UQ students are working around the globe in the midst of important legal, political and diplomatic events, after taking up internships with organisations such as NATO and the United Nations.
PhD candidate Daryl Morini spent six months working at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Masters student Cate Carter recently spent three months with the United Nations’ Somalia Desk and undergraduate Catherine Drummond is doing a six-month internship in the legal chambers of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
They are all students at The University of Queensland’s School of Political Science and International Studies.
Ms Drummond said her experience working on the Rwandan tribunals comes at a “unique, transitionary time”.
“The Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is winding down its work and will conclude all trials and trial judgments by July 2012,” she said.
“It has referred its first case to the Rwandan national court system and will appoint international fair trial monitors to ensure the trial complies with international fair trial standards.
“I sat in on the Tribunal’s last ever trial — the Ngirabatware case. Ngirabatware was the Minister of Planning during Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.
“I am extremely fortunate to be able to work with some of the world's most brilliant legal minds and to have the opportunity to contribute to the creation of international criminal law.”
Cate Carter’s intern experience allowed her to combine her professional life with her studies.
Mrs Carter, a part-time Master of International Studies student, has worked for 20 years in the Australian Defence Force, with the past decade in the Adaptive Warfare Branch on Lessons Learned.
“Undertaking this Masters has allowed me to find a theoretical vocabulary to help explain the nation-building activities in which I had been involved over the past 10 years,” she said.
“It has allowed me to consolidate my knowledge and practice in this area.”
When Mrs Carter started working with the UN last year, the Somalia desk had been recently created to address a range of emerging issues in the country.
The desk was preparing for a conference in London to discuss Somalia — held on 23 February this year. Attendees included Somalian leaders, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, British Prime Minister David Cameron, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and British Foreign Minister William Hague.
The Somalia Desk team prepared the Secretary General’s positions for the conference talks, including briefing papers and speeches.
Mrs Carter found herself playing a vital role in this work. Significantly the report written by members of the Somalia Desk, including Mrs Carter, provided the basis for Security Council Resolution 2036 which the Security Council passed unanimously.
PhD Student Daryl Morini said his internship offered a perfect opportunity to undertake further research while gaining hands-on experience with NATO.
“I have always had an interest in NATO and Russia,” Mr Morini said. “I stumbled upon the internship on NATO’s website and applied in June 2010.”
With 3000 applicants, the shortlisting process for 30 positions took almost a year.
Mr Morini, a native French speaker, was placed in the International Secretariat in Brussels where he organised meetings with ambassadors and foreign and defence ministers. Working at this level allowed Daryl to build networks and contacts, and also to set up interviews for his thesis on preventative diplomacy.
“ My thesis topic was a bit of a running joke there, since NATO tends to step in when preventative diplomacy has failed,” Mr Morini said.
This was his second internship; as an undergraduate he spent a semester with the Queensland Government Department of Emergency Services.
“I think the internship experience is indispensable and honestly I think it should be a prerequisite to gaining a degree — as it is in the US,” Mr Morini said.
“It gives an opportunity to tie academic knowledge into an integrated whole. Academic training gives different instruments to dissect the world before you. An internship helps you understand the application and sensitivities around issues.
“At higher levels you find many ambassadors and secretary generals were academics in their former lives, at least to PhD level.
“I believe a PhD is a stepping stone to a career and the big lesson I took away from working at NATO was how relevant my studies are to that career.”
Media: Gillian Ievers, UQ School of Political Science and International Studies, g.ievers@uq.edu.au, + 61 7 33653308, 0406 510 668
