Architects in India have to endure exploitative internships in order to complete their studies, according to recent graduate Urvashi Vasishtha. With unpaid internships under the spotlight, she spoke to Dezeen about the situation in her country.
Working long hours for low wages "left us feeling unvalued," Vasishtha said. "It dipped our confidence, decreased our drive and passion for the field, and left us doubting our faith in the profession."
Vasishtha contacted Dezeen following reports that leading studios in Japan and Chile expect young architects to work for free to gain experience.
In India things are just as bad, she said, with interns commonly paid paltry salaries or nothing at all.
"It filters out talent," she said. "Some exceptionally talented students in my batch could not intern with top-tier firms because they were financially unable to accept the offer." Interns are afraid of speaking up
There are even persistent rumours about studios that expect interns to pay for the privilege to work there, although Vasishtha said it was hard to find concrete evidence because interns are afraid to speak up.
"The interns are afraid that doing so may cause hindrance in obtaining an ideal training certificate and may ostracise them in the fraternity," she said.

Architecture students in India need to complete 100 days of work experience at a studio in order to get a training certificate. The competition for these precious interns...