Volunteers and Interns
Ariana Barrenechea,
University of Erfurt
Research Intern, July - August 2019
Ariana is a second year Master of Public Policy student at the University of Erfurt, Germany. She is specializing in socioeconomic development and the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in policy. During her internship at ODC Ariana will collect data and research ways ICT can be incorporated to advance specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the UN in the context of Cambodia.
Gabriel Milgram,
École supérieure des sciences économiques et commerciales Business School
Legal Research Intern, July – December 2019
Gabriel obtained a Master’s degree in Public Business Law and specialized in the development of public services. After working for the French electricity distribution operator and for a NGO promoting better management of public services, he chose to prepare a Master’s degree in Management to better understand the operational issues of his main areas of interest. At ODC, he is doing research and publishing on legal and judicial topics, from constitutional law and fundamental freedoms, to commercial law, to urbanization issues. He is convinced that he will learn a lot from the ODC team and through his experience in Phnom Penh.
Natalia Polakova,
Mannheim University in Germany
Research Intern, July – August 2019
Natalia is a second-year Master’s student in Economics at Mannheim University in Germany. She also holds a Master’s degree in Economic Policy and Administration from Masaryk University, Czech Republic. In her research, she specializes in development economics, particularly education and human capital formation. During her internship, Natalia will be supporting ODC team in project activities with Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport. Additionally, her work will include research on education quality and learning outcomes in Cambodia.
Anna Nicholson,
William and Mary Law School
Legal Research Intern May – August 2019
Anna is a second year law student at William and Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia. She graduated from the College of William and Mary in 2016 with a B.A. in English Literature. During her internship with ODC Anna will be researching ways to sustainably develop Cambodia’s coastal provinces, in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals developed by the UN. Her work will include researching laws governing land rights and resource use, and how those laws can be used to promote sustainable growth that benefits all Cambodians.
Aaron Sandoval,
University of Erfurt
Research Fellow, March – May 2019
Aaron Sandoval is a cooperation expert in science, technology and innovation between Latin America and the European Union. He collaborated in several FP7 and Horizon 2020 projects from the European Commission engaging international networks of experts in policy dialogue on ICT, Smart Cities, Future Internet and the Digital Future.
Within the framework of his Master Thesis, Aaron visited Open Development Cambodia as an external specialist to collect data about Digital Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development Goals (education SDG 4, Decent Employment & Economic Growth SDG 8 and Urban development SDG 11) in the Framework of his Master Thesis in the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy at the University of Erfurt in Germany. “Open Development Cambodia is a proactive place to be, they are constantly surrounded with an enormous amount of Data and organizing events aimed at disseminating information and good practices, it was an awesome experience to be welcomed by such a nice team” he mentioned.
Khim Senghour,
Heinrich Böll Stiftung (HBS)
Economic Research Intern, January – April 2019
Senghour is a fresh graduate majored in Business Administration from Pannasatra University of Cambodia (PUC). Currently, he is working for German Green Foundation, Heinrich Böll Stiftung (HBS). Senghour joins ODC as a research intern as part of partnership between HBS and ODC. Being with ODC, he supports ODC to draft some topic pages under the topic “Economy and Commerce” on ODC website, specifically Investment and Small Medium Enterprises (SME). He also expects to enhance and learn research skill from ODC.
Juliet Atellah,
South South Media Lab Fellowship program (SSMLab)
Research Fellow, November – December 2018
Juliet Atellah is a research assistant, data analyst and human rights activist. She joined ODC under South South Media lab (SSMlab) fellow program, a short-term in-residence program, allowing young professionals and innovators from the media sector in East Africa and South East Asia to network and collaborate. She is currently working at theelephant.info, a platform for engaging citizens to reflect, re-member and re-envision their society by interrogating the past, the present to fashion a future. She is an upcoming data journalist focused on stories related to health, governance and human rights. She has a degree in Bachelor of Science in Statistics from the university of Nairobi. At ODC as a fellow, her main aim is to apply open data and civic education strategies to strengthen the rights to information of vulnerable communities immediately affected by international corporate and national governments’ economic interests in the sector of Extractives. In a comparison between Kenya and Cambodia, she is examining both the negative and positive impacts that extractive industries, such as mining, oil and gas have on the social and environmental level. A future collaborative database system on extractive mining in both Kenya and Cambodia could serve as a tool to disseminate information to the respective affected communities.
