Program Overview
The UNU Campus Computing Centre (C3) Digital Technology and Innovation Internship Program offers hands-on opportunities to support and improve the University’s digital services, develop innovative solutions, and explore how technology can contribute to sustainable development.
Interns work alongside C3 colleagues on selected projects and operational assignments spanning IT infrastructure, applied AI, cybersecurity, data analytics, software engineering, and digital transformation. The program combines practical experience with responsible, inclusive, and resource-conscious approaches to technology in support of the University’s mission and wider UN priorities.
Assignments are tailored to each intern’s relevant skills, interests, and learning objectives, with guidance and supervision throughout. Interns focus on selected work areas rather than being expected to cover every topic.
Working Arrangements and Commitment
Remote and onsite internship options are available, with flexible working arrangements.
Interns are required to commit 15 to 20 hours per week for at least six months. They must also sign an agreement setting out their rights and responsibilities and the expectations of the internship.
Working Environment
An internship with C3 offers the opportunity to work alongside a dynamic, multicultural team in an international university environment. C3’s flat organizational structure encourages open communication and close collaboration, with approachable colleagues who support learning and the exchange of ideas.
Interns are encouraged to ask questions, share perspectives, and contribute to the team’s work.
Work Areas
Interns may contribute to one or more of the following areas, depending on their interests, relevant skills, and available assignments.
Digital Operations, Cybersecurity, and Engineering
- IT infrastructure, service operations, and reliability
Support the secure, reliable, and effective delivery of University IT services. Assignments may include networking, cloud platforms, endpoint management, service monitoring, user support, incident analysis, configuration and patch management, backup and recovery, operational documentation, and service improvement. - Applied AI for cybersecurity and the security of AI systems
Explore AI-assisted threat detection, phishing analysis, analysis of security logs and alerts, and incident investigation. Assess risks to AI applications, including prompt injection, data leakage, and unsafe tool access, and develop appropriate safeguards. Keep consequential security decisions under human oversight. - Software engineering, DevSecOps, and AI-assisted development
Design, develop, test, and maintain software applications, interfaces, integrations, and digital platforms. Contribute to requirements analysis, software design, version control, automated testing, documentation, and maintenance.
Apply secure development practices and continuous integration and delivery pipelines. Explore AI-assisted development while reviewing generated code, checking dependencies for vulnerabilities, protecting credentials, and validating functionality and security before deployment. - Digital trust, identity, and data provenance
Explore technologies and practices that support trusted digital interactions and reliable records. Assignments may include identity and access management, authorization, auditability, digital signatures, and data provenance. Investigate verifiable credentials or distributed ledgers where a clearly defined use case justifies their adoption.
AI, Data, and Digital Transformation
- University AI transformation and digital adoption
Support the identification, assessment, and implementation of AI applications that address identified needs across the University. Contribute to process improvement, staff adoption, digital skills development, responsible use, and evaluation of outcomes, considering user needs, accessibility, and institutional priorities. - AI model evaluation, adaptation, and efficient deployment
Compare and evaluate AI models for specific tasks. Explore prompt and context design, small language models, targeted fine-tuning, and efficient deployment. Assess accuracy, reliability, privacy, response time, cost, and resource use before adopting more complex approaches. - Agentic workflows and multimodal AI
Develop and evaluate supervised workflows that combine language models with documents, images, audio, and approved tools. Address context management, permission boundaries, human approval, failure recovery, and traceability. Explore interoperability standards and agent collaboration where they offer practical value. - AI-powered automation and trusted knowledge assistants
Develop automation and knowledge-retrieval solutions that connect AI-generated answers to relevant, authorized source material. Apply retrieval-augmented generation, access controls, source citations, multilingual capabilities, and answer-quality testing to support reliable document discovery and workflow assistance. - Natural language processing and intelligent information extraction
Apply AI to classify, extract, organize, and analyze information from research, administrative, and operational material. Explore multilingual processing, document understanding, and structured information extraction, with validation, data-quality checks, and appropriate protection of personal or sensitive information. - Data engineering, governed analytics, and business intelligence
Develop and improve data pipelines, warehousing, data lake and lakehouse architectures, and analytical solutions. Address data quality, metadata, lineage, access controls, and consistent definitions of metrics. Create accessible dashboards and explore natural-language analytics with validation against trusted data.
