New Delhi, Sept. 24 -- When South Asian students think about international experience, the conversation usually jumps to a full degree overseas. That is the most expensive version of mobility and, for many students, the least accessible.

The region should pay more attention to a smaller model: short cross-border internships, semester projects and supervised work placements within South Asia itself.

A student in Kathmandu could spend six weeks with a social enterprise in Dhaka. A management student in Colombo could join a logistics company in Bengaluru for a summer. Journalism, public health, tourism, climate research and technology programmes could all build regional placements around problems that cross borders already.

Short Placemen...