Hi Ana, could you introduce yourself? Tell me where you are from, what your educational background is, if you had any prior work experience before your internship at HCSS?
Hi! My name is Ana. Whilst originally from Moldova, I have lived most of my life abroad. My first years were spent in Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Moldova, whilst the latter part of my childhood was spent growing up Denmark. I moved to the Netherlands in 2020 to study at Leiden University. In 2023 I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Political Science specialising in International Relations. I am now completing my Master’s in Public Administration, specialising in International and European governance.
My interests involve a constellation of development and good governance practices, conflict and the post-Soviet space, and the EU. I explored these alongside my studies. My first internship experience was at the World Fair Trade Organisation as a communications intern where I made visualisations and wrote success stories of fair-trade practices of SMEs. Once I completed that, when I had time, I would write for my university’s political science magazine. During my bachelor’s, I did a minor in EU studies. And as convoluted and tedious the EU policy making machine can be, I really liked untangling it! This led me to a European media start up, the European Correspondent, where I get to untie developments in Eastern Europe and in the EU in our weekly newsletters. As a “real” job, I had worked in the service industry.
After completing the first semester of my master’s, I wanted to see what it was like working in policy analysis and being in close-contact with the policy-making arena. I had heard of HCSS before and knew they worked on several topics of interest to me. So, I applied and here I am!
Can you describe your time as a general intern? What does your day-to-day look like?
Being a general intern means sometimes you’re really locked in on a project at your desk, and sometimes there’s an event and you don’t see your work desk much at all. It varies! What you end up working on really depends on the goal of the project and the product the clients commission. Aside from reports and policy papers, these can include serious games, workshops, events, etc.
One of the tasks I spent a lot of time on is doing desk research. This included doing literature reviews, open-source research, content and data analysis, which then often fed into final reports or presentations. Other tasks included finding gaps in our research and drafting interview questions to then ask those more closely involved in a specific field – be it in-house experts, diplomats or industry representatives. But tasks also included things I haven’t done before at all. One of these was data visualisation using a tool called Tableau.
Speaking of events, which HCSS hosts on a regular basis, general interns also help out there. On those days, you will find yourself making event timetables, setting up equipment, welcoming guests, refilling refreshments, notetaking during the event – and getting to listen in on some diverse and interesting panels, and networking at break times. I often helped with technical aspects such as ensuring that speakers’ presentations were up on our display screens and that those joining in online were heard by those joining in person.
A nice aspect of the internship is also the HCSS mentorship programme. You get assigned a mentor that you go on monthly lunches with and talk about … well anything you like really. My mentor and I took this as an opportunity to explore the cuisine offered by the Hague, whilst also having someone there to talk to regarding how my internship is going, advice, and just sharing a good laugh.
What research topics did you work on at HCSS? Were there any topics that were new to you? Did you have any favourite topics or projects?
In the 10 months that I was at HCSS (I ended up extending the original 6 months internship), I got to work on a bunch of different topics. I took it as an opportunity to see what I’m good at and what topics are of a bigger interest to me. And I got to learn a lot!
The research topics I worked on included coercive diplomacy between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as also some work on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. I got to really dive into what happened in the period leading up the 2023 episode of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and joined my supervisor in helping conduct interviews regarding the Russia-Ukraine and Russia-NATO dyad. I also worked on a project analysing the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on organised crime and state stability, particularly focusing on Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Balkans. Lastly, another one I spent a lot of time on is de-risking EU’s strategic sectors, with my focus being on the Dutch and EU drone sector. Other projects I’ve helped in ranged from the socio-political instability survey, cyber security, AI in the military domain, water-food-energy nexus, and war-endings. Many of these latter ones were new to me but found elements of each enjoyable.
A favourite is tough to pick but I’ve really enjoyed working on the organised crime and state stability project. I got to really dive into the role and consequences of crime in society; the history of organised crime in the Soviet Union and how it has changed over time; the relationship of corruption, conflict, and organised crime dynamics in the region today; and best practices to deal with organised crime and its consequences. I also looked into how organised crime is sustained through illicit financial flows, and more grey areas like the recent spike of imports of sanctioned dual-use goods into the Caucasus and Central Asia. I also now know what soviet prison tattoos look like, which is pretty cool! So, if anyone needs tattoo inspo, I’m your guy(girl).
Another favourite was the de-risking project. It was different from the other research projects I was involved in as it contained elements of balancing economic freedom with economic security. Never did I think that my high school chemistry class would come in handy but here I was trying to understand what raw materials are used in drone components, and then what those components are used for in a drone, contributing to an overview of the European drone supply chain. I dug so deep that I ended up getting component ads on LinkedIn, which I thought was quite funny.
What achievements or contributions are you most proud of from your time here?
Due to my involvement and contribution in the organised crime project from its beginning, I got to co-author part of the report! This was of course under the supervision of two great analysts that valued my input, provided feedback, and guided me throughout the process. Another achievement for me was contributing to the socio-political instability survey. This project was a bit different from others as I worked more with survey responses and data visualisation, learning how to use Tableau. I learned how to make a donut chart and remember feeling a little moment of pride for figuring it out, as well as interesting map visuals. The workshop (one of many) organised by our intern coordinators on how to use tableau, and the tableau manual found in the intern folder, definitely helped.
Is there anything you wish you had known before starting your internship that could help future interns?
I think as an intern, a new working environment can feel intimidating, but the HCSS intern coordinators are aware of that, and are there to help you out. Something I could have done more is reach out and ask questions when I’m unsure about a detail, a concept, a thought process, etc. Ultimately, you are here to learn and gain experience, use the tools given to you to figure things out but also don’t be afraid to ask questions!
I also think I should’ve been more proactive in asking what other projects are going on and seeing if any of them are of interest to me. That way, if you have something that you’d really like to work on, you can signal to the intern coordinators that you’re interested and available. Of course, HCSS has lots of projects going on, so you’ll likely end up working on a bunch and figuring out that way as well.
What are your next steps after completing this internship?
After the HCSS internship, I’ll be returning to the Leiden University campus and completing the final semester of my master, set to be graduating in 2025! I’ll also be continuing with writing newsletters. After that, the world is my oyster!
This interview was conducted by HCSS Communications & Events Officer, Stephanie Govaerts