Júlia Garcia Puig,
Barcelona Institute of International Studies (IBEI)
Research Fellow, October – December 2018
Júlia holds a Master’s degree in International Development from the Barcelona Institute of International Studies (IBEI). She specialized in socioeconomic development, inequality and poverty, governance and public policy – all in the context of Central, South and Southeast Asia. At ODC, she is working on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), public service delivery, development and aid. She believes open data is key to advance development as it enhances public engagement and awareness. She now aims to delve further into the use and potential of ICT for pro-poor policy-making and development. In her free time, she enjoys capturing the beauty of Cambodia with her camera and trying all different kinds of food.
Choun Sameng,
Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP)
Research and GIS Intern, August 2018 – January 2019
Sameng is the fourth year student of the Department of Natural Resource Management and Development at Royal University of Phnom Penh. He joined ODC as the Research and GIS Intern and worked with mapping team to collect data, digitize, and conduct dataset map related to natural resource. He also supported the ODC team to facilitate the GIS training to academic institutions in Cambodia. Internship at ODC provided him the opportunities to apply the theory acquired from the university and prepare him for his future career.
Mondee Lu,
Stanford University
Legal Research and Partnership Fellow, June-August 2018
Mondee is a JD-MS student in Law and in Environment and Resources in Stanford University in United States. She’s interested in environmental, climate, and development issues. At Open Development Cambodia (ODC), Mondee is researching environmental and natural resource governance, as well the effects of open data on transparency. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring Phnom Penh’s numerous vegetarian restaurants and traveling around the country.
Chea Monysocheata,
Mahasarakham University
GIS Intern, May-July 2018
Cheata is a third year student of the Department of Geo-Informatics, Faculty of Informatics, Mahasarakham University, Thailand. Her purposes of this internship program are to apply theories that she has learned in school into reality and at the same time, she is doing her senior project about River Flood Inundation Areas along Mekong River in Cambodia. During her internship at ODC, Cheata will be working with mapping team to collect data, digitize, and conducting dataset map. She believes that open spatial data in Cambodia is important for researchers, private sectors, and other public users.
Jean Lambert,
Columbia Law School
Legal Research Intern, May-July 2018
Jean is a second-year law student at Columbia Law School in New York, US. At Open Development Cambodia (ODC) Jean is researching land rights governance and foreign investment in Cambodia related to environmental and indigenous rights.
Jean believes working with ODC will give her valuable experience collecting and analyzing local legal documents and data to improve public understanding of government action.
Maddie Ball,
William and Mary Law School
Legal Research Intern, May-July 2018
Maddie is a second year law student at William and Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia. She graduated from Cornell College in 2016 with a B.A. in Biochemistry. During her internship with ODC, Maddie will be researching and writing on Cambodian legal aid and the legal profession. In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing, reading fiction, and trying as much Cambodian cuisine as possible.
Malica Christ,
University of Potsdam
Research Intern, May-July 2018
Malica almost finished her Bachelor in Philosophy and Politics at the University of Potsdam, Germany. During her internship with ODC she will be involved in assessing public participation in the Environmental Impact Assessment process in Cambodia. Malica wants to learn more about how data can be used to promote sustainable development. Since she has always enjoyed writing, she is looking forward to produce content and blog posts for the ODC website. In her free time, Malica goes to one of the many beautiful temples for meditation.
Dorronda Bordley,
William and Mary Law School
Legal Research Intern, Jan-Apr 2018
Dorronda is a second-year at William & Mary Law School. In her work with ODC, Dorronda researched and drafted a briefing memo on Chinese investments in Cambodia’s extraction industries and compared legal frameworks and best practices that China should comply with in making these investments.
Sashenka J. Brauer,
William and Mary Law School
Legal Research Intern, Feb-Apr 2018
Sashenka is a second-year law student at William and Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S.A. During her internship with Open Development Cambodia (ODC), Sashenka conducted a research on open data for agricultural governance and contributed to ODC through her research paper.
