From Academy students to young OSCE professionals
The OSCE Academy in Bishkek, a well-established regional centre for post-graduate education, capacity building and research, worked closely with the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek in the summer of 2017 to provide additional broad-ranging internship opportunities for its students.
Five aspiring Academy students, Ermek, Fikret, Nuriza, Khalil and Shakhlo, had an opportunity to work along the Programme Office staff and engage in concrete projects.
“While doing my internship at the Office of Head of Mission, I got a strong feeling that I can really contribute to a positive change in Central Asia,” said Khalil. “I am now employed at a well-established donor organization, working on co-operation and development projects. The skills and knowledge I enhanced during my internship were definitely a contributing factor to the success I have had so far.”
Ermek said the internship experience was why he chose this particular master’s degree. “My vision is to improve public administration and security in the country.”
“The internship at the Office allowed me to combine interests in human development, gender issues, and science with my graphic design and marketing skills,” said Shakhlo. “I love working on projects that improve people’s life and advance fair treatment of all.”
Fikret worked at a bank for several years before enrolling on the Economic Governance and Development programme at the Academy. “I love crunching and analysing numbers and enjoy researching new opportunities for the progressive development of the banking sector in Kyrgyzstan. I have a keen interest in promoting green economy, and my internship experience at the Economic and Environmental Dimension Office helped me develop ideas which I plan to implement in the future.”
“My internship helped me not to be afraid to challenge myself,” said Nuriza. “I plan to work in the NGO sector in the future, and the hands-on experience I gained working on complex projects at the Politico-Military Dimension Office has prepared me well for a great start in my career.”
“The Academy is proud of the multifaceted accomplishments of its students and graduates,” said, Director of the OSCE Academy Alexander Wolters. “We are looking forward to training even more bright regional professionals and researchers in the future!”
The OSCE Academy seeks to offer more varied internship placements to its students and welcomes all interested organizations to host interns from its MA programmes in the future.
Facebook page with testimonies and pictures featuring the interns can be found here.