Dates of internship:  March - June 2010

Nationality: Australian

I wanted to intern at a legal department of an international organisation to get some practical experience as to how international organisations look from inside, and what are the kind of legal issues that are raised. The OPCW was a great option for me as I had an interest in disarmament issues, and the fact that it was located in The Hague, which is the seat of so many international courts and tribunals made it a very good option. I commenced the OPCW internship at the same time as I was doing my Masters Degree in Public International Law at Leiden University.  

I was working at OPCW’s legal branch. The branch essentially deals with all legal matters that arise in an international organisation. They may range from administrative law type work, contractual work, and of course issues relating to the domestic implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. I was mostly involved in dealing with international administrative law issues and closely looked at the internal recourse procedures at the OPCW; I did comparative research on compliance mechanisms in a disarmament context; and other work such as providing background information on the status of the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The work I did on the issue of due process and international administrative law was very interesting and useful for me. It also consolidated my thoughts about my Masters Thesis which I was writing at the time, and gave the thesis a real practical dimension. That thesis will be published soon.

Although I was not a resident of The Hague, I was studying at Leiden University and so I was based in Leiden, which is only 20 minutes away from The Hague on public transport. The Hague is a beautiful city, and perfect for international law nerds! As the ICJ, ICC, ICTY and other international tribunals are located there, it is undoubtedly one of the places where all lovers of international law must visit and spend some time.

I found three major benefits from my internship with the OPCW. Firstly, working with people from all over the world in the same office really gave me a sense of how different people do the same things differently, and still at a very high standard. Secondly, it gave me a brief insight into the workings of an international organisation; and lastly it gave me an opportunity to put theory into practice.

Dates of internship: September - December 2010

Nationality: German

When I joined the OPCW for an internship I was enrolled at the VU University Amsterdam as a Masters student in Political Philosophy. During my study I became very interested in international organizations. Besides this, I am fascinated by disarmament, international relations and multilateral diplomacy. 

Working at the Training, Development and Results Based Management Branch means that the intern offers assistance in a number of duties, such as organizing, planning, prioritizing and writing summary training-evaluation reports of courses taken by the OPCW staff members based on submitted individual training evaluation forms. Our team distributed these summary reports to internal course owners and supervisors of the participants. I was also involved in archiving evaluation reports and distributed summaries of trends and findings to my supervisor. 

Organizing the UNLPE – United Nations Language Proficiency Examinations – together with my supervisor was a very enriching and enjoyable experience. The OPCW hosted those examinations for all international-agency candidates registered to take the examinations in The Hague.  I was involved with the distribution of materials and documentation for the exam invigilators and administrators, the setup of the exam rooms, the invigilation of written examinations and internal communication that required extensive preparation and attention to detail since this is a high-stakes secure examination.  

The chance of doing an internship at the OPCW offered me the opportunity to gain valuable professional work-experience within an international organization dedicated to a safer world. The internship was also a great inspiration during the research I did for my master thesis. 

Dates of internship: February - July 2010

Nationality: American/U.S.A.

I began my graduate studies with the goal of working for the United Nations after graduation. Given that the OPCW is a United Nations affiliate and I was earning a degree in International Policy Studies with a focus on International Security, the OPCW seemed a logical organization in which to intern. I had also previously been employed at the Center for Non-proliferation Studies. Educational and professional background aside, I was keen to return to Europe and explore as many cultures as possible, so I accepted an internship in the Assistance and Protection Branch for six months in 2010. 

The Assistance and Protection Branch (APB) of the OPCW organizes international training conferences and workshops, which offer disaster preparedness and defence against chemical weapons attacks and ensures that the OPCW is capable of effectively responding to chemical weapons incidents. As an intern, much of my work consisted of administrative and communications support, though I was also responsible for updating the Assistance and Protection Database and conducting English/French translations of powerpoint presentations and other media utilized in workshops. Though the job itself could be mundane, I very much enjoyed all the opportunities to network and travel – such as attendance at a security conference in Berlin, Germany, and a chemical weapons defence course in Spiez, Switzerland – and experience the diplomatic community. The best part of my internship was attending a Swiss Basic Training course (for defence against chemical weapons) in Spiez, Switzerland (June/July 2010). It was fantastic to actually attend one of the trainings that I helped organize and gain some valuable emergency preparedness training. It was by far the most exhausting week of my life, but I ended each day with an intense feeling of accomplishment. I got to experience one of the most beautiful countries in the world and made some lifelong friends!  

For the most part, I enjoyed living in The Hague. Efficient and plentiful public transportation made getting around easy, bikes are cheap and easy to come by (get one – it's the way of the natives), and I enjoyed living close to the ocean again. Negatives included the rather high cost of living and the fact the weather was often overcast, windy, and rainy.  My OPCW internship provided balance to my professional and educational background, and paved the way for a career in the field of homeland security. I am currently interviewing with multiple companies in Washington D.C. and will be gainfully employed in the near future!