Internships
INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
The Institute of International Relations is committed to ensuring the highest quality of education and professional development for its students. As such, great effort and attention has been dedicated to researching and placing our qualified students in meaningful internship experiences that benefit both students and employers. The IIR's Internship Programme is overseen by an internship coordinator who may be contacted at IIR.Internship@sta.uwi.edu or through the IIR's secretariat.
FOR EMPLOYERS FOR STUDENTS
CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES
Please see the available internship opportunities below:
1. The Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) is seeking 2 interns (stipend of TTD 1500/month) for the period July-August 2023. The interns will report to the Unit Head of Regional ICT Policy Development.
The internship would include gaining an understanding of the current regional and international internet and digital policy landscape with emphasis on the following areas:
a. Organizations such as ITU, ICANN, ARIN and LACNIC.
b. The United Nations Global Digital Compact and the Summit of the Future-2024 and various UN-related resolutions.
Please see attached documents for more details on the internships offered.
If interested, candidates must submit:
- Curriculum Vitae
- 100-word statement of interest in the internship
Students who are conducting research in this area are especially encouraged to apply. Interested applicants should forward the required documents (1 and 2 above) to Maryam.Ali-Khan@sta.uwi.edu
Deadline for receiving applications: June 27th, 2023. Late applications will not be considered.
STUDENT TESTIMONIALS
Meet Leeanna, Class of 2018
First and foremost , the IIR Internship programme is your privilege as a student, and what a privilege it was putting theory into practice! I enrolled in the PG Diploma programme full time 2015/2016 and then the MSc Global Studies part-time 2016-2018. During that period I accepted the call to volunteer as a Rapporteur for CARICOM IMPACS and during this time I was accepted for a job opportunity that was set up through the IIR Internship programme. I was employed at UN ECLAC as an individual contractor, Research Assistant. Representing the IIR at this international organization proved fruitful as I contributed to various platforms: published magazines, Brown Bag Series Presentations, online publications, UN missions, meeting reports and real time research. Participating in the international system even on a local level is crucial to personal and career growth. If you allow the experiences to mould your character and maintain confidence in your skill-set complemented with the humility to learn, they would prove to be invaluable. This is the beauty of the multidisciplinary field of IR, it happens in real-time. Constructive discussions in the classroom are meant to enhance your perspectives on Global Governance in the real world and so dearest colleagues, the internship programme is definitely one to be utilized.
Meet Megan, Class of 2018
I expected my internship experience to be just that – an internship. I did not expect that I would be hired afterwards but I’m really grateful that I was, as I have continued to learn so much from being in this environment. It was overwhelming at times initially, especially as I had to learn a lot in little time but as with everything, with practice I became more comfortable with my tasks, and my colleagues were also there to support me. I must admit that working in an Embassy has allowed me to gain so much knowledge about the Diplomatic world – how to draft different types of diplomatic communications, how to interact with members of the Diplomatic Corps, Ministries etc. I have also been quite lucky that my Diplomatic Mission is a small one, so I have had to work quite closely with the Ambassador and the other employees. It has been a privilege having to work together to pull events together. It makes you a Jack-of-all-trades, which is a definite skill that will serve you well in any job.
As a Consular Assistant, the practical aspects of the job have required that I learn about some aspects of immigration law and other legal terms; I also cannot stress enough how much my level of Spanish has improved! I will be ever grateful for having been given the opportunity to apply for the internship.
I strongly encourage anyone to apply for internships, even if you think you’re not qualified enough, or you question whether you can really do it. All new experiences are challenging at first but once you persevere you will prove to your harshest critic (which usually is yourself!) that you can do it. And people do recognise when you try your best. I believe that this is why I got the job. Persevere, don’t be afraid to ask for help, and don’t stop learning – those are three things I think will help you as you go into any job. My internship literally prepared me for the job I was to get, but even if it does not lead to employment afterwards, the skills you would have gained will serve you well anywhere you go. Don’t deny yourself the opportunity!
