The IIS Officer Trainees undergo outbound trainings in various organizations to gain valuable exposure and to equip themselves with the skills necessary to excel at the roles they will be called upon to perform in the future.
1. Non Governmental Organization (25 March – 1 April 2013)
Every Officer Trainee was attached with a Non-Governmental organization of his/her choice for a week. The mandate of the officer trainee was to understand the communication strategy of the NGO and its role in helping the organization fulfill its mission.
Besides sensitizing the budding civil servants to various social issues, the attachment also served to develop in them an appreciation of the enormity of the task before a communicator when addressing social issues.
2.Parliament of India (8 April – 10 April 2013)
The Officer Trainees attended a three-day training programme in Parliamentary Procedures & Practices at the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training (BPST) of the Parliament of India. Eminent parliamentarians as well as civil servants of repute with a rich exposure to the workings of the supreme law-making body of India shared their experience and wisdom with the trainees. The trainees also got to visit the different legislative Chambers – the very seat of all the action.
3. Film and Television Institute of India (11 April – 26 April, 2013)
The attachment at the The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune gave the Officer Trainees a welcome departure into the world of films. The training programme at FTII introduced the trainees into the art as well as science of the discipline of film-making. Besides this, the judiciously chosen timing of the training ensured that the trainees could also be a part of the first National Students” Film Awards and the Students’ Film Festival of India , organized jointly by FTII and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute ( SRFTI), Kolkata.
The trainees got the unique opportunity to watch a lot of good, offbeat and edifying short films from student film-makers in India as well as abroad. This experience made the Officer Trainees realize the value of short films as a medium. It also helped them become better in the art of film appreciation. Moreover, through their work in various committees that together organized and conducted the festival, the trainees also got some valuable insights into the conceptualization, organization and management of an art event of such a large scale.
4.Election Commission of India (27 April – 5 May 2013)
The trainees got a very unique and wonderful opportunity to work as Associate Voters’ Awareness Observers for the 2013 Karnataka State Assembly Elections. Each Officer Trainee was allotted a different district. The mandate of the awareness observer was to observe and assess i) the effectiveness of various SVEEP (Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation) activities undertaken in his/her district and ii) voters’ awareness in terms of information and motivation levels that dictate whether they are likely to go and cast their vote or not.
The opportunity to be a part of the pivotal democratic exercise of our nation and that of working at the grassroots level was indeed a very enriching and insightful experience for the trainees.
5. Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (date)
The IIS Officer Trainees had the privilege of participating in the day long seminar organized by the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis which mainly focused on India’ s Marine and Coastal Security. The Officer Trainees were enlightened Role of Indian Navy in Maintaining Peace in Indian Ocean Region. The Seminar was attended by senior Naval Officers from various countries. There were representatives from the developing countries like South Africa and Sri Lanka to developed countries such as Japan and Singapore.
The Speakers include Senior Defence Officers, Defence Analysts and Officers who are at the helm of affairs in Defence Forces in their respective countries. There are expert opinions from eminent personalities like Arvind Virmani who has served as Chief Economic Advisor to Government of India and India’s representative at International Monetary Fund. He spoke on trade and economic issues of India in relation to nations in the Pacific Ocean region.Admiral Perera from Sri Lanka spoke about the rehabilitation and resettlement of Sri Lankan Tamils post civil war with LTTE. The former Ambassador of India to Philippines Shri Yogendra Kumar was also among the keynote speakers.
The IIS Officer Trainees followed the proceedings with utmost attention and raised several questions on various issues throughout the seminar and tried to clear their doubts in the areas unfamiliar to them. All in all, it was a great learning experience in coastal security, trade, economics and geo-politics of Indian Ocean region.
IIS Officer Trainees 