IUG offers ongoing internships in connection with our partners in the Global South. By sending Danish students, we build up the partners’ knowledge and know-how, and at the same time the intern is the link between our project group in Denmark and our partners in the South.
IUG offers ongoing internships in connection with our partners in the Global South. By sending Danish students, we build up the partners’ knowledge and know-how, and at the same time the intern is the link between our project group in Denmark and our partners in the South. In addition, the interns have the opportunity to bring skills from the study into play and strengthen practical knowledge of global development work in a global context.
“During my internship I was based in Kenema in Sierra Leone. I worked with some amazing teams – both in Denmark and in Sierra Leone, and it went really well. Based on the first three months, I was eager to learn more and I ended up extending my stay to five months, which I was very happy with.”
Daniela Dasic, student for structural engineering at DTU
The internships can take place both at the secretariat in Copenhagen, with IUG’s partners who run the projects in the Global South – or a combination of both. IUG covers costs for travel and insurance as well as per per diem to cover board and lodging.
Before the deployment, a clear statement of tasks will be drawn up about the tasks that the intern is responsible for carrying out and reporting on on an ongoing basis. The tasks will be defined in interaction between IUG and the partner organisation. As a general rule, the tasks will always relate to the collaborative relationships / projects that IUG has with the partner in the recipient country.
A work task often consists of a limited and well-defined task. This could be, for example, carrying out a technical analysis, collecting technical documentation, carrying out technical studies/tests of a special subject or preparing an evaluation.
At the same time, it is expected that the intern participates in ongoing project work, although without overall responsibilities, forms an active part of the project team and sends communication material home to IUG’s various platforms (website, social media, newsletter, etc.).
“During our internship, we were tasked with designing a data collection method to carry out participatory climate risk assessments in ten rural districts together with the local partner. The internship included a six-week field study where we tested and finalized the method before collecting data in the villages involved.”
Anna Hammelboe Kraglund, Environmental Planning student, RUC and Rikke Kristiansen Sustainable Cities student, Aalborg University.
The internship periods are organized as a starting point within the various semesters, but also depend on the needs of the individual projects. An application for one of the advertised internship positions must contain the application itself with a description of the applicant’s motivation and qualifications in relation to the task, which must be solved during the posting, as well as a CV and other relevant documentation.
For further information contact IUG’s secretariat at info@iug.dk / tel. +45 4440 2828
IUG’s internship program is realized with the support of a number of donors.
Read examples of internship assignments at IUG:
Internship at a STEM school in Sierra Leone
– David Bysted talks about the work to strengthen the ICT education at a STEM school for young girls.
Barrier testing for waste collection
– Peter Tuxen talks about the work to build and test a barrier in Denmark for waste collection in Sierra Leone.
Meet Sara Karlskov, who talks about her various internship assignments with climate adaptation at Engineers Without Borders.
Sara was deployed with IUG in Sierra Leone for three months in the spring of 2023.
David Bysted gives an insight into his internship assignments at IUG’s partner SEND in Sierra Leone, where he, among other things, taught STEM day at a girls’ school.
David was deployed with IUG for three months in the spring of 2023.