“My internship at ODC allowed me to learn about the incredible benefits of open data for agricultural governance, and has inspired me to continue my education of learning how to tackle environmental issues. I have gained a deeper appreciation for transparency on every level, and hope to use these insights in my future career.”
Aliaksei (Alex) Patonia,
University of St Andrews/Open Society Foundations
Research Fellow, Mar – Sep 2018
Alex joined ODC as an Open Society Foundation (OSF) research fellow after graduating from the University of St Andrews (Scotland). While obtaining his Master’s degree in Sustainable Development in Great Britain, Alex focused on renewable energy and environmental impact assessment. Alex did his undergraduate at Belarus State University and also received an MSc in International Management of Oil and Gas from the University of Liverpool (UK). At ODC Alex is currently dealing with the issues of strategic environmental assessment and natural resource management.
Lennart J. Krotzek,
The University of Amsterdam
Media and Communications Intern, Feb – May 2018
Lennart had completed his Master’s in Political Communication at the University of Amsterdam shortly before he joined the ODC team. As a media and communications intern he is responsible for the development of curriculums for ODC journalist trainings, website orientation materials, writing blog posts, taking photos, and the development of ODC’s social media strategy. He is further involved in conducting and evaluating ODC’s workshops. His main goals for his time as an intern are to contribute to ODC’s mission to enable journalists to use public data for their work and to promote the ODC platform which makes access to data easier for the public. He is excited to learn more about Cambodia’s media and political culture from the perspective of a domestic NGO.
Yong Huey Chyi Charine,
National University of Singapore
Research Intern, May-June 2017
Charine is a fourth-year Political Science undergraduate from National University of Singapore. Her love for open data motivated her to do an overseas internship here with ODC. During the internship with ODC, Charine worked on Cambodia’s Elections profile project and suggested designs of the pages presenting on ODC website. She believes that information is an enabling tool in today’s knowledge-based economy and the public should have free access to it. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, photography and Cambodian food very much. The first few Khmer words she asked to learn in Phnom Penh are: pong mwan (egg), bai (rice), saat (beef) etc.
Natasha Michiko Yokoyama,
National University of Singapore
Partnership and Grants Intern, Jun-Dec 2016
Natasha is a final year student studying political science at the National University of Singapore. During her six-month internship at ODC, Natasha was responsible to write grant proposals for various projects ranging from natural resources to gender equality. She is passionate about sustainable development and believes that open data is crucial especially since technology grows to be more prevalent in our lives.
“ODC has definitely provided a good opportunity for me to understand the development landscape in one of the world’s emerging economies. It has also given me an insight of the various stakeholders that are required to come together to solve global issues. I have learnt tremendously at ODC and am really grateful for the opportunity !”
Sam An Mardy,
Institute of Technology of Cambodia and Institute of Foreign Languages
Web Intern, Apr-Oct 2016
Mardy just obtained a Bachelor of Education in English from Institute of Foreign Languages (IFL), and he is also a Fourth year student of Department of Information and Communication Engineering of Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC). During his six-month at ODC, he worked mainly on style and layout with ODC to implement and improve of ODC theme Generation II. Besides, he also contributed in some data entry for mapper team.
“Internship at ODC is my first professional experience which offered me things beyond my expectation. I had good opportunities not only to learn new technologies and practice new skills, but also to understand about the flow of work and meet amazing people. I feel like I am part of a family, and I am very much into the nice working environment and the impactful mission of ODC.”–Sam An Mardy
Romeo Garreau,
Université de Rennes I
Legal Research Intern, Mar-Sept 2016
Romeo obtained a Master’s Degree in Environment and Law from Université de Rennes I in France. He was a legal researcher intern at ODC for 6 months, during which he contributed to several topic pages related to the environment and natural resources in Cambodia. Romeo also worked along with the data and mapping team, and represented ODC at promotional events such as Barcamp, Inno-Tech Festival and Science and Engineering Festival.
