German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Unit 422 - Climate Initiatives Final Internship Report 6th of January - 31st of March 2020
Lennart Meier S3868788
MA in International Relations - International Security Coordinator: drs. Cécile A.M. Wagstaff
Abbreviations
BMZ Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung
GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit
KfW Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau
IGW Internationale Grüne Woche
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development
SDG Sustainable Development Goals
NDC Nationally Determined Contributions
Table of Contents
Introduction 4
Before the Internship 5
Motive and Expectations 5
Application Process and Interviews 5
Germany Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) 6
During the Internship 7
Start of the Internship in the Climate Initiatives Unit 7
Tasks & Responsibilities 8
Climate Mainstreaming Mailbox 9
Alliance for Development and Climate at the International Green Week (IGW) 9
Corona Pandemic and Feedback 10
Housing, Remuneration and Spare Time 11
After the Internship 11
Skills Improvement and Learnings 11
Connection to my Degree 12
Future Outlook 12
Conclusion 13
Appendix 14
Introduction
As part of the Master’s programme of International Security at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, it is envisaged for the students to complete an at least seven weeks internship and to write their final thesis during the second and last semester of the study. Thereby, the students are free to choose between first writing the thesis or to first complete the internship. I decided to first complete my master thesis to not cause any unintended overlap and stress and to have the possibility to fully focus on my tasks during the internship.
After identifying my internship preferences, applying for a lot of vacancies at various organisations, having several interviews and receiving a number of offers, I decided to do the internship at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in the climate initiatives unit in Berlin. The three month internship started on the 6th of January 2020 and ended on the 31st of March 2020.
Unfortunately, during this period the Coronavirus spread around the globe and caused a pandemic, which led to the situation that I had to work from home from March 18. However, by setting up a cloud, I could work from home and complete my internship as planned.
The purpose of this report is to provide an insightful overview of my internship, including my daily tasks, activities as well as learnings. I will do this in a chronological order to provide a logical flow for a better traceability and to explain in an understandable way how both the tasks and my perception have changed over the weeks. For that, the report is divided into the sections “before”, “during” and “after” the internship.
Additionally, I will describe the organisational structure of the ministry as well as its responsibilities and objectives.
The first chapter is therefore dedicated to the “before”, in which I will explain my own motives for choosing an internship at a ministry and describe my expectations. Moreover, I will provide a rough outline of the application process, the interviews as well as the goals I have set myself to improve my skills. Afterwards and final to the chapter, I will describe the ministry in greater detail including its objectives and current projects.
The second chapter, and probably the most important section of this report, describes the specific unit I worked in and the tasks and activities that I carried out over the three months. This also covers the unusual corona situation and the effects it had on my internship and working environment. In the second-last chapter, I will talk about my own personal learning experience, specifically in terms of the learning goals that I had previously set out. Thereby, I will explain whether or not my expectations have been fulfilled. Moreover, I will briefly explain the financial remuneration, the living situation and leisure offers in Berlin, as well as my future career orientation. A paragraph is also reserved for an evaluation of the working environment and the support and supervision that I received. Last but not least, I will make a final evaluation of the internship and give a conclusion. Hopefully, this report will provide fellow students and future interns with a better
understanding of what can be expected from an internship at a German ministry as well as how it could be potentially used in improving certain skills and do build a helpful professional network.
Before the Internship
As mentioned in the introduction, the first chapter deals with my motive and expectations, the application process and presents the internship organisation, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Motive and Expectations
Before I could apply for any vacancy, I had to think about what exactly I would like to achieve with the internship and how it could help me in developing myself. It was clear to me that above all I wanted to gain a good insight into the respective field of work in which I would potentially work later. Since I increasingly focused on climate and environmental policies during my studies and I have an enormous interest in its global cooperation, it was quite easy for me to define the working area. Namely, I wanted to gain practical experience in the field of environmental and climate cooperation. For that, I was particularly interested in organisations that deal with that specific topic. In the end, I decided to go to the Federal Ministry in the hope of gaining the desired insights there. Moreover, I wanted to establish contacts and to build a professional network for my subsequent career entry. Not only within the ministry but also with representatives of partner organisations, such as the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ).
