IVCS - How to apply for the Experience Rural India scheme

Applying for the "Experience Rural India" scheme

Jasmine does a science demonstration for schoolchildren

India has very strict cultural traditions and etiquette and these must always be respected. Spending time at a development project can be very rewarding but it can also be frustrating. You may not have any privacy (at some projects you may live with a project worker and his family) and therefore you must be willing to fit in and adapt to a very different way of life.

For these reasons IVCS operates a two way selection process as follows:

If you are interested in joining the scheme, check the dates we're operating for arrival in India. If they're suitable for you, complete the application form and return it, with your membership fee, to IVCS. (click here for Word format)
Once you have become a member of IVCS, you will be invited to attend an informal interview. The majority of these take place in London, but wherever possible, we try to arrange interviews with returned project visitors in your locality. The interview is intended to give you further insight into the scheme before you make the final commitment. It also enables IVCS to find out more about you and to see whether the scheme is suitable for you or not.
If your interview goes well and you are confident that you would like to take part in the scheme, you will then be required to pay a placement fee of Ł160 to IVCS. This includes Ł25 for the compulsory UK orientation and Ł135 for your three week orientation in India.
Finally, please note that you must attend an orientation day; no one may go to India under the auspices of IVCS unless they have done so. If, after the orientation, you decide that the scheme is not for you or IVCS feels that you would not benefit from it, your placement can be cancelled and the remaining moneys will be returned to you.
Special arrangements apply for applicants from outside the UK