As a person who wishes to work in international organizations in the future, it was really lucky for me to get the internship opportunity at ADBI in 2017 summer. The two-month internship provided me with a clearer structure of the operation of an international organization or a think tank and a chance to cultivate my data-collecting skills and quantitative analysis skills.
Before the beginning of the internship, we had an interview with the ADBI researchers to discuss our research interests. Thus, when we started our internship at ADBI, the work assigned to each person was basically related to the research interest, which was also helpful for our research. My topic was about food security and trade liberalization, and my supervisor—Dr. Matthias Helble, has been giving many advice for my research. During my internship, I read many related articles and learned how the experts from different camps established their models to support their ideas. The process has motivated me to view the issue of “food security” from various angles, and combine the knowledge I have learned in econometrics last semester. Additionally, I helped my supervisor collect some data from Bloomberg. Though it was the first time I used Bloomberg, I was excited and nervous on the first day; however, I became familiar with the operation by the end of my internship.
As other interns mentioned in the report, many conferences are held in the ADB office, which is across from the ADBI office, and all the interns are free to attend the conference. ADBI will post the information on the website; you only need to inform your supervisor of your attendance. I have attended more than three conferences in ADB, such as economics and financial systems in different countries. Those precious opportunities have provided me with exposure to the areas I am not familiar with and with new knowledge from scholars’ presentations.
During the two months, I gained a more holistic view on the topic I have a great interest in through lots of readings, and to combine and apply what I have learned so far in my life to a more practical research. In addition, I got the opportunity to become familiar with the research associates and other interns, exchange our thoughts, and discuss ideas on all kinds of topics. Most importantly, the two-month internship has let me understand where my interest lies, and seriously consider the next step of my life.