My internship at the United Nations turned into a rewarding job opportunity
I aimed to get the most out of my time as a student and packed my days as fully as possible. With the mantra “there’s always room for more”, I studied hard and worked hard as an ambassador for NHL Stenden.
I had the experience of studying in the Netherlands and thought it would be good to have the experience of working in the Netherlands as well after graduation. I interned with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva, but because of the COVID-19 lockdown, I spent much of my time working remotely in the Netherlands.
I had two internships lined up first, but I was keen to work for the United Nations (UN). I ended up as a Graphic Design Intern, helping with communications strategies, checking digital trends, scheduling social media, working on communication events, developing toolkits, and making graphical and video content for projects, campaigns, and social media. I loved the work and was able to carry on with the United Nations. At the same time, I wrote my thesis, this time working for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG) Action Campaign in Bonn, Germany. It was such a good match that I was able to stay on. I graduated in February 2023 and started officially as the Communications Analyst in April. I was sent on several UN missions representing the UN SDG Action Campaign and co-created several global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) advocacy campaigns with 142+ million SDG impacts worldwide.
“International Business is a very broad programme” — Mohammed Mostafa
Long-term skills
International Business is a comprehensive programme, and I learnt a lot about organisations, management, marketing and sales, communications, operations and supply chain, and finance. I still apply the Design Thinking approach to my work, the same Design-based Education (DBE) approach we used for our academic projects. When creating campaigns or organising UN events and activities, we must think very carefully about our strategies — what the events stand for and what we want to achieve. We build on our ideas, design prototypes and keep developing them using each other’s feedback. Yet it’s the softer skills that stood out — working in a team, leading a team, giving and receiving feedback, recruiting volunteers, understanding peoples’ needs and reflecting on our performances.
The right visa, the right place
Things might have worked out very differently if I’d studied somewhere else. Not just because I use the hard and soft skills I learned during my degree daily but because of the visa I had. Moving to Europe from Qatar meant I was within the Schengen area, so it was easier to go to Geneva for my internship and move to Germany for my job. The international opportunities and the international environment at NHL Stenden helped me develop my intercultural competencies. I would have missed out on this if I’d studied somewhere else. I had experience living in six different countries by the time I graduated. And thanks to the DBE projects, I worked with 12 organisations — and learnt how to build my network.
Understanding my role in life
I realise that I have changed throughout my studies. I’m now advocating far more for sustainability, working with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and placing people and the planet before profit. It’s partly thanks to the Mindful Leadership and Inspirational Coach and Leader academic minors I did in Thailand and Bali. The coaching was intense, inspirational sessions that explored the essence of life, what makes me happy and what my purpose is. All these thought-provoking questions changed the way I think. I’m thankful for each day and believe we need to care for others and make others happy. I’m still very competitive and want to achieve the highest I can for myself, but it’s because I think I can give back more to the community.
Find out more about International Business on the programme website.
The original interview was published by NHL Stenden here.