Admittedly, however, getting an internship in such organisations was not all too easy, as the demand and requirements are very high. Some organisations, such as the GIZ for example, subject the applicants to group discussions and written assignments in addition to the interview. Accordingly, great attention is paid to the potential skills and benefits of the respective applicants. Therefore the preparation was particularly important to convince the interviewers that with me, they would win an equally committed and experienced intern.
In the next section, I will describe the application process as well as talk a bit about the interviews.
Application Process and Interviews
After identifying the goals for my internship and the thematic field I would like to gain experience in, I applied to various organisations with a focus on environment and climate, including NGOs, such as WWF, IGOs, such as the United Nations, and GOs, such as the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. This process took a while and I usually had to wait for a few weeks before receiving any answer. However, I was often invited for an interview, which I perceived as a great success.
What surprised me though was the fact that all of the interviews were quite different. Especially, comparing
being interviewed by an NGO and interviewed by a governmental organisation. The interview with representatives of NGOs was most often, one could expect, quite informal and the questions were rather related to my qualities as a person, whereas the interview questions in the interview with the governmental organisations were more focused on my job-related skills and professional experiences. This, in fact, helped me to adapt to different interview styles and to improve my self-promotion capabilities. In the end, I decided to do the internship in the climate initiatives unit of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in Berlin. Since, after analysing the international discourse and progress in climate politics in my thesis, I wanted to get a deeper insight into the practical side. To see how governmental and inter- governmental initiatives and projects get realised and coordinated. This decision seemed to help me in achieving this. Additionally, I appreciated the internship description very much. In particular, the participation at the renowned trade fair “International Green Week” seemed very interesting and insightful to me. Furthermore, there was the opportunity to meet people from different development cooperation organisations and to exchange ideas.
Concerning the interview, I can recommend to always prepare well. It is not only important to have looked at the rough characteristics of the respective organisation, but also to take a closer look at the current projects and, in particular, at the required skills for the position. Of course, a good grasp of the respective field of work should also be present.
In the next section, I will provide a description of the ministry including its organisational structure, tasks and objectives.
Germany Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is a supreme federal authority of the Federal Republic of Germany and responsible for development cooperation. Currently, the ministry employs around 1,100 staff, whereof about 57 per cent are located at the headquarter in Bonn and the remaining 43 per cent in Berlin. In addition, some of the staff regularly leave the ministry for a few years to work for development policy worldwide. The ministry is headed by Federal Minister Dr Gerd Müller, two Parliamentary State Secretaries Dr Maria Flachsbarth and Norbert Barthle and the Permanent State Secretary Martin Jäger.
The BMZ fulfils a variety of tasks. These include, among others, planning and political steering of German development cooperation, cooperation with civil society and the private sector, cooperation with partner countries and multilateral organisations, and development policy information and education work. Thereby, it also takes into account the implementation of democratic principles and human rights in the partner countries. On the basis of these principles, goals and measures are agreed in bilateral agreements with the partner countries, the results of which are monitored by the ministry. For the practical implementation of the
measures, the so-called implementing organisations and non-governmental organisations are consulted and financially supported. The BMZ also steers Germany's contributions to the international organisations active in development cooperation, such as the European Development Fund, the World Bank and regional development banks and United Nations agencies. The Ministry is, thereby, active in the bodies of these organisations to coordinate measures at international level.
In total, the ministry is divided into six departments that perform these tasks:
• Department Z: responsible for general administrative tasks and, among other things, for cooperation with social forces such as non-governmental organisations, churches and political foundations, for civic engagement and for development education work.
• Division 1: responsible for fundamental issues, economic cooperation, trade issues, rural development and food security. The Public Relations Department is attached to the Head of Department.
• Division 2: responsible for development cooperation with the countries and regions in Africa and all issues relating to refugees and migration.
• Division 3: responsible for development cooperation with Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
• Division 4: responsible for thematic and sectoral development policy issues, including climate change, human rights, education and health.
• Division 5: responsible for multilateral cooperation, i.e. relations and cooperation with, for example, the EU, the World Bank and the regional development banks.
The unit I worked in, the climate initiatives unit, is located in Division 4 and Sub Division 42. In total there are three units in sub-division 42, namely climate policy, climate financing and climate initiatives. These three units work together intensively and many projects are implemented jointly.
During the Internship
This chapter includes a description of the unit I worked in, as well as an explanation of the tasks I carried out, the responsibilities I had and the activities I experienced as well as a description of the most important climate initiatives I worked on.
