INTERSHIP BATCH 2026
Samiksha Manaktala- blog head
As a Digital Content and Social Media Intern at the Tinka Tinka Foundation, I worked on managing Blogger content, formatting and uploading posts, and supporting social media engagement across platforms. My experience allowed me to contribute to digital storytelling focused on inmate voices and prison reforms. Through content handling, audience interaction, and creative support, I gained practical exposure to meaningful communication and socially impactful media work.
During my internship with the Tinka Tinka Foundation, I contributed to creative and communication-based work across various prison reform initiatives. My work included designing posters, social media creatives, banners, teaser campaigns, video content, and proofreading materials. I also participated in event coverage and branding activities, with designing the internship certificate being one of the most meaningful experiences of my journey.
I was a Content Writing intern at the Tinka Tinka Foundation. Joined with the motivation to learn about the enduring cause of reforming prisons, the internship nurtured a serene sense of empathy in me. I wrote articles over the Prison Reform in India and reformative actions taken up by Tinka Tinka, especially on the unique initiative of Jail Radios established in various prisons of India.
This internship changed something in me. Spending three months designing content for a prison reform organisation, I realised that journalism is not just about covering what is visible and convenient. Working in a space dedicated to restoring dignity to people society has forgotten made me more disciplined, more empathetic, and far more intentional about the kind of stories I want to tell. I leave knowing exactly the journalist I want to become.
Neelam - graphic designer
During my internship at the Tinka Tinka Foundation, I worked as a graphic designer, creating visual content to support social awareness campaigns and outreach initiatives. This experience helped me strengthen my creative and technical skills while understanding the impact of design in storytelling. It was a meaningful journey where I contributed to purposeful initiatives and learned to communicate ideas effectively through visuals.
Tanu Gola-
Tinka Tinka Foundation genuinely changed me. I came in as a student looking to learn skills, I left as someone who understands why their work matters.I grew through every feedback, every revision, every conversation with a team that made me feel heard, trusted, and valued. I learned empathy, discipline but more than anything, a quiet conviction that good content can amplify voices the world too often ignores.
row2: left to right:Aarya Raina ,Neelam, Samiksha Manaktala, S. Keerthana
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I had the privilege of completing my internship with the Tinka Tinka Foundation under the guidance of Dr. Vartika Nanda. This experience went far beyond a conventional internship, as it offered a space that encouraged creativity, responsibility, and independent thinking. It allowed me to not only strengthen my existing skills but also step into a leadership role while contributing meaningfully to the organization’s work.
One of the most significant aspects of my internship was the opportunity to serve as a coordinator between the interns and Dr. Vartika Nanda. In this role, I was responsible for streamlining communication, ensuring that tasks were clearly understood, and helping maintain a smooth workflow within the team. This position also allowed me to act as a mentor to fellow interns, guiding them through their assignments, assisting them with creative processes, and supporting them in adapting to the work environment. This experience helped me develop leadership, coordination, and interpersonal skills.
My primary area of work revolved around video editing and poster creation, where I contributed to various creative and documentation - based tasks. These included:
Designing posters aligned with the foundation’s message and campaigns
Assisting in photo documentation of activities and events
Managing and organizing documents for internal use
Creating visually engaging content to communicate ideas effectively
Social Media management through activating recent postings
Through these responsibilities, I gained a deeper understanding of how design and media are used as tools for storytelling and social impact. Poster-making, in particular, helped me explore how visual elements such as layout, typography, and colour can influence communication. Similarly, video editing enhanced my ability to structure narratives, making content more engaging and meaningful.
An important highlight of my internship was the field visit to All India Radio (AIR). This experience provided valuable exposure to the practical functioning of media institutions. Observing how content is curated, recorded, and broadcast helped me connect theoretical knowledge with real-world applications. It broadened my understanding of communication platforms and strengthened my interest in media and content creation.
Working under Dr. Vartika Nanda was an enriching experience in itself. Her approach to mentorship encouraged independence while also providing constant support. She created an environment where learning was not limited to assigned tasks but extended to exploration and self-growth. Being associated with the Tinka Tinka Foundation, which works towards meaningful social engagement, made the experience even more impactful.
Throughout the internship, I not only enhanced my technical skills but also developed qualities such as responsibility, adaptability, and teamwork. Managing multiple roles from creative tasks to coordination helped me become more organized and confident in my abilities. Overall, my time at the Tinka Tinka Foundation was deeply rewarding. It provided me with practical exposure, strengthened my creative and leadership skills, and gave me a clearer direction in the field of media and content creation. I am sincerely grateful to Dr. Vartika Nanda and the entire team for entrusting me with responsibilities and for their constant guidance and support. The learnings from this experience will continue to shape my academic and professional journey.
