Online Internship at the World Bank (Rakibul Hassan)

From February 5^th to March 8^th of 2024, I had the wonderful opportunity to conduct an online internship at the World Bank under the supervision of education economist Dr. Bernard Yungu Loleka, an Ogawa-zemi alumnus. My supervisor Professor Keiichi Ogawa always encourages me to obtain an internship at international organizations which will greatly improve my potential for a career at one of these organizations. With the support and reference provided by Professor Ogawa, I was able to obtain such a great opportunity to conduct an internship at the World Bank. During my internship, I was able to develop important skills needed for pursuing a career in international organizations.

About my internship task

During the internship, my task was to analyze Service Delivery Indicators (SDI) survey data for colleges in Congo and draft a report based on the findings. Especially, I analyzed the French, mathematics, and science proficiency of the college students in Congo. The SDI are nationally representative, facility-based surveys that measure the quality of health and education services in a country. SDI data help identify gaps, track change over time, benchmark progress, stimulate evidence-based debate, and ultimately, influence how countries design policies and interventions to accelerate progress in human capital outcomes.

SDI surveys for the colleges in Congo took place during the period from April 28 to June 20, 2021, throughout the Congolese territories. The SDI survey for Congolese colleges, the very first SDI survey for secondary school level in the world, provides an overview of the quality of services provided in the secondary education sector. The findings of my data analysis of SDI data show that Congolese college students scored around 50% in French and science assessments, while their scores in mathematics were only around 16%. Disparities in French, mathematics, and science scores in terms of gender, geographical location, type of college (public, private, or contractual), and socio-economic status were identified as well.

Skills acquired from the internship

Before starting the analysis of nationwide data, I had to translate all the questionnaires, datasets, methodology section, and latest SDI report on the Congolese primary education sector from French to English, since all the available data and materials were in French. This unique opportunity has significantly enhanced my language and problem-solving skills. After translating available data and materials into English, I analyzed SDI datasets for student’s performance in French, mathematics, and science assessments using STATA. The availability of do-files for primary-level SDI reports helped me to understand the quality of do-files at the World Bank and implement those practices in my do-files accordingly. After the completion of the data analysis, I wrote a draft report for student assessment which is an important module of the SDI report for Congolese colleges. This task equipped me with skills for interpreting the findings and writing reports for the Bank.

Besides acquiring research and writing skills, I learned how to work in a team of people from various backgrounds and cultures. Another important thing I acquired from the internship is that I understood how to prepare myself for the next level to pursue a career at an international organization. Overall, I greatly benefitted from the internship experience, and I could understand why Professor Ogawa always encourages us to conduct internships at international organizations.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to my supervisor Professor Keiichi Ogawa and my internship supervisor at the World Bank, Dr. Bernard Yungu Loleka, education economist at the World Bank for their continuous mentorship and support throughout my internship period. Thanks to them I could obtain invaluable experiences of working at the Bank which significantly contributed to my professional development. Their continuous encouragement has been pivotal in molding my experience and facilitating my development.

Authored by Rakibul Hassan (Master’s Student)