United Nations Internship Preparation Programme 2021 (Fully Funded)

The world is currently undergoing a period with limited opportunities to engage in face-to-face training activities. UNITAR therefore specifically designed the United Nations Internship Preparation Programme to bring the United Nations closer to the hearts and minds of its students.

In line with UNITAR’s mandate, this programme aspires to enhance participants’ knowledge and skills in the areas of international affairs and diplomacy. This will enable them to work more effectively and efficiently in any multilateral environment in the future.

AIMS OF THE PROGRAMME

The program aims at building up the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for participants to apply for UN internship positions anywhere in the UN System with confidence and ease and perform strongly in a potential job interview.

The United Nations Internship Preparation Programme lasts four weeks and is entirely conducted in English. It runs on UNITAR ́s virtual learning platform and the course modules are enabled every 7 days.

It is created and facilitated by senior experts working at UN agencies. In addition to these experts, UNITAR staff assists in the organisational aspects of the course and stands ready to interact with participants on a daily basis.

The backbone of the Internship Preparation Programme will be four e-Learning modules. Every module contains reading material, multimedia files, a discussion forum for written exchanges and a multiple-choice assessment quiz on the content.

The course will contain the following modules: 

Module 1 – The United Nations
Module 2 – Conference Diplomacy
Module 3 – Negotiation Skills 
Module 4 – Cosmopolitan Communication

The e-Learning modules will be complemented by a series of live components with UN experts focusing on:

The United Nations Systems 
UN Projects and Practicalities 
Job Application Skills 
Leadership Skills
The UN’s Agenda 2030
Public Speaking Skills 
Mock Interviews
Sustainable Development Goals
Virtual guided tour through the Palais des Nations

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PROJECT

Each participant will be able to choose one individual project to work on during the four weeks of the course. The projects are very similar to what an intern ́s task would be during a real internship at the United Nations.

They Cover The Following Four Areas:

Project Management
Art and Design
Translation
Outreach and Advocacy

In addition, participants will be required to hand in their personal Curriculum Vitae (CV) as well as their Cover Letter (CL) via email during the programme ́s fourth week. It will be reviewed by UNITAR staff and will count towards the final grade the participant receives at the end on their transcript.

ELIGIBILITY

The United Nations Internship Preparation Programme is open to all actors related to international affairs wishing to take on leadership roles in their respective environment and to build up knowledge and skills related to the UN and International Geneva.

Participants can include:

University students
High school students
Other aspiring young leaders of similar background.
Junior professionals from public and private sector
Senior officials who are young at heart are equally welcome to apply.

In order to ensure the highest quality standards, the registration will be closed after 30 participants. Slots will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. At the end of the programme, participants will receive an official UNITAR certificate.

UNITAR warmly welcomes your participation in the United Nations Internship Preparation Programme and looks forward to welcoming you virtually to International Geneva this spring!

Online Edition (3 May – 28 May 2021):