New Agreement Provides Exclusive Internship Opportunities at UNICEF for Middlebury Institute Students

Middlebury Institute students interested in international development gained an exclusive new career opportunity with the signing of a recent memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Institute and UNICEF, the United Nations’ primary child- and youth-focused agency. Under the MOU’s terms, UNICEF will reserve two internship slots per year for current Institute students. 
 

“This is an exciting opportunity to ensure that MIIS students have an internship with a major employer like UNICEF,” says Carolyn Taylor Meyer, director of immersive professional learning, who collaborated on the development of the MOU with Senior Director of Institutional Partnerships Jill Stoffers, Director of Employer Relations Bryce Craft, Director of Sponsored Programs Meghan Rasmussen, and Executive Assistant to the Vice President Barbara Burke. “We have had MIIS students intern at UNICEF in the past through cold-pitching supervisors, but this MOU formalizes and clarifies the process and should help to ensure that we have a steady stream of students interning at UNICEF and hopefully launching coveted UN careers.”

The paid internships will be supported by a combination of Immersive Professional Learning (IPL) funding and Freeman Foundation Award funding, depending on the location of the internship. The IPL program funds immersive learning opportunities for students, and the Freeman Foundation’s East Asia Internship Fund has made available eighteen $5,000 awards to support students undertaking internships or practica in East Asia during the 2021–2022 academic year and summer 2022.

“Many of our students come to MIIS with the goal of working for the United Nations, and this partnership gives them direct access to prestigious, paid internships with UNICEF,” says Stoffers. “Internships offer invaluable insight into an organization and provide opportunities to network and make contacts, understand the internal landscape and organizational structure, and ultimately help them discover if it’s the right career fit for the long term. We are thrilled to enter into this partnership with UNICEF and are excited to see students take advantage of these paid internships.”