Din Liseinet: Reflecting on my internship experience with ODC

I had been a frequent visitor to the Open Development Cambodia (ODC) website in search for Cambodian news and information as well as for academic purpose. I had wondered if there was any possibility of trying here since I had rarely encounter the job or internship announcement from the organization. However, I am keen to share that for the past six months, I’ve been working as a Research Assistant Intern at ODC. Being at ODC has been both memorable and fascinating experience.

First off, I was delighted to join ODC, and I was grateful that this internship provided me with convenient working hours. Coming to this internship, I had little prior experience. Therefore, I had set several goals for myself, including gaining research skills and experience such as writing, collecting, analyzing, and interpreting the information at hand, and most importantly, I aim to familiarized myself with the working environment of an NGO settings. Under the supervision of Economics Editor – Researcher, my roles and responsibilities were to assist the research team in gathering primary data, such as conducting interviews and surveys, taking notes, recording the interview, contacting interviewees, facilitating meetings; assisting in the coordination and preparation of questionnaires and the interview as assigned; assist the research team in translating internal and external documents and proofreading and editing information; and participate in meetings, workshops, and other activities.

Starting in November, I was able to collaborate on a research project and a workshop with the Economics Editor – Researcher. That was my first exposure to an actual research project. The project was undergoing pretty well despite we were working from home during the first two months of my internship. Later on, we were back to the physical settings. On a daily basis, I felt immensely welcomed and the entire team exhibited a collaborative and hardworking spirit that I found memorable to witness. I was able to work with the team on another project involving the investment governance in Cambodia. As part of this second project, I was able to assist and facilitate a workshop as the MC. Both of these project workshops have provided me with deep knowledge through the sharing and the discussion of key speakers. These projects allowed me to have a deeper understanding of the issues presented while also becoming familiar with project management and workshop facilitation. Another work I have done was producing three topic pages.

After my own self-evaluation, I can say that I have brought valuable skills with me, and unexpectedly project management experience. I have obtained some valuable skills and knowledge as a result of this internship, which will undoubtedly be useful in my future career development.​ But no experience came without difficulties. Whilst I had some experience with research writing, my main challenge throughout this internship turned out to be the obstacle of writing topic pages for publication. Writing each topic page is a challenging task especially when it comes to gathering important materials and organizing contents in a way that is easy to read for the audience while maintaining the originality of the information.

Last but not least, ODC and the team have deeply impressed me with their quality of work and the impacts they made through the works and projects. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone looking to gain experience here. Thank you very much for these experiences.

Memorable photo together on the​ last day of my internship

Seinet is a senior student majoring in International Relations at the Institute of Foreign Languages, Royal University of Phnom Penh. During her internship at the ODC, Seinet supported the team in conducting research, data collection, developing online resources, and  other duties as assigned. Read her research topic pages on the ODC website at Asian Development Bank, Development and assistance for poverty reduction and food security, and Higher education.