UNIDO’s interns working to shape our future

“You are not just an intern, you are part of the whole UNIDO team!,” said Julia Dorbandt, intern in the Department of External Relations.

The UNIDO internship programme dates back to the 1990s and continues to grow and improve. Young, bright students and recent graduates come from all over the world and find their place in the UNIDO family, like pieces of a colourful puzzle. Every intern adds value to the Organization by bringing his or her skills, experience and ideas.

Diversity and inclusion are key elements of the programme, together with an eye to the future.

2017-2018 have been a showcase of great cultural diversity with interns joining from five continents and 57 different countries. “You need to fully embrace the cultural diversity here,” said Angel Wen, intern in Department of Programme, Partnerships and Field Integration.

Seventy-three young talents from 24 nationalities are on board this August at UNIDO’s Vienna Headquarters, while 28 interns have so far this year had the opportunity to work in Liaison, Field and Investment and Technology Promotion Offices in Belgium, Ethiopia, Guinea, Iran, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Nigeria, the Republic of Korea, Sudan, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey and Uruguay.

“The experience I am having here is unique and helpful. I am learning how to coordinate and communicate with other institutions, how to understand the needs of developing countries and the ways developed countries can give their support. I believe this is the essence of international cooperation: be target-oriented and understand each other,” affirms Seungsoo Lee, intern at the Investment and Technology Promotion Office in Seoul, Republic of Korea.

“I am very proud of our internship programme. The enthusiasm and energy of our interns are amazing. Their talent and passion constitute a vital part of the UNIDO family. As such, we commit to share with them our knowledge and value their contribution to inclusive and sustainable industrial development,” said Fatou Haidara, Managing Director of Corporate Management and Operations at UNIDO.

The internship programme provides an opportunity to apply concepts and theories learnt at the university to real development issues around the world. Each and every day of the internship is different, opening minds and horizons and offering the chance to establish long-lasting relationships.

“Being an intern in UNIDO was an amazing experience. I had the opportunity to meet and work with an outstanding group of individuals that contributed to my personal and professional growth,” said David Agudelo Romero, intern in the Department of Trade, Investment and Innovation.

The educational and professional backgrounds are truly diverse. They vary from energy to agriculture, from environment to gender studies and from information technology to international relations. Departmental divisions within UNIDO work in synergy and towards the achievement of cross-organizational development objectives, such as the contribution to the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. Combined with the interns’ passion for learning, this allows the possibility to gain valuable experience in inter-disciplinary areas such as project management, organizational strategy, corporate management, research and many others.

“With the assistance of interns, we incorporate new ideas into our planning, scale up the impact of our work, and create an enjoyable work environment,” Fukuya Iino, Industrial Development Officer in the Department of Environment. “In return, UNIDO improves interns’ job market value by providing on-the-job training in various aspects of our work such as project concept development, project resource management, procurement, event organization and communications. It is not surprising that many interns start delivering professional results long before their internships end, as they are competent and very much motivated to demonstrate what they can do as a member of UNIDO, striving to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”.

“My six months internship in UNIDO doing research on the synergies between quality labels and local food products opened many doors for me. Currently, and thanks to the experience in UNIDO, I am working as a Quality Manager for an Austrian retail company, taking care of the control of food products and suppliers of national companies in Eastern Europe,” said former intern Laura Natalia Fernandez.

The UNIDO internship experience has been described by the participants as “gratifying”, “rewarding”, “thrilling and exhilarating”.

“I feel like I am really making a difference for people in need,” shares Nicolas Schmidt, intern in the Department of Agribusiness.

Young international talents work hard to shape our future, to contribute to UNIDO’s mandate and improve the quality of life across the world.

The key to UNIDO’s success is its people.

For more information, please visit the internship programme’s webpage, or contact: internship@unido.org