Liability:
- Analyzing regulations in India and around the world which govern liability of online intermediaries that deal with user-generated content
- Studying safe harbour and other forms of intermediary liability regimes, effectiveness of existing measures, and possible best practices to combat illegal content online.
- Internet Governance: Public interest engagement at internet governance forums.
- Advancing Public Interest in Indian and International Standards: Research relating to information security, privacy and biometrics, contributing public interest efforts at standards development bodies in both Indian and International contexts.
- Domestic and International Copyright Law: Public interest research around limitations and exceptions in domestic and international copyright law.
- Advancing Open Science: Research on open access to scholarly publications and the open data framework.
- Digital ID Research:
- Studying the appropriate uses of Digital ID;
- Researching the technology and policy design of Digital ID systems.
- Reproductive Health Surveillance: Primary research into the surveillance of women, queer, and trans persons as they access reproductive health services.
- Domestic Work and Platformization:
- Primary research into online platforms offering domestic and care services;
- Focus on work conditions, role of platforms as intermediaries, and protection of labour rights.
- Gender and Technology: Critically interrogating questions at the intersection of technology and gender, class, caste, sexuality, and other relevant social locations and factors.
- Open Data for Asia: Research into open data initiatives in Asia on gendered data, and legislative and budgetary data.

Qualifications

The internship call is open only for Indian residents, both students and professionals. Womxn and individuals from under-represented communities are specifically encouraged to apply.