Updated: March 23, 2017
FromMarch 17 to 18, a range of interviews, seminars and salons regarding the internship at the United Nations were held at the College of Foreign Languages and Cultures (CFLC) of Xiamen University. As part of “Global Pie” series of exchange activities, this event was co-hosted by the Student Affairs Office of XMU and CFLC, and co-organized by the XMU Center of Students Employment and Entrepreneurship and the Communist Youth League of CFLC. Chen Pushun, a Ph.D candidate of CFLC who was once an intern at the UN Headquarters, and Shao Hongjing, a CFLC graduate of 2016 who also worked as an intern with the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UNHSP), were invited back to the campus to share their UN internship experience with the students of XMU through various activities where they two talked about what they had seen and heard as interns with the UN and offered some specific guidance and help to the XMU students who wish to land internships with international organizations.
Chen emphasized that it is an essential requirement for an intern to be active, outgoing, self-motivated and with good communication skills and teamwork spirit in the multi-cultural work environment of the United Nations. Shao said that various types of work during her internship greatly expanded her horizon and enriched her work experience, offering her opportunities to have a close encounter with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and have in-depth communications with people from different countries.
As someone who has been there and back, Chen and Shao also pointed out that working for an international organization as an intern may not be as easy and interesting as many imagine. Perhaps a quote from Chen’s talk “5% pain, another 5% joy, and the rest is just plain vanilla” could best sum up his mixed feelings towards his internship life in the United Nations. Shao agreed with Chen, saying that the internship with the UN may sound high-profile and fancy, yet the true picture is that the daily workload is so heavy and complicated that your initial excitement and novelty would soon wear off. What actually strikes you the most every day would be the strong sense of commitment and responsibility as a member of the international staff.
This year, XMU will urge more graduates to obtain internships with international organizations and incorporate it into its annual plan for college students’ work, employment and entrepreneurship and into theNotice on Doing a Better Job in Handling the Employment and Entrepreneurship of Xiamen University Graduatesof 2017. Next, XMU will launch some relevant complementary supporting polices, enhance the reform of talent cultivation, expand more channels of publicity, ensure easier access to information and provide job-specific guidance and training services, in a bid to fuel the students’ interest and encourage more outstanding graduate students to apply for internship opportunities with international organizations.
Edited by Long Jin & Luo Shuang
