Thanks for giving me the best memories​ – Than Davit

During my three-month internship at ODC as a Research Intern, I worked closely with the Economy Researcher-Editor to assist the editor team in conducting research, producing more topics, collecting publication documents and data for publishing and uploading onto ODC’s platform. I assisted in expanding ODC contents by collecting and summarizing public announcements, press releases, open letters, decisions, guidelines and joint statements published by the government, ministries and NGOs through their social media and websites. I also supported the team in writing a topic page on investment policy and regulation, translating English-Khmer and other tasks as assigned.

Despite being the first time I ever wrote a blogpost, this was undoubtedly one of the things I enjoyed the most during my internship. My most unforgettable blog at ODC focused on the impact of COVID-19 on Cambodia’s agriculture sector and the government’s response, published in April 2021. The blogpost was widely shared by the users both through the website and social media channels. I have also written blogposts for the three trainings on Data Literacy for Public Health, which were posted before my last day at ODC.

“My internship with Open Development Cambodia (ODC) provided me with a fantastic opportunity to hone my research abilities and advance my professional career. I am glad for the chance to meet so many great people who guided me throughout my internship.” — Than Davit, Research Intern at the ODC.

I have learned how to summarize information and verify data from various sources. I am confident that my research writing has improved as a result of it. Writing a research topic on investment policy is one of the incredible tasks I have learned at ODC because I rarely read law and regulation documents previously. My understanding of the investment sector in Cambodia is becoming more extensive, especially regarding the evolution of the regulation, development trends, and attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Cambodia. I also faced some challenges when selecting the most reliable source since there is so much data on the internet, and I needed to go into detail from time to time.

I have also participated in the data literacy for the public health training workshop and learned more about data – the types of data, using data in the news, and how to visualize the data and create infographics. ​I believe I can still improve my academic writing and research skills. However, I anticipate that the experience gained during my internship at ODC will be beneficial in expanding my research abilities and advancing to the next level of professionalism, particularly in terms of my career credit. I will take the knowledge and skills I have learned and apply them to my next adventure.

Davit is a fresh graduated from the Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), majoring in economics. Becoming part of ODC is the first professional career in his favorite field. His research topics of interest include economics, policy development, trade, agriculture, and the Cambodian economy. While working as an intern at ODC, he assisted the editorial team and wrote a number of research articles, including: Cambodia’s agriculture sector amid COVID-19Investment Policy and Regulation and Blogs on the 2nd and 3rd Data literacy for public health. He believes that he will gain more research skills and other valuable knowledge. He joined ODC as a full-time Research Intern for three months, from 23 February to 22 May 2021.