Student testimonial
Student Anne - MSc International Development Studies
''I did my internship in Rome and got to represent the Netherlands in EU delegations.'' Anne did her internship at the Dutch Permanent Representative to the United Nations organizations in Rome.
During my internship in Rome, I really learned how to perform in the international diplomatic world.
Representing the Netherlands
“I think that in getting this internship, it helped that I study at Wageningen University. I represented the Netherlands in work-groups, in which I had to give my opinion and discuss about how we could reorganize FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization of the U.N.) policies. The Dutch delegation for which I worked is very small so I was very involved with almost everything that happened at the embassy. I assisted with all sorts of tasks: I attended meetings of the organizations; wrote summaries of the meetings for the ambassador and the Ministry in the Netherlands. What was very interesting too was that I had to represent the Netherlands in some of the working groups composed of different EU delegations. I also had to write a discussion paper about bio-fuels and food security, for which I did a lot of interviews with people from FAO and IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) about the impact of bio-fuels on food security on a global level.
The diplomatic life
I learnt a lot from seeing how this organization works from up close. I learned what it is like to work at a big professional organization, where you don’t live the 9.00-17.00 life, have to write structured reports, and have to move in the diplomatic circle. I really learned how to perform in this diplomatic world and how to network. I liked my experience at the embassy. I discovered during my internship that I could work under pressure and deal with all sorts of different tasks: this is the best time to figure out what you could do after the study."