Apply for an internship with AIIA NSW

Applications for our Semester 1 2023 (February – June) internship program have closed.

Our previous group of interns 2022:

from left to right:  Antony Murrell, Grace Papworth, Ashrika Paruthi, Teague Mirabelle, Ralph Housego and Oliver Owens

Internships at AIIA NSW are offered to university students who have an interest in international affairs, and who are looking to further develop their skills for future professional involvement in international policy. AIIA NSW internships are highly competitive and previous interns have found employment in Australian Public Service graduate roles, think tanks, not-for-profit organisations, business, law and academia.

Please note that the AIIA NSW is not considering interstate applications at this time and does not sponsor relocation to Sydney. For those residing outside of NSW, you can view internship opportunities at other AIIA branches here.

AIIA NSW’s internship program offers:

• Opportunities to attend speaker events, including private roundtable discussions with presenters before events
• Opportunities to publish opinion pieces on the AIIA website, including in AIIA’s national online publication Australian Outlook
• Participation in intern presentation and debate nights
• Training in event organisation, public speaking, debating and research
• Opportunities to network with experts and AIIA members, who have wide-ranging experience in international affairs
• Participation in masterclasses on diplomacy, publishing and management and an annual careers event
• Access to mentors from the public, private, academic and not-for-profit sectors

Internship duties

AIIA NSW interns must be able to commit to the full duration of the internship. For Semester 1 internships, the duration will be from February to June, and for Semester 2 internships, the duration will be from July to December.  Internship periods roughly coincide with university timetables.

Interns must be available to assist during events which are usually held on Tuesday evenings at Glover Cottages in Sydney, and may need to allocate additional time to complete research and administrative tasks. Interns are expected to:

• Provide administrative assistance such as producing promotional information for events, assistance in setting up, managing multimedia and summarising events for the AIIA website
• Produce a short opinion piece of 600-800 words and an option to pitch another piece to Australian Outlook, both on topics of their choice
• Contribute to the Columns from Glover Cottages Newsletter
• Participate in intern presentations and debates
• Promote AIIA events in interns’ university campuses, and through other platforms including social media

Selection criteria

AIIA NSW is looking for current undergraduate students and postgraduate students who have:

• Excellent writing, research, presentation and public speaking skills
• Initiative and motivation
• Teamwork and time management skills
• Critical thinking skills
• Awareness of, and interest in, international affairs

Knowledge and prior experience with professional audio-visual equipment, social media management, online marketing and hosting webinar events through applications such as Zoom are highly desirable.

How to apply

Applications for internships are welcomed during the following period:

• For Semester 2 internships 2023, applications will be open from 1 May to 31 May, 2023

• For Semester 1 internships 2024, applications are open from Monday, 14 November 2023.

Applications should be emailed to nswinternships@gmail.com, with the subject “AIIA NSW Internship Application – Your Name”, and must contain:

• A brief cover letter that addresses the selection criteria
• A CV or resume, including contact details for two referees
• A sample of written analytical work that is no more than 3 pages in length. The sample should be on any topic of international affairs and should showcase analytical and communication skills rather than just subject-matter knowledge. For those who wish to submit a three-page extract of a larger piece, please include an introduction and conclusion. Do not submit co-authored pieces.

Please collate all documents into a single PDF attachment.

Shortlisted applicants will be asked to attend in-person or online interviews.

Enquiries

For further information, please email nswinternships@gmail.com.

Our current group of interns (February – June, 2023)

from left to right:  Ryan, Nadia, Ella, Roisin, Isobel and Bakar

Roisin Browne is a fourth-year student at the University of Sydney studying a Bachelor of Arts/Advanced Studies (Politics and International Relations, Advanced French). Roisin is currently completing her honours thesis, which will focus on peacebuilding efforts by the Gulf Cooperation Council. She has formerly worked as a research assistant on a UN development project which aimed to assist small businesses and establish transparent supply chains in Tajikistan’s fruit and nut industry. Prior to this, Roisin was an intake volunteer at the Asylum Seekers Centre Newtown, where she worked with clients in order to ensure they received the welfare services that they required.
 

