International Internship Experiences
I completed my internship this summer at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (UN-ESCAP) in Bangkok, Thailand. Within ESCAP, I worked with the Environment and Development Division where I was involved in conducting and shaping research in the area of adaptive governance for UN-ESCAP's flagship report on sustainable development. My work entailed providing support to the lead author of the chapter on adaptive and inclusive governance. For that purpose, I was responsible for conducting general research on the topic, finding case studies from the regions reflecting specific aspects of adaptive governance and resilience, and revising chapter outlines and preparing literature review on effectiveness of participatory processes in environmental governance.
This internship was a very nice learning experience. First, I got to work with a UN agency and see how things work in a large UN regional office. Second, I got to live in a new country, experience its culture, and travel to new places. Thailand is a beautiful country with amazing people and lots of nice places to visit. The capital city, Bangkok, is very cosmopolitan with so many different things to do. From beautiful old Temples to European/American styled shopping malls; from authentic Thai neighborhood alongside fishing canals to skyscraper studded central business district; from loud Tuk-Tuk's to one of the cleanest metro-rail services I've ever seen, Bangkok possesses an interesting mix of everything. Also, since ESCAP accepts a lot of interns from other masters programs in the US and different parts of the world, I had a nice social circle consisting of interns from very interesting and diverse backgrounds.
