First of all, could you tell us what kind of internship you did and where you completed it?
“I completed my internship at the Danish embassy in Sweden (Stockholm) at the Defense Department. I am a Danish citizen, which is kind of how I came to it. It is quite common in Denmark to do an internship if you study politics, but this is mostly done by master’s students, making me even happier that I got to do it! And luckily, PPE has an internship option in the bachelor’s programme as well, so I thought, why not just give it a try?”
What steps did you take to secure the internship? What helped you to get in?
“For Danish embassies, they take interns every year for every embassy, so I applied to many places and many departments within them. In many European countries, for example, there are many trade councils, whereas in African countries it is a bit more humanitarian- and development-aid-focused. You apply for a specific department, making it way easier to write a good motivation letter based on your interests. Next to that, I had recommendation letters from professors ready before the deadline, so I could apply immediately when it opened. Besides the application, there were two rounds of interviews, so it was quite hectic.
What helped me to get in is, I think, the fact that I served a year in the Danish military. Because of this, I already had a defence background, which made it easier to apply for this department. Next to that, I was already very interested in international security and loved that PPE course as well!
A key takeaway for PPE students is to gain as much work experience as you can, because it helps you a lot to get these kinds of internships! I think my prior work experience is the main reason why I got it. That is also why the internship option is so valuable, since it can be a great step up for your CV. However, it is a bit of a gamble, making it less attractive, of course.”
Was your year in the military also one of the reasons for doing your internship in this particular field?
“Yes, definitely! Knowing a bit about the structure and hierarchy of the Danish military made it a bit easier to link defence to the political side of it. My interest in defence, but also in politics and philosophy, made this a perfect fit for my internship. And my year in the military definitely motivated me to pursue this more.”
I can imagine that in the time we live in right now, defence is also a huge topic of conversation. Is that something that you also experienced while being there?
“Definitely. The department I was in consisted of only me and the Defence Attaché, and he also covered Finland, which I then also worked on in terms of newsletters and so on. And almost every other project, in either the political department or the trade council department, had elements related to defence. So I ended up working in all of the departments since there was so much to do!
Also, there were drones flying over Copenhagen Airport in September, which was a big thing. And of course, Trump announcing his interest in Greenland also took up quite some time, which was very interesting.”
That sounds very cool! You probably learned a lot from those extraordinary situations happening, right?
“There are also many things that an embassy does which you would not think of immediately. For example, if the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs comes for a meeting, how do you get him from the airport to the embassy? All of these minor things have great implications for how the embassy works as well. It has been a very hands-on experience, especially as an intern, since you get to do both the coffee and the reports!
What did a typical day as an intern look like for you?
“We had flexible hours. In the end, I worked mostly between 40 and 50 hours a week. I started at 8:30 or 9:00 and went home at 17:00. It depended a bit on the day, but we had embassy meetings on Thursdays, where we had a full briefing on what all the departments in the embassy did, including the ambassador. Next to that, I wrote many reports to inform Denmark about what was happening in Sweden and vice versa. Also, we had a thing called the ‘Flash’, which was important news that needed to be reported as quickly as possible. And many presentations as well!
I got a lot of responsibility since I worked mostly with only my boss; this was very nice! And I bonded with the other interns. I must add that the complimentary coffee was amazing next to all of this!
For the university, you also have to write a report on your internship, so I was quite occupied with many things!”
Was there a highlight of your internship?
“Embassy life in general is quite interesting in itself; it can be quite glamorous as well! What was super cool was that Denmark had the EU Presidency while I was there, which meant that we had the European ambassadors visiting! We got to attend some very interesting meetings. I got to meet Von der Leyen, which was so nice! World history was happening right there, and you are reporting on it—it is so cool. You are really in the core of what is happening.”
What is the most valuable lesson or insight you gained from your internship experience?
“That I have to appreciate not having a 9-to-5 and living my student life. My internship was amazing, but having flexibility is such a freedom. One of the things that I learned was that I am more interested in the specifics of certain topics and want to focus more on expertise.”
What advice would you give to future PPE students who are preparing for their internship?
“Do something that interests you! Do not do it for prestige; do it because you think it would be interesting. Pay attention to when you are interested in a PPE course, like when you actually want to do the readings. Because you also want to be able to appreciate the more boring work.
And make sure to get all of your documents ready in time and be aware of all the deadlines. It is not impossible to get an internship! You might as well try, and it is not as hard as it sometimes seems. All PPE students are capable of doing a great internship!”
What is coming up for you now? Are you excited about writing your thesis and graduating?
“I have applied for some master’s programmes and the military school in Denmark, but I do not know yet where I will end up. My thesis is going to be about political violence. It is so nice that I know where my interests are and can focus more on that! Graduating still feels so far away, but I am enjoying my time being back in Amsterdam and the last couple of months of PPE!”
