Finance
Odisha’s Higher Education Department has just introduced the Apprenticeship Embedded Degree Programme (AEDP) for undergraduate students, in accordance with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. This new program attempts to combine classroom learning with real-world industry experience, so students don’t simply learn from textbooks but also get to work in their fields. Here’s how it works: students spend the first two years concentrating on their usual academic courses. Then there’s a mandated apprenticeship in the third year, when they spend a year obtaining practical experience. Even better, the department requires students to receive a formal stipend during their training, which not only benefits them financially but also prepares them for real-world careers.
The curriculum is pretty broad. There are apprenticeship tracks in eleven subjects—commerce, home science, economics, history, English, zoology, mathematics, library science, chemistry, geology, and botany. If you’ve finished your Plus II (higher secondary) education, you’re good to apply. NEP 2020 is all about flexible learning, so students get plenty of choices. When applying, you can build your own academic route: choose a single major with two minors, pick double majors, or go for three minor subjects, depending on what interests you.
This year’s applications are totally online. You must submit everything through the Student Academic Management System (SAMS) portal, and the deadline is June 10—not much time remains. After the forms are received, the Higher Education Department will issue the first official merit list on June 17. The state wants things to go quickly: enrollment should be completed soon, and undergraduate classes will begin for the next session on July 9, 2026.
