If you're thinking about opportunities after university, have you considered an internship in the United Nations?
The UN isn't just one building in New York.
The Unit Nations offers internship opportunities across their global network, with major locations including New York, Geneva, Vienna, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Beirut and Santiago, as well as other offices around the world. And the wider UN system includes organisations such as UNDP, UNICEF, UNHCR and UNEP, among others. These organisations have their own internship programmes and recruitment processes.
Climate policy? Development? Refugees? Children's rights? Communications? Data? Humanitarian work? Public health?
Explore the different UN entities working in those areas or search by location to see what opportunities there are to work as an intern in that area.
Knowing that working in a different country can be expensive, Charles Colvington set up this foundation to help Manx students financially if they were successful in applying for a UN internship: The Charles Colvington Trust is an Isle of Man Registered Charity: 1266
How do I find out more?
For UN Secretariat internships, opportunities are published through the UN Careers portal and vacancies are published throughout the year. You can filter vacancies by Internship, review the available positions, locations, duration and requirements.
You can apply to the Charles Colvington Foundation two times a year; you will need to secure an offer from the UN before money can be transferred:
Application periods for Charles Colvington Foundation are:
- Applications 1st April to 31st May for internships starting August through to December.
- Applications 1st October to 30th November for internships starting January through to July.
One important warning: you do not need to pay someone to secure a UN internship.
The United Nations states that it does not charge fees at any stage of the recruitment process. Be particularly cautious about unsolicited "UN internship offers" asking for money or financial information.