Internship at UNESCO Bangkok Office (Jun XU)

Background Information

• Organization: UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education.
• City: Bangkok, Thailand
• Unit: UIS-AIMS (UNESCO Institute For Statistics- Assessment, Information System, Monitoring and Statistics)
• Duration: Four Months (20/03/2017-21/07/2017)

Work Statement

• Under the authority of Director of UNESCO Bangkok Office and the direct supervision of Programme Specialist, Ms Aurelie Acoca, I performed the following assignments:
• Accessed and extracted relevant data and indicators from UIS data center to analyze regional and sub-regional trends and patterns in different areas of education;
• Extracted data from household surveys and other relevant sources to analyze the education development in countries in the region;
• Assist in the production of regional report (ECCE and ICT chapters), creating the statistical tables and graphics, as well as participating in the analysis of education data from administrative resources and household surveys for different countries in the region;
• Research support offered to Director Office of UNESCO Bangkok to prepare proposals, reports and presentation documents in education, nature, science and culture sectors;
• Assist in the production of training material on education statistics and dissemination material, as well as a note taker in 3rd Asia-Pacific Meeting on Education 2030 (APMED III).

Self Assessment

• The four-month UNESCO internship experience is consistent with my motivational orientation toward continue growth and gains in the field of education development at international organizations.
• Quantitative analysis skills improved via assisting team in some key analysis of the SDG4 areas and indicators.
• Proficiency in extracting relevant data and indicators from databases (eg, UN, World Bank, OECD, ADB Database etc.)
• Qualified with UNESCO publication standard of writing improvement in Asia-Pacific Regional Education for All Report 2016 that will be publicized at the end of 2017. As well as being a note taker participated in 3rd Asia-Pacific Meeting on Education 2030 (APMED III) to record conference reports on the spot that better developed English writing skill in shorthand.
• Made progress on strengthening working capacities through technical, research support to Direct office of UNESCO Bangkok, as well as in processes of planning, drafting, communicating, and cooperating with other staff from different backgrounds via event/conference/meeting.
• Built on complementarities between internship and academic studies in research interests of ECCE (Early Childhood Care and Education) and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) areas via relevant data/document collection and regional report practices.

On the Completion of Internship

• Internship at UNESCO Bangkok office has increased my research and career skills in education development studies and pursuing a position in international organizations.
• Hereby, I would love to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to Prof. Ogawa from Kobe University, Ms Aurelie Acoca and colleagues from UIS-AIMS and UNESCO Bangkok office for kindly support and providing with such a wonderful opportunity to improve professional capability as well as practice skills in both research and career areas that would be beneficial to my further study and career planning.

Jun XU
M2, International Studies
Graduate School of International Studies
Kobe University (GSICS)