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My OECD internship programme experience from within

Estela Souto
Estela Souto, currently in her second year of Masters in Public Policy with a concentration in Digital and New Technology, holds a degree in Law from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (Brazil). From June to August 2018, she got the chance of interning at the OECD through their “Internship Programme” – a Career partnership between Sciences Po and the OECD, offering Sciences Po Students the unique chance of working at the OECD, occuring twice a year with the Summer and Winter Internship Programmes. Discover her experience from within!

Sciences Po Careers : What do you do at the OECD?

Estella Souto (E.S) - I work at the Public Governance Directorate, in the division of Public Sector Integrity. The division focuses on the promotion and share of best practices in transparency, integrity and fight against corruption. Within the division, I am working in a team dedicated to risk management within the public sector, and we work mainly with Supreme Audit Institutions from all over the world.
I am currently working on a project for the Tribunal de Contas da União, the Brazilian Court of Accounts.  We focus on the development of a maturity model that will assist the institution in better selecting audits, which will eventually inform the Executive and Legislative branches in the policymaking process. It is a big and ambitious project, therefore requiring the collaboration of different directorates and many multidisciplinary teams. Teamwork is very important at the OECD, giving the interns the opportunity to learn about many different ongoing projects. In addition, social activities are not neglected neither, so I got the chance to meet interns and officials from other directorates, strengthening my professional and personal network.

How did you get the internship?

(E.S) - I learnt about the OECD Summer Internship Programme by Sciences Po Careers, via their newsletter. I sent my CV and cover letter to Sciences Po, and later I received an official link to the OECD programme’s website, where I applied once again with my CV, cover letter and many other information. After some weeks, my current boss contacted me by email, and then I did two interviews before getting an offer. It is important to mention that, before my current boss contacted me, I did not know the vacancies and teams that were looking for interns!

Learnings, feedback… and what’s next?

(E.S) - It has been a great opportunity to work with people from different countries and cultures, as well as being exposed to different subjects. Since I started, there was no single day not learning something new. After the internship, I would be happy to stay at the OECD and to have the chance to see the finalization and implementation of the project that I am dedicated.

to learn more

“Once you are pre-selected, your application is sent to the OECD to be included in their rooster with all the Sciences Po pre-selected Students. From that point, the managers can contact the Students once their specific skills are needed, on a 6-months period (between January and June for Students selected for the Winter Programme, July and December for the Summer Programme). For Estela the whole process took around 2 months, but the time period can be longer depending on the teams’ needs at the OECD.”

Cyriel Pelletier,
International Careers Manager at Sciences Po Careers

 

Last modified 2018-09-14

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