Rielle, International Development and Globalization,
CECI
Burkina Faso,
Communications Officer
This blog reflection will focus more on how I have developed individually throughout this internship. The first blog I wrote focused more on the key details of my role and the major differences I noticed between the NGO and government environments. This reflection will focus on all the learning experiences I've gained and the key elements of professional and personal development that I can reflect on. I think this blog will be a general reflection on my internship and the knowledge I have gained in terms of professional development, adaptation and managing a virtual internship environment.
This internship has been one of the most rewarding experiences I've had so far with placements and internships as part of my undergraduate degree. First of all, I think what makes this placement so different is obviously our current situation and the fact that I wasn't able to travel to the host country and work abroad in an international cooperation role. Before this internship, I'd never been able to take part in unpaid internships, because up until now, I've worked steadily throughout my studies. I think it was a great way to push myself to do things I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise, and to take the opportunity to really work on development in new areas.
The team I work with and I have taken on a new challenge and learned to navigate together in this totally new situation. I'm very grateful for all the support I've received through this internship from the University of Ottawa, CECI and my colleagues at my partner organization. I was able to develop my teamwork and communication skills, and learn how to manage productivity and motivation in the context of independent work.
Productivity
COVID-19 created a very complex working environment for everyone, especially when it came to productivity levels. Learning to be productive during this period was a huge challenge. At the beginning of the internship, I often compared my productivity from this internship to my previous work experiences before working remotely. Since a large part of my internship is spent alone in my room and I work every day on a computer, it's very easy to feel unproductive or hard to motivate yourself. I think this internship was the biggest test of how I motivated myself and how productive I could be in a more flexible and completely new work environment. I also think being aware of how productivity levels can vary due to the circumstances we find ourselves in.
The virtual environment - A new challenge
I've learned that if I'm not careful, I become exhausted and unproductive when I don't use strategies to get my work done but also to balance it with activities for myself that I enjoy. These might be reading (not academic), exercise or long walks outside. Although this is unavoidable due to our current situation, I have found ways to combat this feeling and work in this difficult environment. I am extremely satisfied with this internship because of its flexible nature and the space it has given me to learn what works best for me. Some examples of what I implemented during my days were lunchtime walks around the neighborhood, and the obligatory afternoon tea or coffee break. I've also learned that sometimes, when I have several deadlines, I work better and feel more motivated when I change the order of my days. Sometimes I work first on tasks for my internship, then on blog posts or discussions, other days I have to change the order in which I choose to do my tasks. This has enabled me to meet all my deadlines, but also to reassure myself and work in a less monotonous environment.
How to be flexible and adaptable
Learned skills
Learning to be flexible and adaptable has also been very important. Working internationally with an NGO is challenging during this period because things are so unpredictable. At the beginning of the internship, my partner organization was significantly behind in their program and therefore asked me to work on a different project a month into my internship. Taking advantage of this opportunity to diversify the tasks I was working on and the support I could provide during this internship was very beneficial. However, it required me to adapt and be flexible, as my roles and responsibilities did not necessarily follow the original work plan we had established at the beginning of the internship.
Another skill I was able to develop during this internship was using my bilingual communication skills daily. Until now, I had not had the opportunity to work entirely in French, whether for daily email communications or biweekly meetings. One of the major goals I had set for myself was to become more comfortable speaking French in a professional environment, and I achieved that. The daily habit of sending emails to my colleagues or communicating via WhatsApp really helped me work in French consistently and exponentially increased my communication skills.
During this period, I was doing this internship while also working as a research assistant, a position I started in August. Holding two positions at the same time can be challenging, but I believe the virtual environment really helped me navigate this specific challenge. I was able to set priorities for what needed to be done on a weekly basis and then work toward bigger goals over the months. I think staying organized was the key factor that helped me the most.
Another area I was able to develop is confidence in my own work. I was really able to grow in my role and become more confident in the work I was producing, knowing that my contributions could be successfully used within the partner organization. I was not as familiar with creating documents "from scratch" because, until now, much of my work had always been built from a template or an outline, whether it was an academic paper or a government policy proposal. I believe this confidence was also encouraged by my colleagues and those at my partner organization, who gave me the opportunity to truly develop and create my contributions.