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IO&UN Internship Preparation | Recording & Resources

Daniel Naujoks - Wednesday, May 29, 2024
 Events   IO/UNS Newsletter 
Dear all,

Thanks for joining us today for the UN/IO internship preparation workshop. In case you missed it or want to go back to certain aspects, you can watch the recording here.

As I mentioned during the workshop, I am attaching guidance on how to write a UN Briefing Note (Briefing Notes are a key instrument to help senior UN/IO officials and decision-makers prepare for discussions, meetings, or interventions). Please bear in mind that the attached document is both, guidance for an assignment for a course (and as such, some of it may be less relevant for you) but also a key resource with pointers on how to do this well in general. However, please ask your supervisor how they and your organization prefer having briefing notes written. 

Not directly related to your internship, but you may want to consider to also do a short course that various UN programs offer. You find a list of such opportunities below.

Lastly, consider connecting with other SIPA students (and other interns more broadly), both in your organization and location (say, Nairobi). Among other things, you can share information about events or exchange on goals. You can also join this WhatsApp group for all SIPA students doing an internship at an international organization. The main objective is to enable sharing of ideas and challenges. 

The IO/UNS Team wishes you a great summer, and interesting experiences during your internships. We hope to hear all about it in the fall. 


Daniel Naujoks
Director, International Organization & UN Studies Specialization
School of International and Public Affairs | Columbia University 
ANNEX: (Mostly) Free UN courses
 
United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS): https://training.dss.un.org
  • BSAFE is the new online security awareness training. It replaces both Basic Security in the Field (BSITF) and Advanced Security in the Field (ASITF). BSAFE is mandatory for all UN personnel, including staff, interns and consultants.
 
UN System Staff College (UNSSC)
Registration is needed but free. Some courses you can freely choose, others are restricted to certain types of UN staff members. Currently, 50 courses are open to non-staff members. Most are free but some are paid: www.unssc.org/courses/ FAO elearning Academy
Registration is needed but free. Certification with digital badges (also called digital credentials or micro-credentials). https://elearning.fao.org/ Hundreds of courses and short-topics, including:
  • Gender-responsive, disability- and socially-inclusive water resource management
  • Geotech4Tenure - Combining geospatial technology and participatory methods for securing tenure rights
  • Introduction: Achieving gender equality in climate change and agrifood systems
  • Fostering decent wage employment for women and men
  • Making agricultural investment and supply chains work for women and men
  • Developing a learning agenda to support emergency and resilience programming
  • Participatory data collection and investment planning in the field
UN Women Training Center
Registration is needed but free. https://trainingcentre.unwomen.org/mod/glossary/view.php?id=77&mode=cat&lang=en
  • Gender Equality, UN Coherence and You
  • Gender in Humanitarian Action: Different Needs – Equal Opportunities
  • How to manage gender-responsive evaluation
  • I Know Gender: An Introduction to Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment
  • Security Sector Reform (SSR): Rights & Needs of Women in Border Management
  • Security Sector Reform (SSR): Rights & Needs of Women in Prisons
  • Results-Based Management
  • Understanding violence against women and girls

UNITAR
https://www.unitar.org/free-and-open-courses
  • UNITAR Human Rights Council Training Programme
  • Integrated Planning for Climate Change and Biodiversity
  • Human Rights and the Environment
  • Introduction to the 2030 Agenda: A New Agenda for a Sustainable World
  • Mainstreaming the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
  • E-Tutorial on Global Framework for Climate Services
  • Strengthening Civilian Capacities to Protect Civilians
  • UN CC: Learn Introductory E-Learning Course on Climate Change
  • Milestones in UN Peacekeeping
  • Introduction to Environment, Natural Resources and UN Peacekeeping Operations
  • Environment, Natural Resources and UN Peacekeeping Operations: Restoring Governance of Natural Resources
  • Introduction to Security Sector Reform
  • Cities and Climate Change
  • Human Health and Climate Change
  • E-Tutorial on Climate Responsive Budgeting
MOOCS