“My internship brought me a broad understanding of Cambodia’s trends, and it has strengthened my motivation into taking action for environmental protection. It also enabled me to understand better the value of information and the importance of transparency.” Romeo Garreau
Chhay Vannlyhoung,
Royal University of Law and Economics
Legal Research and Editorial Intern, Mar-Aug 2014
Lyhoung is a third-year student at the Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE). Lyhoung’s help was fundamental in building the ODC Compendium of Laws page by researching law texts and organizing them for upload based on the ODC taxonomy. Lyhoung also assisted ODC editors in collecting information for the news archive and press release pages.
“I think I cannot forget my lovely time at ODC because ODC staff are kind, cooperative and friendly. They have a sense of humor, too. Even though it was my first time as an intern, I felt comfortable with them and I got a lot of experience from them as well as my tasks.” — Chhay Vannlyhoung
Lisa Zhao,
Columbia Law School
Legal Research Intern, Jun-Aug 2014
Lisa is now in China starting a tech company with her partners. She came to ODC after her first year of law school at Columbia Law School in the U.S.A. During her internship, she prepared a draft briefing paper on Chinese investment in the Mekong region and its impacts. Besides doing research, Lisa contributed to in-house hackathons such as dataset review and metadata development parties.
“I enjoyed my time at ODC with all the great, hard-working and passionate co-workers! I learned so much about Cambodia’s economic development. It was very interesting to assess developments from different perspectives. ODC is doing great work in Cambodia and I hope the regional website will launch soon and provide public information to the region!” – Lisa Zhao
Elizabeth Buner,
William and Mary Law School
Legal Research Intern, May-Jul 2014
Liz is a student at William and Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S.A. During her time in Cambodia, Liz conducted research and drafted a briefing paper on rubber production in the Mekong and updated a briefing paper on Cambodia’s agricultural policy. Besides doing research, Liz contributed to in-house hackathons such as dataset review and metadata development parties.
Ross Natividad,
William and Mary Law School
Legal Research Intern, May-Jul 2014
Ross is a student at William and Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S.A. He interned at ODC from May to July 2014 and conducted research and drafted a briefing paper on Cambodia’s rubber industry. Besides doing research, Ross contributed to in-house hackathons such as dataset review and metadata development parties.
“My internship surpassed all expectations, and I am so thankful and fortunate to have been able to work at ODC. I’ve become knowledgeable about a myriad of legal, environmental, and human rights issues ongoing in Cambodia. I even got a taste of Khmer culture by traveling throughout the country, learning bits of the language, and tasting new and exotic foods. But without a doubt, the best part of my experience was getting to know the inspiring people at ODC. I will always remember the professionalism, kindness, and friendship they showed me during my unforgettable three months in Cambodia. Aw-koon-ch’ran ODC!” — Ross Nativdad
Kong Cheeko,
Royal University of Law and Economics
Legal Research Intern, Mar-Jul 2014
Cheeko graduated with a Bachelor of Khmer Law degree at Royal University of Law and Economics in 2013 and completed the English language-based Bachelor of Law (ELBBL) degree program from the same university in August 2014. During his time at ODC, Cheeko contributed to the building of the ODC Compendium of Law page. He helped identifying relevant law texts and organized them for uploading based on ODC’s taxonomy. He also assisted the ODC editorial team in idenfitying press releases and conducting translations to be included in the website.
“I have gained a lot of experience working with ODC’s staff as a legal research intern. ODC’s team is friendly and I am thankful to be a member of this team. ” — Kong Cheeko
Poy Kimsan,
Passerelles Numériques Cambodia
IT Intern, Apr-May 2014
Kimsan is ODC’s first IT intern. Kimsan is a first-year student from the Passerelles Numériques Cambodia, a French NGO focusing on providing IT training to qualified and deserving young Cambodians. Kimsan worked with ODC’s IT team to further develop and maintain the Compendium of Law page.
Luke Flanagan,
University of Sydney
IT Intern, Jan 2014
Luke studies information systems and biological science at the University of Sydney. While having a one-month break between his volunteer assignment in Vietnam and before the new semester started, Luke assisted ODC’s IT team to improve the current spatial database in MySQL and conducted testing on preparations for establishing a standard spatial database structure.
