Pages: Remote-internship-experience-article

Name: Remote-internship-experience-article.aspx
Title: Internships in time of COVID-19: The remote experience by the Adaptation division interns
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Contact: Stefan Dierks
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NAP Summary: Read about the remote internship experiences in the UNFCCC in times of Covid-19.
NAP Description: The last two years have seen unprecedented changes as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. One of them being the way we worked as we knew it, changing dramatically and resulting in a more digitalized and remote working environment.
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The last two years have seen
unprecedented changes as a result of the Covid-19
pandemic. One of them being the way we worked as we knew it, changing dramatically and resulting in a more
digitalized and remote working environment.


 

As a result, in spring 2020 the secretariat
welcomed its first remote intern, who started with the Nairobi work programme
(NWP), with several more following suite. These aspiring professionals worked
tirelessly on a range of tasks supporting colleagues from their homes.

 

The
NWP interns’ work typically included supporting the team with the @AdaptXChange twitter account, note taking during NWP events,
helping editing the scoping and briefing papers, writing news stories, working
on the Adaptation Knowledge Portal
(AKP)
and the thematic targets of the NWP targeted outreach to potential NWP partners
– and more! Below are some details of the ups and downs of this unique experience
from four of the NWP interns, Inga Moellers, Xelani
Sigauke Mberi, Patricia Da Matta Alvez and Caitlin McDonald (the latter two
interns supported the NWP and Local
Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) teams).

 

 

 




 

Pros and Cons of a remote internship


 


 



 

Inga,
who is currently studying Political Science at the University of Cologne, worked
on the Adaptation Knowledge Portal during her internship and felt that all her
expectations were exceeded. She learned a lot about climate change adaptation
and enjoyed working in the UN system with an international and diverse team. A
highlight of Inga’s tasks was that of working at the back-end of the AKP’s website,
with a system she never worked before or at least not comparable.. In her own
words: “Working in the back-end and especially with
HTML were completely new things to me. Sometimes, this was really challenging
for me, but each time something worked, and a task was finished, I was glad”. Something
that Inga missed in her virtual internship was chatting with colleagues in person.
However, she felt that quick online chats made up for it.

 

Xela


ni is a Doctor candidate of Business Leadership with
the University of South Africa and is studying ICT in Climate Change in
Sub-Saharan Africa. For Xelani, who is currently working on the AKP as well as in the
thematic area on agriculture and food security, a highlight is to learn the
linkages between Parties and stakeholders and how they are aligned within the
bigger UN picture, driving towards achieving a sustainable climate. Xelani also
highlighted that connecting with experts in her area of studies by attending
events allowed her to gain insight that are relevant towards her career goals.

 

She further reflected that “regardless of being remotely,
I managed to support the UNFCCC-NWP work where I was required to. I have
managed to gain knowledge and experience of the work of NWP, and I have managed
to give my contributions towards ensuring the goals and objectives of
UNFCCC-NWP to continue being successful.”

 

The latest intern was Caitlin, who holds a master’s
degree in Multimedia Journalism and is currently studying for her diploma from
the National Council for the Training of Journalists in the UK. She was involved
in the management of the NWP twitter account, in writing articles that were
published on our website´s newsroom and in supporting an NWP event at COP 26 in
Glasgow in-person. She learned a lot about climate change adaptation, the
shared goals of the UNFCCC and the tireless work that is being done, and
thoroughly enjoyed working closely with her team – even remotely!

 

Like Inga, Caitlin missed the in-person interaction
and chats that could have happened in an in-person internship. In the same
token she felt that there were plenty of opportunities for learning from team
members and benefited from connecting with experts from a diverse range of
fields.

 

Patricia was a
communications intern for both the LCIPP and NWP teams.

For her, there were challenges
with connectivity and time zones, as well as missing the important networking
that can be done in-person. However, she stated that considering the
circumstances brought by the pandemic, the experience was a positive one.
Patricia now works as Communications Manager for The Nature Conservancy and the
Nature4Climate coalition.

 

 
 




 

The
importance of working together

 




 

In general, the
Adapatation division interns felt that collaboration and teamwork was a very important
part of their work. “When reaching out to colleagues, I
always got replies in a timely manner and my questions were answered quickly.
Also, the training at the beginning of the internship and getting to know the
tasks and especially the AKP worked well with video calls or other tools.
Regular meetings with the team and my supervisor helped me to stay in touch and
get an overview of all the different projects that were worked on,” said Inga.

 

For Xelani, she felt that interns
were embraced into the adaptation family and there was a good communication
system, with intern assignments being aligned to “their studies, passions and
ambitions and there is freedom to interact with the bigger picture –
vulnerability and other divisions falling under the thematic areas of the
UNFCCC-NWP.”

 

Although, Caitlin felt that remote
working was challenging at times, the team made all efforts to check upon each
other on a regular basis, not only on work related matters but also at a
personal level.  The team ensured that
the interns were instrumental  in each
step of the different processes of planning, organizing, developing and accountability
of outcomes of the events, meetings and daily work: “I feel that the remote
internship gave me a clear understanding of the work of the UNFCCC NWP towards
achieving climate adaptation and resilience goals, and I felt so lucky to be a
part of a pivotal moment such as COP 26.”

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Article Date: 1/12/2022

Created at 1/12/2022 3:40 PM by Stefan Dierks
Last modified at 1/12/2022 3:45 PM by Stefan Dierks
 
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