The festival runs for six days with an attendance of more than 300,000, and is the world's largest free literary festival.
It has satellite events in Colorado, London and, as of February 2017, Melbourne.
In addition to showcasing writers, commentators and artists from throughout India, the festival has hosted international guests such as Stephen Fry, Margaret Atwood, Thomas Piketty and Oprah Winfrey, plus recent Booker Prize winners Marlon James, Paul Beatty and Richard Flanagan.
Senior lecturer in the Bachelor of Communication (Public Relations) Philippa Brear was a delegate at the festival in 2016 and saw the opportunity for students to immerse themselves in a different culture, while building first-hand experience of the workings of a major international cultural event.
“The festival's management team, headed by Sanjoy Roy, has been incredibly responsive and enthusiastic about the participation of our students,” she said.
“We're delighted that a larger group of students, from a wider range of degrees, will intern at the festival in 2018."
Ankur Bhardwaj, from the festival’s management team, recently visited Melbourne and met with students who will travel to India in 2018.
“We had a great group of RMIT interns at this year’s festival, and the 2018 group shows the same keenness and commitment,” he said.
Dante Boffa, a student in RMIT’s public relations degree, said he was interested in the study tour because our industry horizons are increasingly international.
“This study tour will give me an opportunity to learn about one of the world’s fastest-developing countries, plus build my professional skills," he said.
The festival selects 300 interns and volunteers each year from a highly competitive field.
RMIT’s students are the only international group interning at the event.
Selected from undergraduate and postgraduate programs in the School of Media and Communication, they will assist in managing a major international cultural event, working across areas including venue management, social media, merchandising, logistics and staging.
The study tour is part of the RMIT’s Work Integrated Learning (WIL) program, and the students’ work at the festival will be assessed and contribute toward their degrees.
RMIT's 2017 festival interns recorded their experiences online and on a study tour website.
Story: Wendy Little