Responsible Innovation and Collaboration for Global Challenges
- Responsible AI, explainability, and transparency
Explore approaches that make AI applications understandable, accountable, and appropriate for their intended users. Address explainability, fairness, privacy, documented limitations, traceable evidence, and human oversight. Evaluate whether explanations help users recognize uncertainty and make informed decisions. - Collective intelligence and participatory innovation for UN initiatives
Explore crowdsourcing, citizen science, and collaborative problem-solving in support of UN initiatives and sustainable development. Consider consent, contribution quality, inclusive participation, and responsible data use, and assess how collective contributions can produce useful evidence or practical solutions. - Inclusive knowledge sharing and digital deliberation
Explore platforms and methods that support knowledge exchange and constructive debate on global challenges. Incorporate multilingual participation, accessibility, moderation, and information-integrity safeguards to help communities share evidence, examine different perspectives, and develop possible solutions.
Approach Across All Work Areas
Assignments incorporate security, privacy, accessibility, responsible technology use, and consideration of costs and environmental impacts. Operational activities and production changes remain supervised and subject to established access and approval procedures.
Each assignment has clear learning objectives and an agreed outcome, such as a working prototype, evaluated method, operational improvement, analytical study, or documented recommendation.
Program Features
- A hands-on internship combining project work with selected operational assignments.
- Guidance and supervision tailored to the intern’s assignment and learning objectives.
- Collaboration with colleagues, including virtual team meetings for remote participants.
- The possibility of extending the internship.
- An optional presentation of the intern’s work before completion.
- An end-of-program evaluation, including a review of the intern’s work and feedback from the intern on the program.
Program Benefits
The program offers opportunities to:
- Gain experience in an international, multicultural working environment.
- Develop practical skills through supervised projects and operational assignments.
- Expand professional networks and collaborate with colleagues across relevant disciplines.
- Learn how digital technology supports the work and mission of the United Nations University.
- Explore how responsible technology use can contribute to sustainable development.
- Upon successful completion, interns receive a certificate confirming their internship assignment and a written recommendation.
Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate:
- Is pursuing or has completed studies in computing, information technology, data science, cybersecurity, or another field relevant to the program’s work areas, subject to the eligibility requirements below.
- Demonstrates a strong interest in one or more work areas and can explain how their skills or academic background relate to a potential assignment.
- Has digital skills appropriate to their proposed area of work and a willingness to develop them further.
- Is familiar with virtual communication and collaboration methods.
- Is proficient in written and spoken English.
- Demonstrates resourcefulness, creativity, and a thoughtful approach to problem-solving.
- Is willing to learn, collaborate, and contribute to the team’s work.
- Relevant experience in areas such as programming, web design, infrastructure support, data analysis, cybersecurity, research, or digital collaboration is an advantage. Technical requirements depend on the assignment. Software engineering or web-design experience is not required for every work area.
Eligibility
Applicants to the UNU internship program should normally meet one of the following requirements at the time of application:
- Be enrolled in, or have recently completed within two (2) years, the final academic year of a first university degree program, at minimum bachelor’s level or equivalent; or
- Be enrolled in, or have recently completed within two (2) years, a graduate program (second university degree or equivalent) or a postgraduate degree program at master’s or doctoral level.
- An applicant who is a child, sibling, spouse, or recognized partner of a member of UNU personnel is not eligible to apply for an internship at the same UNU institute as that person.
An applicant with another family relationship to a member of UNU personnel may be engaged as an intern, provided that the intern is neither assigned to the same unit as that person nor placed under their direct or indirect supervision.
For the purposes of this policy:
- “Child” means the child of a member of UNU personnel, the child of their spouse (a stepchild), or their son-in-law or daughter-in-law.
- “Sibling” includes a half-sibling or stepsibling.
Application Procedure
Applicants should submit the following documents in English:
- Cover letter: Describe your areas of interest, relevant skills, and the work areas you would like to explore.
- CV
- Academic record or transcript: An unofficial copy is acceptable.
- Successful candidates are also welcome to propose projects aligned with the program’s scope and the University’s priorities.
For further information about the internship, please submit an inquiry to C3.
Notice
A small stipend is available to onsite interns. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.
C3 offers equal opportunities to all applicants without discrimination based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, or citizenship. Applicants with Japanese-language skills, suitably qualified women candidates, and candidates from developing countries are encouraged to apply.