Start of the Internship in the Climate Initiatives Unit
On the 6th of January, the internship started and all new interns met in the morning in the lobby. We were greeted by an HR manager who gave us a short introduction. In the meanwhile, all interns signed several documents, including a confidentiality agreement. Afterwards, we were given a tour through the building and important internal procedures were explained. Each intern also received an individual house ID and access
card, which were needed for entering and leaving the building. After the introduction, each intern was taken to his or her respective unit. In my case, I worked in the climate initiatives unit, which is subordinate in the fourth division. The main purpose of this unit is the coordination and political implementation of climate initiatives and projects in which the German government, represented through the ministries, are involved.
After I was taken to the unit, I was welcomed by the head of the unit, Mr Schuldes, who briefly introduced himself and the unit and explained his expectations. Afterwards, I got to know the other colleagues of the unit. Altogether seven senior policy officers work in the Berlin office. All of them have been rather new to the unit, which is quite normal since the officers change their field of work and their unit every few years to prevent stagnation and corruption. Most of them have a degree in international relations or similar and completed postgraduate training in development policy. All of them were abroad for some time, including Washington DC, Pakistan and Mazar-i-Sharif. Just to name a few. My assigned supervisor, Mr Knoke, then explained to me his work and the climate initiatives that he currently supervises. I then spent the first few days familiarising myself with the initiatives, setting up my workplace and understanding the processes and the frequently used abbreviations.
Overall I can say that the beginning went very well, although I had to quickly familiarise myself with the topics and the technical language to understand and comprehend everything in the meetings and discussions.
But other than that I was very well received by my colleagues and all questions that arose were answered, despite the extremely high workload of the unit.
Tasks & Responsibilities
After I settled into the workplace, I was quickly assigned to the first tasks, which included, among others, the participation in conference calls, including conferences with high-level state representatives, such as ambassadors and ministers, and the creation of minutes. This was both exciting and exhausting, as in the conversations projects were discussed that were relatively unknown to me up to that point. For that, I had to draw many conclusions from the context and look up certain persons or abbreviations that had been mentioned in retrospect. Otherwise, regular tasks were the creation of status reports, which are mainly used internally to quickly get an overview of a specific topic or to get important information for further proceedings in a bundled way. In some cases, these are also used for management templates to inform a head of department or the minister himself about something as quickly as possible. This, therefore, had to be worked out conscientiously. Moreover, I also wrote press releases and intranet messages about climate topics.
For that, I usually got a tight deadline and had to specifically emphasise the role of the ministry and the minister in the subject. Additionally, I did a lot of translating and commented on strategy papers and other internal documents. For instance, I contributed to the next development policy report for the Federal Government and Parliament, in which the parliamentarians are informed about current developments and
about urgent future issues. It also presents what the ministry has achieved to date and what its future prospects are. For that, I also created graphics to visualise certain aspects and developments.
Climate Mainstreaming Mailbox
The first long-term project assigned to me was the supervision of the climate mainstreaming mailbox, in which development cooperation project proposals are evaluated and subsequently commented on according to their climate change adaptation and mitigation potential. For that, the implementing organisation, mostly the GIZ or the German Development Bank (KfW), send the proposal to the mainstreaming mailbox of the climate initiatives unit. Then the project proposal gets analysed in regards to its potential reduction of greenhouse gases and adaptation to the consequences of climate change. During this process, I was usually in close contact with the respective in-house country manager and the implementing organisations. After identifying its relevance and comparing it to the assigned OECD climate markers, I commented the proposal and potentially, if applicable, made a recommendation in terms of reformulating the proposal in order to increase the inclusion of the climate aspect. Depending on the awarded marker, the budget for climate protection is adjusted in the following year. In addition, it aims on making the topic of climate sustainability in development cooperation more present and to anchor it in the projects and in its planning. Every day I received two to three proposals. Since the climate mainstreaming mailbox is a project that needs to be supervised permanently, I was continuously working on it throughout the whole internship - at least one hour a day.
Alliance for Development and Climate at the International Green Week (IGW)
Two weeks after the internship started, I had the chance to represent, together with project managers of the GIZ, the stand of the ministerial climate initiative “Alliance for Development and Climate” at the well-known agricultural fair “International Green Week”, at which agricultural products are presented by producers and marketers from the global agricultural industry. It is the most important international trade fair for the food industry, agriculture and horticulture and traditionally takes place at the beginning of each year.
