Last Fall, IPED ventured the United Nations in Manhattan, New York, for one of its notable career trips. Along with a full tour of the United Nations Headquarters, students met with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – Nature for Development Team for an informative presentation on their work. They discussed the different projects that their team in UNDP is undertaking in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These projects are the Equator Prize, UN Biodiversity Lab, and Policy Support for governments among many others. The students had questions on the role of private firms, impact assessment, political limitations, and nature-based solutions for indigenous peoples.
The IPED group then headed to UNICEF’s Emergency Operations Department, where the UNICEF team presented about the functions of the organization and typical career trajectories. UNICEF’s Human Resources Department also held a brief presentation for those interested in such a career path.
Later, the group proceeded to the US Mission (State Department) for a meeting state department officials, including a Foreign Service Officer. They shared their experience of working for the US mission and the strict hiring process they had to undergo, respectively. They also shared about the different paths available in foreign service. Also discussed were the difficulties of balancing professional and personal life because of the demands of the career path.
All in all, it was a fruitful experience that gave the IPED cohort a taste of the career potentialities with the UN and the State Department.