Completing my internship at the Tinka Tinka Foundation under the guidance of Dr. Vartika Nanda was one of the most enriching learning experiences of my academic journey. The internship provided me with an environment that encouraged creativity, responsibility, and independent thinking. It not only helped me enhance my existing skills but also gave me the opportunity to take on leadership responsibilities while contributing meaningfully to the organization’s work.
One of the most valuable aspects of my internship was the opportunity to work as a coordinator between the interns and Dr. Vartika Nanda. In this role, I was responsible for streamlining communication, ensuring that tasks were clearly understood, and helping maintain an efficient workflow within the team. I also guided fellow interns through their assignments, assisted them during creative processes, and supported them in adapting to the work environment. This experience greatly enhanced my leadership, coordination, and interpersonal skills.
My primary area of work focused on video editing and poster creation, where I contributed to a variety of creative and documentation-based tasks. These included designing posters aligned with the foundation’s campaigns and message, assisting in photo documentation of events and activities, organizing documents for internal use, creating visually engaging content, and managing social media through regular and active postings. Through these responsibilities, I gained a deeper understanding of how media and design can be used as powerful tools for storytelling and social impact. Poster-making helped me explore how visual elements such as layout, typography, and colour influence communication, while video editing strengthened my ability to structure narratives in a more engaging and meaningful way.
One of the highlights of my internship was the field visit to All India Radio. This experience gave me valuable exposure to the practical functioning of media institutions. Observing how content is curated, recorded, and broadcast helped me connect theoretical concepts with real-world media practices. It further broadened my understanding of communication platforms and strengthened my interest in media and content creation.
Working under Dr. Vartika Nanda was an enriching experience in itself. Her mentorship encouraged independence while always providing guidance and support whenever needed. She created an environment where learning extended beyond assigned tasks and became a journey of exploration, creativity, and self-growth. Being associated with the Tinka Tinka Foundation, an organization dedicated to meaningful social engagement, made the internship even more impactful and memorable.
This internship became much more than a professional experience for me; it was a journey of growth, learning, and self-discovery. It helped me become more confident, organized, and adaptable while strengthening both my creative and leadership abilities. The trust, guidance, and opportunities provided by Dr. Vartika Nanda and the entire team have left a lasting impact on me. I will always remain grateful for this experience, as it has not only shaped my perspective towards media and communication but has also inspired me to use creativity as a meaningful tool for social impact.
Three months with the Tinka Tinka Foundation changed not just what I can do, but how I think about what I am doing.
On a technical level, the internship pushed me to develop and refine skills across multiple platforms. My design work on Canva became significantly more intentional — moving from functional to genuinely communicative. My video editing on Premiere Pro became cleaner and more structured, with a sharper sense of pacing. My written content became more precise, more journalistically grounded, and more aligned with the ethical weight the subject demanded.
Beyond the technical, the internship instilled a discipline I had not previously maintained consistently. Working under Dr. Vartika Nanda meant being prepared at all times — to receive feedback without defensiveness, to revise without hesitation, and to deliver without excuse. I learned that consistency is not a trait one either has or lacks; it is something that an unforgiving environment teaches you to build.
Most significantly, this internship clarified what kind of journalist I want to become. Not one who only covers what is visible and loud, but one who can find, earn, and tell the stories that exist in the spaces society would rather not look at.
There is a tendency, from the outside, to romanticise work in social reform. The reality is steadier and more demanding than any romanticisation allows.
Prison reform, as the Tinka Tinka Foundation practises it, is not the work of grand gestures. It is the work of sustained presence — of going back, again and again, to institutions that are difficult to access and even more difficult to change. It is the work of earning trust from inmates and administrators alike, of creating conditions where a person who has been told their voice does not matter begins to believe, tentatively, that it might. The jail radios, the songs, the wall paintings, the libraries — none of these appeared overnight, and none of them persist without continuous effort.
When I think about what I contributed over three months — a set of posters, carousels, and edited videos — alongside the years of work that people like Dr. Vartika Nanda have invested, I am struck less by pride than by perspective. I was briefly part of something much larger. What I take from it is not a sense of completion but a standard to return to — a reminder of what journalism, at its most purposeful, can look like.
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