The Alliance for Development and Climate is a climate initiative initiated by development minister Dr Müller. Its goal is to connect companies, institutions and private individuals with certified offsetting partners who minimise the CO2 footprint through targeted measures and compensation projects. The companies acquire high-quality climate certificates for this purpose. The money for purchasing these certificates flows directly into the respective
Alliance for Development and Climate Logo
projects on site. The number of certificates purchased translates directly into the extent to which the global CO2 balance is improved.
The aim of participating at the IGW was both to inform the general public about climate change and compensation possibilities and to win new strategic partners and members. In addition to the classic information material, we also had a quiz and a presentation to explain the topic to visitors in a playful and visual way. In addition, each day one of the
compensation partners was on site to present its compensation projects and activities. These ranged from reforestation projects in Uganda to the installation of solar systems in India and the construction of energy- efficient clay stoves in Nepal. This was very interesting since I was able to talk to people from different professional fields. Experiencing different points of view was truly insightful. Moreover, members of various NGOs and IGOs were present, with whom I was able to
“connect” and exchange contact information.
Corona Pandemic and Feedback
Unfortunately, the Corona crisis didn't spare the capital city and so all interns had to leave their workplace early and work from home. This is, however, not so easy, because many documents are confidential and the servers are also encrypted. Fortunately, a cloud was set up for the interns so that the work assignments could simply be uploaded on the platform and the interns access the documents without the need of having an encrypted laptop. The weekly unit sessions could also continue as usual. For that, everyone simply joined a virtual conference room and the most important things were discussed. We also made use of this virtual conference on my last day to say goodbye. The head of the unit, Mr Schuldes, thanked me and I gave a short farewell speech.
In terms of the feedback, I had two feedback sessions in total. One intermediate interview with my supervisor, Mr Knoke, and a final interview. Both interviews were extremely positive and at the last one, I also had the opportunity to give extensive feedback, whereby I explained possible improvements from an intern's point of view, which mainly concerned communication and coordination. Namely, that I was often idle towards the end because either the colleagues did not coordinate the work assignments well enough or there was simply no time to give me detailed assignments. I would also have found it beneficial if we had met more often in small groups to discuss projects or procedures personally. Instead, the work orders were often simply sent to me, I processed them and sent them back. In some places, this was like a simple clerical job, where the
Alliance for Development and Climate Exhibition Stand
very minimal communication meant that a lot of potential was lost. However, this was not too bad and seems to be the daily routine in an authority.
Housing, Remuneration and Spare Time
With regard to accommodation, I initially concentrated on searching on social networks, such as Facebook.
However, since the demand for living space and rents in Berlin are astronomically high, I was extremely difficult to get something. For that, I have extended my search to rental sites, such as booking.com and immobilienscout24.de. In addition, I have joined forces with a fellow student who also did an internship in Berlin. This increased the financial possibilities and we were able to look for our own apartment. After some emails and phone calls, we were able to find a nice apartment in Charlottenburg, near Kurfürstendamm.
Even though, the rent was unfortunately very high (600€ p.p.), it could at least partly be covered by the internship remuneration of 500€. What made this place so appealing was the advantage of being very centrally located and having excellent local transport accessibility. It just took me two minutes to get to the bus stop and only 30 minutes to get directly in
front of the ministry in the Stresemannstraße, which is very little in a city as big as Berlin. The bus also ran every 10 minutes, which made morning planning very easy. Besides of having good public transport, Berlin also has a lot to offer in ter ms of culture and leisure opportunities. Besides of various exciting museums, there are countless sports facilities and bars to discover. Together with the other interns, I used these possibilities often and boredom did not arise.
After the Internship
Skills Improvement and Learnings
In the internship proposal, I stated that I wanted to improve my analytical, communication and management skills, as these are crucial in the political working environment and in making important decisions. After completing and reflecting on the internship, I can say that the three months in Berlin have certainly helped me to improve these skills. The fact that I had to familiarise myself quickly with new and complex projects and understand interrelationships quickly helped me to be more focused and agile in my analysis. To absorb the most important information and draw conclusions from it under time pressure. Furthermore, writing press releases and formulating status reports and speaking points helped me to write more precisely and
Way to Work
clearly. In addition, I was confronted with questions of all kinds and, above all, criticism at the fair, which improved my improvisation and negotiation skills. Besides, most tasks had to be dealt with quickly. Among other things, I had to summarise a 35-page business plan, which I had never seen before, in two hours for the head of the division. Thereby, you are forced to quickly decide what's important and what's not, because you simply do not have time to waste on unnecessary things. Of course, I was also able to learn a lot in the field of environmental and climate policy and deepen my understanding of how government initiatives are planned and implemented.