Isobel Logan is a fourth-year student at the University of Sydney, studying a Bachelor of Arts/Advanced Studies (Politics and International Relations, Economics). She has also studied at the London School of Economics Summer School in International Economics. Isobel has previously interned at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in the Commodities, Trade Finance and Carbon team, gaining valuable exposure to the nexus of international affairs and domestic politics with global financial markets. Isobel is currently undertaking Honours and her research concerns digital politics, democracy, international trade and climate policy.

 Ryan Lung is a third-year student at the University of Sydney studying a Bachelor of Arts/Advanced Studies, majoring in History and English. He was previously a Research Assistant for Project Q at the Centre for International Security Studies, an initiative investigating the ethical impacts of quantum innovation. He was also a reporter for student newspaper Honi Soit, a digital media volunteer at the Royal Australian Historical Society, and a debate coach for the Independent Schools Debating Competition. His main areas of interest include American foreign policy and domestic politics, international trade, and the role of technology in international relations.

Nadia Maunsell is a recent graduate with a Bachelor of International Studies/Media at the University of New South Wales, where she majored in Communications and Journalism. She completed a three-month long overseas academic exchange at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in Spain. Nadia was awarded a Westpac Asian Exchange Scholarship to complete a second overseas academic exchange for six months at the National University of Singapore. She has previously worked as the Managing Editor of her university’s student newspaper and has had her work published in a variety of publications, including Politik, SBS Voices and Sydney Review of Books. Currently, she works as a Research and Content Analyst for a financial education start-up. Her main areas of interest include Australia-China relations and wider Asia-Pacific trade and development.

Bakar Mohamed is a 3^rd year student in the social sciences and prospective M. International relations student. He currently hosts a podcast and produces short form content on his channel, BM Discourse, revolving around Middle Eastern development. Bakar aspires to make the international relations space more accessible to others as he understands the difficulty and competitiveness, especially for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Ella Whitehurst is a third year Juris Doctor student at the University of New South Wales, with two Bachelor degrees in Asian Studies and Languages from the Australian National University. She has previously worked for Young Australians in International Affairs as China Fellow, and undertook exchange to Korea University under the DFAT-funded New Colombo Plan. Ella also participated as a delegate in the ANU’s annual Asia and Pacific Conference, focusing on Indo-Pacific policy development. Her research interests in international affairs primarily are associated with the Australia-China relationship, international trade law, and climate policy.

Intern Coordinators and Councillors for 2023:

Alex McManis is a former intern at AIIA NSW. He is currently completing his Juris Doctor at the University of Sydney, having previously graduated from a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in Government and International Relations also at the University of Sydney. His honours thesis analysed the European Union’s behaviour at the 2015 U.N. climate negotiations in Paris. Alex was the Climate and Energy Security Fellow at Young Australians in International Affairs and clerked at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, a leading Australian commercial law firm. He was also the winner of Sydney Law School’s 2021 Summer Innovation Program. Alex’s research focuses on climate change and global environmental politics.

Isabel Freudenstein is a former intern and studying a Juris Doctor at the University of Sydney. Before this, Isabel graduated from the University of Sydney with a firstclass honours in International Relations and a Bachelor of Arts/Advanced Studies in Politics and International Relations. Her thesis examined the changing nature of humanitarian intervention in a multipolar international system. Isabel writes for the university newspaper, Honi Soit, and formerly worked with REA Group in their communications and sustainability team. Her main areas of interest include norms of international behaviour, international organisations, gender and migration.

Alice Nason is a Research Associate with the Foreign Policy and Defence Program at the United States Studies Centre. Formerly, Alice was an AIIA NSW intern, a Research Fellow at the Washington DC-based Global Business Policy Council and a Business Analyst Intern at the international consulting firm Kearney.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Advanced Studies in Politics, International Relations and American Studies with First Class honours from the University of Sydney. Alice completed an academic exchange at the University of California, Berkeley.  Her research pertains to the US-Australia bilateral relationship and in US foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific.