This summer, three  students put their knowledge into practice as they took positions in some of the most prestigious organisations in International Geneva.

Sucheta Mitra, master student in International Relations/Political Science, worked at a Permanent Mission to the United Nations, where she represented the Maldives in multilateral negotiations at the UN Human Rights Council. She said “I am able to hone my analytical capabilities, increase political perspective and gain a deeper understanding of influencing public policy, engaging with international stakeholders and learning from global best practices”. Meanwhile, Xinyan Lin, master student in International Affairs, had an internship at the Oak Foundation, where she was able to pursue her environmental career. She said she found the internship “spectacularly valuable, eye-opening and enriching… I have learnt about the intricacies of the work of a relatively large organisation”. William Knechtel, master student in International Relations/Political Science, said “the knowledge gained from studying… was directly transferrable to my position at the Inter-Parliamentary Union, where I worked on issues related to International Drug Policy and Terrorism. Career Services helped me both find my job and prepare for the interview”. Students enrolled in interdisciplinary programmes can include internships in their curriculum and obtain 3 ECTS credits, providing another academic benefit to their work experiences.

Every summer, students from each programme and department have options to work at the 450 nearby international organisations, non-governmental organisations and permanent missions, with the breadth of experience available reflecting the differing interests and career goals of each student. The Graduate Institute’s Career Services are instrumental to securing prestigious positions throughout the public, private and third sectors at the heart of International Geneva, the city with the highest number of international organisations in the world. For students, this is often a deciding factor in choosing to study at the Graduate Institute.

More information about our students' work experiences can be found on the Success Stories page.