Connection to my Degree
As far as my studies are concerned, I was able to apply many of the things I learned during my internship.
Not only the knowledge I gained in the courses helped me, but also the fact that my master's thesis dealt in detail with climate and environmental policy and its development. This was very helpful, as I was already familiar with many terms, abbreviations and current developments, which proved to be advantageous when working on many tasks, such as the formulation of a press release. This enabled me to apply theoretical knowledge in practice and also to use it as a basis for discussions and comments.
The security aspect also played a major role. Since the globe will be confronted with many climate-relevant security problems in the future and developing and emerging countries, in particular, will be affected by the negative impacts, the security factor is playing an increasingly important role in the development and climate cooperation. This aspect must be given great attention and taken into account when planning new climate initiatives. I was already able to deal with this theoretically during my studies. During my internship, however, I was able to observe how important such an approach is and how such projects contribute to an improved security situation in developing countries. One example is the climate insurance InsuResilience, which I also dealt with during my internship. It now insures millions of poor and vulnerable people against the damage caused by climate change, helping an entire continent to achieve greater financial stability and security.
Future Outlook
As mentioned earlier, fortunately, I was able to make many contacts during my internship. Especially at the fair, I had the opportunity to talk to numerous representatives of various organisations and exchange contact details. The GIZ, with whom the BMZ works closely and I am particularly interested in, was also present.
The GIZ takes care of the practical component, i.e. the planning and implementation, of German development projects and aims at economic development through social inclusion and environmental protection. The contacts I made in the process helped me to get an interview for a position in a sector project. I hope to get my foot in the door and to thus have the opportunity to participate in the most important development organisation in Germany and to do my part to minimise climate change and its consequences. Therefore, I can only recommend to every intern to get to know as many people as possible
during the internship in order to broaden his or her own horizon and to make important contacts that could possibly make the career entry a bit easier.
Conclusion
In summary, I can say that the internship at the Federal Ministry was a valuable and lasting impressive experience. To see first-hand how a supreme federal authority works and functions were extremely exciting.
Especially when one considers that pioneering decisions are made there, you perceive this institution with a certain amount of respect. Certainly, the most exciting thing was the meeting with so many highly educated and intelligent people, who also have a wealth of experience. It was also a great feeling to see how many people with altruistic and idealistic approaches that want to make a lasting and positive change work in such an organisation. It was also fun to learn so many new things about climate policy and cooperation and to experience how an initiative or project is realised and what resources have to be mobilised for it. The positive side effect of having built up a great network and, judging by the internship certificate, having left a positive and lasting impression is, of course, a great success. The participation in the trade fair was also a highlight, where I was able to exchange ideas with people from all over the world.
Only the partly inefficient communication and the partly idle time, especially towards the end, bothered me.
It would also have been great to have had more meetings with colleagues, even though this is probably difficult to implement in a federal authority. The lively exchange, especially on such an urgent and sensitive topic, was something I missed. In conclusion, it can be said that this internship offers a very good insight and one can learn a lot. But of course, it also depends on what you make of it. Proactive participation is the keyword and usually the guarantee for an exciting and insightful internship. So if you have the opportunity to do an internship in a ministry, or in another organisation, you should prepare yourself as well as possible and keep your curiosity alive during the internship. This is not only more exciting for the intern but also helps the colleagues enormously to better integrate the intern.
Appendix
Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation:
• Website: http://www.bmz.de/en/index.html
Alliance for Development and Climate:
• Website: www.allianz-entwicklung-klima.de
• Video: https://youtu.be/DrMHzn88MbQ
International Green Week:
• Website: https://www.gruenewoche.de/en/
Housing:
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/wg.wohnungen.berlin/
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/wg.wohnung.berlin/
• https://www.immobilienscout24.de/
• https://www.immowelt.de/
