Our Internship Experience in OIOS IED – Peacekeeping Section

By Betty Basasibwaki, co-author Maël Le Roux

As a graduate student of a Master of Science in Monitoring and Evaluation, I secured a coveted and transformative six-month internship at the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) in Entebbe, Uganda.

My co-intern, Maël Le Roux, is a recent graduate of a Masters in International Relations, had already completed an internship at the UN DGC and joined us remotely. We focused on all sorts of evaluative tasks, me on quantitative analysis and Maël on the qualitative.

We were supporting a team of two of experienced colleagues evaluating the contribution of strategic communications to fostering public trust in peacekeeping operations and were immediately involved and treated as equal by our colleagues. As we were covering six peacekeeping missions, we each were assigned three missions to focus on. As such, we got to participate in interviews with these mission staff, including their leadership and Special Representatives of the Secretary General (respective SRSGs).

From the moment I arrived, I was welcomed and made to feel at home; everyone treated me with dignity and respect, and I always felt like part of the team. We have benefitted from great mentors: our team, but also the section and the division colleagues have been very welcoming and provided us with training and opportunities to gain knowledge.

I can confidently say that we have acquired vast knowledge, skills, and experience over the last 6 months, Maël even became proficient in MS Excel! We have been given great opportunities to contribute to the teams’ objectives and outputs and got to be involved in most if not all facets of the evaluation.

My days were filled with analyzing and interpreting analytical outputs, collaborations and engaging in thought-provoking discussions, interviews, and meetings with colleagues and different stakeholders on matters concerning the evaluation exercises. As for Maël, he was quite involved early on in interviews and in the hiring of our local consultants, especially so as he was a French-speaker.

Leveraging on my experience in Power BI, I was given a challenging opportunity to develop the UN Power Bi theme as per the UN brand. I am glad to say I successfully delivered on the task, and I leave the UN gates with my head held high well knowing I have left a lasting mark of my work with OIOS.

Being an unpaid internship, it was initially challenging for me to meet the day-to-day expenses of getting to work considering that I was staying far from Entebbe. Our colleagues were always supportive, and I would like to express my gratitude to colleagues who worked hard to have me on the UN staff shuttle. I cannot fail to mention the numerous luncheons I was treated to, the gifts I received from colleagues and the love I have felt all this while, God bless you all.

As this current journey draws to a close, and as we bid farewell to the OIOS Entebbe team and our colleagues at the Inspection and Evaluation Division, we carry with us not only memories of a transformative and life-changing experience but also a renewed sense of purpose. During my time here, I have been given an opportunity to learn about the UN culture and system.

This exposure and experience laid a great foundation for my career. On the other hand, I feel sad to leave this great team and an admirable work environment. I will always remember my colleagues and I will keep in touch.

I wish everyone the best in their endeavors, and I believe we will certainly meet again as God wills.

“From the moment I arrived, I was welcomed and made to feel at home; everyone treated me with dignity and respect, and I always felt like part of the team. We have benefitted from great mentors: our team, but also the section and the division colleagues have been very welcoming and provided us with training and opportunities to gain knowledge.”