VICHARANASHALA LAB, IIT ROPAR

SUMMERSHIP 2026 — HONOR CODE

Honor Code for Projects, Collaboration, and Conduct
This internship is built on real-world problem solving, collaborative product development, and professional
standards. Participation in this program implies agreement to the following honor code.
1. Ownership of Work and Academic Integrity
• All submissions, including code, documentation, and project deliverables, must reflect your team’s original
work.
• Use of external resources (including open-source code, AI tools, tutorials) is permitted. The program
provides access to approved AI models, with usage managed through team leads; however, participants may
also use other tools independently. In all cases, outputs must be appropriately adapted, fully understood, and
clearly acknowledged.
• Blind copying, superficial modifications, or submitting work without understanding constitutes a violation
of this code.
2. Git and Technical Contribution Standards
• All teams are required to maintain an active and transparent version history through Git.
• Contribution from the team members should be documented by the sequence of prompts with authors. This
should be recorded as Git commits.
• Each team member must demonstrate consistent and traceable contributions through commits, pull requests,
issue tracking, or equivalent workflows.
• Commits must be meaningful, attributable, and reflective of actual work done.
• Fabricated, backdated, or artificially inflated contributions will be treated as misconduct.
3. Team Accountability and Free-Riding
• This internship is designed as a team-based learning environment. Every member is expected to contribute
substantively.
• Teams are collectively responsible for their output, but individual accountability will be assessed through
contribution data, peer inputs, and mentor evaluations.
• In cases of non-participation or free-riding: teams are expected to flag concerns early through defined
reporting channels; verified cases may lead to removal of the non-contributing member from the team and/or
internship.
• Passive inclusion in a team without meaningful contribution will not qualify for successful completion.
4. Intellectual Property (IP), Open Source, and Credit
• All project outputs created during the internship are part of a shared learning and innovation ecosystem and
will be open sourced as part of the lab’s broader ecosystem.
• While contributions are made within teams, the overall project direction, architecture, and ownership remain
with the lab.
• Individual contributions will be acknowledged where they are significant, clearly attributable, and
verifiable, but participation alone does not imply ownership.
• Credit will be attributed based on verifiable contribution, not just team membership.
• Teams must maintain clarity on: who contributed what, how decisions were made, and how components
were developed.
• Unauthorized use, redistribution, or claiming ownership of others’ work—within or outside the cohort—is
strictly prohibited.
 • The projects assigned during this internship are part of ongoing research initiatives within the lab, many of
which are already in advanced stages of development led by PhD scholars and research teams. The core ideas,
research direction, and foundational work for these projects originate from and remain the intellectual
contribution of the respective research scholars and the lab.
• Student participation in these projects is understood as a contributory role—focused on development,
extension, implementation, or refinement of existing work. Any form of authorship, acknowledgment, or
inclusion in publications, reports, or public outputs will be based strictly on the nature, quality, and
significance of individual contribution, and determined at the sole discretion of the supervising faculty,
research scholar, or Principal Investigator (PI).
• Participation in the internship or association with a project does not automatically entitle a student to
authorship, ownership, or formal credit beyond what is explicitly granted by the supervising authority.
5. Collaboration Ethics
• Collaboration is encouraged within your team and within defined program boundaries.
• Given that all projects are open source, teams are free to explore, learn from, and draw inspiration from
other teams’ work. However, this must not cross into direct copying, replication without understanding, or
presenting another team’s work as your own.
• Inspiration is acceptable; imitation without attribution is not. Any external ideas or references must be
meaningfully adapted and clearly acknowledged.
• Seeking help is acceptable; outsourcing work or relying on others to complete your tasks is not.
6. Professional Conduct
• All communication within teams, with mentors, and on official platforms must remain respectful, timely,
and constructive.
• Disagreements are expected in real-world work; how you navigate them is part of your learning.
• Escalations should be made responsibly and through formal channels when necessary.
7. Compliance and Consequences
• This honor code is not symbolic. It is actively monitored through participation data, Git activity, peer
feedback, and mentor reviews.
• Violations may result in: warnings and corrective actions; removal from team projects; dismissal from the
internship; disqualification from certification or future opportunities.
8. Commitment to the Opportunity
• This internship is designed to simulate real-world expectations—where accountability, integrity, and
contribution define outcomes.
• Being part of this program is not just about participation, but about earning your place through consistent,
visible, and meaningful work.
By signing below, I acknowledge that I have read, understood, and agree to abide by this Honor Code for the
full duration of Summership 2026.

Full name as registered:

Email ID (registered):

Date:

Signature