Internship

The goal

The Internship provides students with practical work experience in peace-, security- and development-related projects and an enhanced understanding of how their theoretical competence can be put to practical use in either Serbian or international context. The principal objective is to offer students practical training in different state agencies, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, academic institutions and media engaged in peace, security and development issues that will prepare them for future professional engagement in similar settings. Through experiential learning, students will demonstrate and improve their ability to use the knowledge gained at the MA program in Peace, Security and Development, explore vocational callings and career possibilities, sharpen their professional and organizational skills, expand their critical evaluative and creative potentials and eventually immerse themselves in the work environment.

The outcome

Internship in peace-, security- and development-related working setting will result in various outcomes that will have a long-term positive effect on students’ career prospects. By the end of internship, students will:
 have a better understanding of the connection between classroom theory and professional practice that strives to solve different problems in relation to regional and international peace, security and development;
 have an improved account of the objectives, mode of operations and societal role of the institution/organisation/agency with which they conducted internship;
 be capable of performing different analytical, administrative and organizational tasks that are needed for a successful professional career in the peace-, security- and development-related sectors;
 have developed a professional, ethical and culturally sensitive approach towards employers and colleagues;
 get hold of an improved account of their own career affinities, as well as creative and organizational strengths and weaknesses that should be further improved towards future career accomplishments.

Contents of lectures

While the content of the intership will be tailored to each placement and student, this is the general outline of interhisip dynamics:
1. Finding a placement that provides a great learning opportunity related to each student’s academic and career goals;
2. Planning and organizing work with a mentor in the institution/organization/agency at which the practice is held;
3. Familiarizing with the scope of the work and the hierarchy of the working environment;
4. Intership term (Performing diverse independent and team tasks);
5. Intership term (Performing diverse independent and team tasks);
6. Intership term (Performing diverse independent and team tasks);
7. Intership term (Performing diverse independent and team tasks);
8. Intership term (Performing diverse independent and team tasks);
9. Intership term (Performing diverse independent and team tasks);
10. Intership term (Performing diverse independent and team tasks);
11. Intership term (Performing diverse independent and team tasks);
12. Preparing a written report on internship;
13. Presenting the results to the mentor at the place of internship, as well as to the course convenors at the MA program;
14. Final remarks and further advice by the mentor and course convenors on the student’s work;
15. Collective evaluation workshop with all students and course convenors at the MA program.
Each student shoud write the internship diary, tracking the progress in achieving key plan goals.

Contents of exercises

Placements should be related to state institutions, intergovernemental and non-governmental organzations and agencies, media and academic insititutions engaged in the issues of conflict resolution and negotiation, peace-builing and peace-maintaining, security sector governance, promoting development, justice, peace, reconciliation, etc. The internship is a professional practice and students shall, to the extent that supervisors, trainers and workplace conditions enable it, carry out analytical, organizational and adminstrative tasks normally assigned to interns and junior staff (i.e. assiting in the preparation of analystical, project or media reports, monitoring and updating country-specific datasets, assisting with editing and proofreading, preparing and attending relevant events, etc.) During the intership, students are trained in using skills and methods of inquiry and analysis as these are applied in the practice of peace, security and development sectors. Each student must have an individual plan for the intership, which includes the content and structure of his/her work placement. It shall be jointly worked out between the student and the assigned supervisors/mentors at the workplace and be accepted by the course convenors at the MA program. During the practice period, student, supervisor/mentor and course convenor should keep in touch with one another to ensure the quality of the practice and the implementation of the individual plan.

When the individual internship has ended, the student is required to submit a written report of his/her term of internship to the course convenor at the MA in Peace, Security and Develpment. The report should encompass the student's description of the place of internship – its organisation, aims, resources – as well as an account of what assignments were entrusted to him/her. The report should include a reflection on how the internship contributed to the student's previous and current studies. More general comments should also be included of the pros and cons of the specific place of internship, as well as constructive feedback on how negative aspects could be decreased. A letter of evaluation from the employer containing his/her evaluation of the student's internship period is also required. The letter of evaluation shall be signed by the student's supervisor/mentor at the placement. Based on the student's report and the supervisor's assessment, the course convenor at the MA in Peace, Security and Develpment issues confirmation of a successful intership completion. At the end of semester, a group evaluation session will be organized with all students, where acquired experience will
be shared and disscussed to provide a collective feedback on various places of professional engagement in peace-security-and developement-related sectors that will help students to find optimal workplacements in future and present themselves in the best possible manner.