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Internships


Apply for an internship with AIIA NSW

Applications for our Semester 2 2023 (June – December) internship program have now closed.

 

Our previous group of interns 2023:

from left to right: Ryan Lung, Nadia Maunsell, Ella Whitehurst, Roisin Browne, Isobel Logan and Bakar Mohamed

 

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 13 June, 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 (July – December, 2023)

from left to right:  Imogen, Dominik, Matthew, Daniel, Rachel and Renuga

Rachel A is a third year Juris Doctor student at the University of New South Wales, having previously graduated with a degree in Accounting and Business Law at Murdoch University for which she was awarded the University Medal. Working as a flight attendant with Singapore Airlines prior to her tertiary education provided Rachel with a glimpse into a world without borders and the diverse ways through which people around the world engage with each other. She also gained significant exposure to private international law and cross-border business during her time as a paralegal and summer clerk at Allens Linklaters. Rachel’s current research interests include international trade law, as well as maritime security and peacekeeping in the Indo-Pacific region.

Imogen Biggins is a recent graduate of the University of Sydney, where she completed a Bachelor of Arts/Advanced Studies (International and Global Studies) with First Class Honours and the University Medal. She has worked as a policy adviser for the Sydney Policy Reform Project, investigating truth in political advertising in Australia. As a volunteer, she has been involved with the Australian Red Cross, the 52nd International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages, and the 25th Himalayan Languages Symposium. She currently works as Review Lead for EdTech company Atomi and is involved in a community-led renewable energy group. Her research interests include Franco-Australian relations in the Pacific, the future of international governance and the importance of cultural diplomacy in an increasingly globalised world.

Dominik Hruby is a fourth-year student at the University of Sydney, studying a Bachelor of Arts/Advanced Studies (International and Global Studies, Marketing). Furthermore, he has recently completed a semester abroad exchange at the University of British Columbia. Dominik has had previous experience in the University of Sydney’s Policy Reform Project and been a team leader at 180 Degrees Consulting. This has been done in conjunction with his current role as a Student Life Ambassador at the University of Sydney.  His honours research interests are primarily focused on the effects of the AUKUS treaty in regards to the Indo-Pacific region, and the regional implications of a historical emphasis on non-alignment.

Renuga Inpakumar is in her third-year at Western Sydney University, studying Bachelor of Arts/Laws majoring in International Relations and Asian Studies and minoring in History and Political Thought. Renuga has been focusing on human rights issues surrounding refugee issues since she was 10 years old. Renuga has had experience in speaking at the 43rd session of human rights at the United Nations in Geneva on refugee related matters. She is the spokesperson for Tamil Refugee Council where she has been featured in various media outlets. Renuga has an interest in international affairs and hopes to become involved in international law in the future surrounding human rights and criminal matters.

Matthew Vasic is a fifth-year undergraduate student studying International Studies and Law at Western Sydney University. He was also an Australian representative at the 2022 UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum. As a New Colombo Plan (NCP) Mobility Grant recipient, he undertook virtual studies in Indonesia and interned for a Human Rights NGO. He was an Australian in-person delegate to the 2022 Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) Asia Conference in New Delhi, India. He is a NCP & HPAIR Ambassador. Matthew is passionate about Eurasian geopolitics and Russian security policy. He is a clerk at a law firm in Sydney.

Daniel Yang is a second-year student at the University of New South Wales studying a Bachelor of Social Science with a concentration in Politics and International Relations. He was previously a Research & Strategy Associate for UNSW ASEANSoc. He also engaged in some volunteer work at One Can Grow, an education start-up focusing on teaching university students and working adults to discover their purpose and passions in their professional and personal lives. His main areas of interest include East and Southeast Asian politics, American foreign policy and domestic affairs, and global democracy and human rights challenges.

 

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.