Greetings from our intern

When I applied for this internship, my goal was to get a broader understanding on multilateral co-operation in the Barents region and gain knowledge of the region by actually living there for a short while. I study in a master’s program for Area and Culture studies in Helsinki University, with my focus on the Nordic countries and the Arctic. I thought that this internship could be relevant for my studies and that has definitely been the case!

These months at the IBS have taken me to new situations and lead to interesting interactions with people who I would have never met in my normal everyday life! During the internship I have found myself from the office of the Norwegian border commissioner and dining at the governor’s residence in Umeå, but also from the Skolt Sami Museum in the small village of Neiden and on a skiing trip in the beautiful nature around Kirkenes.

The work life experiences I have gained from this internship will be valuable for me in the future. I had the chance to use my communication skills when editing and publishing on webpages and social media, but also when writing down minutes at a meeting or being in contact with working partners in the Barents cooperation. It has been especially interesting to assist with the youth and indigenous issues and to get an overall picture of what the Barents cooperation is about.

I’m leaving Kirkenes thankful of all the new experiences I have gotten and fascinating interactions with people who that I would have never met in my normal everyday life!