For this internship experience, we interviewed Master student Daniël Kamminga. At the moment he is working as intern at the Economic Department of the Embassy of the Netherlands in New Delhi. Here you will read everything about his experience so far and gained insights into India.
Could you give us a short introduction of yourself?
My name is Daniel, I am 24 years old and currently doing my Master International Relations – International Political Economy (IPE). Before my masters, I did my Bachelor IRIO in Groningen as well.
What does your current internship entail?
My internship is at the Economic Department of the Embassy of the Netherlands in New Delhi, India. My internship entails a variety of tasks. I support the department in various activities. Moreover, I have some project in which I have a more leading role.
Currently, I am doing an economic analysis of the Dutch footprint in Nepal. The Netherlands does not have an embassy in Nepal, therefore our economic department also supports business in Nepal, though this has been minimal so far. Therefore I make this overview, with which the embassy can inquire whether a change in approach towards Nepal is required.
Moreover, I am compiling the content of a brochure on trade opportunities in India for Dutch business that the Embassy publishes annually. I also look after our social media, meaning publishing articles on our Twitter and Facebook.
How did you find it?
I found this internship at www.werkenvoorinternationaleorganisaties.nl. I wanted to work for an embassy in a developing country, applied for several and in the end, I was selected for India.
I really like this internship. Working at the embassy is a really cool experience and living in India makes life more challenging and interesting. Although the climate (this month it is around 46 degrees) is quite tough, there are plenty of opportunities to discover India in the weekends.
What are the most important things that you learned during your time in India?
Working and living in India really helped me to understand how cooperation between countries materialize. Moreover, being here I realized the importance of India in our policies towards climate change. Though it is known India has a population of 1.2 billion, this size really hits you when walking and travelling around India. It put our policies in the Netherlands in perspective and for me it highlights the importance of taking gigantic countries such as India on board in our policies.
Did the past few months give you an idea of where you want to work after graduating?
Although an internship at the embassy is a great experience, I also realized here that I would prefer not to work as a diplomat at the ministry. I would rather start my career in the private sector where the cooperation with the public sector is strong.
The initiatives we support as an embassy in India are mostly from businesses who would like to solve wider societal problems by means of a successful business case. These are often supported by organizations such as CSR the Netherlands (MVO Nederland). I would like to explore my career opportunities working for such organizations and businesses who are working towards fulfilling the SDGs in close cooperation with the government.
Is there any advice that you would like to give to students who are not sure yet whether they want to do an internship?
For me it was already set as within the Master an internship is obliged, but I do regret that I have not done an internship while doing my bachelors. Internships really allow you to explore the job market and will also guide you in your decisions in your studies on what you will study and which extra-curricular activities are relevant for your career perspective.
Could you give us a short introduction of yourself?
My name is Daniel, I am 24 years old and currently doing my Master International Relations – International Political Economy (IPE). Before my masters, I did my Bachelor IRIO in Groningen as well.
What does your current internship entail?
My internship is at the Economic Department of the Embassy of the Netherlands in New Delhi, India. My internship entails a variety of tasks. I support the department in various activities. Moreover, I have some project in which I have a more leading role.
Currently, I am doing an economic analysis of the Dutch footprint in Nepal. The Netherlands does not have an embassy in Nepal, therefore our economic department also supports business in Nepal, though this has been minimal so far. Therefore I make this overview, with which the embassy can inquire whether a change in approach towards Nepal is required.
Moreover, I am compiling the content of a brochure on trade opportunities in India for Dutch business that the Embassy publishes annually. I also look after our social media, meaning publishing articles on our Twitter and Facebook.
How did you find it?
I found this internship at www.werkenvoorinternationaleorganisaties.nl. I wanted to work for an embassy in a developing country, applied for several and in the end, I was selected for India.
I really like this internship. Working at the embassy is a really cool experience and living in India makes life more challenging and interesting. Although the climate (this month it is around 46 degrees) is quite tough, there are plenty of opportunities to discover India in the weekends.
What are the most important things that you learned during your time in India?
Working and living in India really helped me to understand how cooperation between countries materialize. Moreover, being here I realized the importance of India in our policies towards climate change. Though it is known India has a population of 1.2 billion, this size really hits you when walking and travelling around India. It put our policies in the Netherlands in perspective and for me it highlights the importance of taking gigantic countries such as India on board in our policies.
Did the past few months give you an idea of where you want to work after graduating?
Although an internship at the embassy is a great experience, I also realized here that I would prefer not to work as a diplomat at the ministry. I would rather start my career in the private sector where the cooperation with the public sector is strong.
The initiatives we support as an embassy in India are mostly from businesses who would like to solve wider societal problems by means of a successful business case. These are often supported by organizations such as CSR the Netherlands (MVO Nederland). I would like to explore my career opportunities working for such organizations and businesses who are working towards fulfilling the SDGs in close cooperation with the government.
Is there any advice that you would like to give to students who are not sure yet whether they want to do an internship?
For me it was already set as within the Master an internship is obliged, but I do regret that I have not done an internship while doing my bachelors. Internships really allow you to explore the job market and will also guide you in your decisions in your studies on what you will study and which extra-curricular activities are relevant for your career perspective.
