Right after completing my bachelor’s degree in Politics and International Relations at the University of Westminster, I had a great opportunity to intern with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Somalia at the support office in Nairobi, Kenya, thanks to the partnership that UoW has established with IOM. Along with amazing professional experience, valuable skills and important insights from the working field, this experience has proven to be an incredible start for my professional career, as after completing the internship I was offered a full-time position as a Programme Support Consultant for Emergency and Post-Crisis (EPC) Pillar with IOM Somalia. 

From May 2023 to February 2024, as an intern, I was working on projects’ development and projects’ reporting for a Programme Support Unit (PSU), alongside assisting with other tasks, including compiling and coordinating inputs for information requests; supporting the knowledge management of the mission; carrying out preliminary research and others. The diversity of tasks I was working on gave me a full experience of all the projects and all the structures within the mission, and the supportive team I worked with during these 9 months made my transition from academic to professional environment way smoother.

This internship was a great opportunity to get to know the chosen industry, meet and work with people who know the UN system from the inside out and gain skills that you cannot get elsewhere. I feel like during this 9-months internship I learned way more than I had expected to learn at the beginning. IOM treats their interns as staff members, which is why I felt lots of responsibilities but never felt “under-experienced” or “underqualified”, even considering that I am the youngest in the office. Throughout my time there I was trying to take as much from this opportunity as I could by participating in external events, being proactive and taking the lead whenever the task allowed so. There I realized how useful the skills I gained at the university are and how they can help to perform well even though this was my first professional experience. 

The IOM internship program allows students from the University of Westminster to intern with a variety of IOM offices around the world, including offices in South America, Europe and Africa, to contribute to the greater IOM agenda to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, to promote international cooperation on migration issues, to assist in the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need. I was interning with IOM Somalia, at their support office in Nairobi, Kenya and being based in such a beautiful and diverse country definitely played a huge role in my overall experience. Kenya is an amazing country with beautiful nature and wonderful people. At the same time, Kenya is a country of contrasts with huge national parks and industrialized centers, modern skyscrapers and overcrowded slums, businessmen in suits and Masai tribes in their traditional attire – all located in one place. Living and working in a developing country and observing all this played a role in shaping and narrowing down my academic interest, which is now directed towards the field of Development Studies. That is why soon I am planning to do a master’s degree in Development Studies, alongside completing academic research on the Somali diaspora, as working with Somali migrants I understood how diverse their role in the development of Somalia is. Having insights from the field, as well as personal experience of working on migration projects in Somalia, I am now aware of what academic sub-topics require further research and I am planning to dedicate my master’s degree towards filling those gaps. 

I truly believe that working for IOM was the biggest highlight of my year, as I really loved my job, my team, and IOM’s work on a global scale. That is why I was very happy when by the end of my internship I was offered a full-time contract as a Programme Support Consultant for Emergency and Post-Crisis (EPC). Under this contract, I will still pursue the programme support role, working on emergency projects under the EPC unit, which is focused on emergency response to factors (like those connected to environmental, social, and security triggers) that are causing displacement in Somalia. As a consultant, I definitely feel more responsibilities, as now, due to my experience and familiarity with the system, I can start working at my full capacity since day one of the new role. It is though important to mention that even being an intern I had to take all the tasks seriously, because, as beforementioned, IOM treats their interns as staff members – what will be different now is that I will be held responsible for more individual tasks, and that makes me truly feel my professional growth. My internship was a life-changing experience, and the consultancy offer helped me to realize that all of my hard work is being recognized.

So if to give advise to current students and recent graduates of the University of Westminster, I would like to say one thing – try to take the maximum of any opportunity you have, as one little thing can completely change your life. 

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Big thanks to Alexandra for writing this insightful and inspiring blog! Alexandra is a 2023 graduate of the BA Politics and International Relations course. She is from Kazakhstan and has an interest in the development in Africa and Middle East

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