Greg Bem,
University of Washington
Library System & Information Management Intern, Sep-Dec 2013
Greg is a graduate student from the University of Washington’s Information School in Seattle. He interned for ODC, focusing on library support.
When not thinking, reading, talking, and writing about libraries and information exchange in the 21st century, Greg enjoys poetry and the arts, and writes critically about computer games. Since moving to Cambodia, he has fallen in love with eating ខ្ចៅ (khyoah, or ‘small snail’).
Follow his travel blog (cambodianbem.wordpress.com) and his internship blog (khmerbembrarian.wordpress.com), and follow him on Twitter @CambodianBem.
Chan Vidarith,
Macalester College
Research Intern, Jun-Aug 2013
Vidarith is from Macalester College in the U.S.A. While conducting a research project with the ILO Better Factory Cambodia in summer 2013, Vid interned with ODC as a part-time Research Intern. He prepared a briefing paper on the garment and textiles industry and a pilot paper on working conditions in exporting and non-exporting garment and textiles industry in Cambodia.
Rim Reach,
Royal University of Agriculture
Volunteer Mapper, Apr-Aug 2013
Reach is a student at the Royal University of Agriculture. Reach volunteered as a student mapper with ODC in summer 2013. During his time at ODC, Reach was trained by ODC mappers to use various mapping applications. By the end of his time with ODC, Reach was able to help the ODC mappers with image classifications for a forest cover change project.
Peat Pich Somneat,
Royal University of Agriculture
Volunteer Mapper, Apr-Aug 2013
Somneat is a student at the Royal University of Agriculture. Neat volunteered as a student mapper with ODC in Summer 2013. During his time at ODC, Neat was trained to conduct desk research, collect spatial data, and prepare datasets for mapping. By the end of his time with ODC, Neat was able to help the ODC mappers update the concessions data generated from the Cambodian royal sub-decree monthly newsletters.
Jessica Duval,
Universite Libre de Bruxelles
Legal Research Intern, Jul 2013
Jessica is pursuing a Master in Public Law at Universite Libre de Bruxelles. Jessica spent her summer with ODC as a legal research intern, during which time she completed a briefing paper on the law and judiciary sector in Cambodia, and collected more than 2000 law texts to build a compendium of law for the ODC Law & Regulations page.
Matthew Warren,
Santa Clara University
Legal Research Intern, Jun-Jul 2013
Matt is from Santa Clara University School of Law in the USA. He came to ODC after his first year, and he prepared a draft briefing paper on Cambodia’s legal framework for investment, as well as a pilot paper on Cambodia’s Labor Law.
“I really loved my time at ODC, and I learned a great deal about the structure of government in Cambodia. ODC’s staff are fantastic and talented, and it is great to know that they are continuing to work to provide much-needed public information to the population!” – Matt Warren.
Atif Choudhury,
William and Mary School of Law
Legal Research Intern, May-Jul 2013
Atif is a first-year law student at William and Mary School of Law in the USA. He came to ODC after his first year, and he prepared a draft briefing paper on Cambodia’s elections and collected data for ODC’s anticipated regional page. Atif called his experience at ODC “a bold and eye-opening adventure”. He wrote about his experience on the William and Mary School blog.
“As a clueless, rising 2L law student who had not even had the opportunity to take an American election law class (much less possess any familiarity with Cambodian election law), I have to admit the responsibility of being in charge of such a hugely important task was a bit daunting. Yet as I began researching Cambodia’s electoral history and framework of governance and pored over the finer details of the Law on Election of Members of the National Assembly (or LEMNA, as it is affectionately known), I began to adapt and mold the project as my own.” – Atif Choudhury
Katherine L. Hart,
Texas Wesleyan School of Law
Legal Research Intern, Jun-Jul 2013
Katherine was a graduate student from the Texas Wesleyan School of Law. Katherine spent her summer in 2013 with ODC, during which she completed a briefing paper on the Cambodian health sector. Currently, Katherine is working for AlliedBarton Security Services and still studying international security, medicine, and legal policy.
