UNDP Ukraine through its DIA Support project, which is funded by Sweden and implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Transformation (MDT), is pleased to announce it is accepting applications to its short-term Internship Programme for women and girls obtaining STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) professions who want to contribute to the digital transformation of public services in Ukraine. The Programme aims to increase the level of women’s representation in the STEM domain, while countering gender stereotypes and biases.  

At the global level, the digitalisation of customer-oriented services and the development of mobile technologies involve citizens in creating new solutions, while leaving no one behind. It helps meet several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) at once. Digitalization particularly impacts SDG 5 “Gender Equality”, which aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, as they are currently underrepresented in technical professions. Hence, UNDP and the Government of Sweden promote ideas of gender-sensitive and accessible IT, public services and the transformation of policies to reflect those priorities. The gender issue in STEM is broadly discussed on a dedicated STEM4ALL web platform designed by UNDP and UNICEF.

Purpose of the Internship Programme:

• Accelerate gender equality in STEM and the digital transformation management domain;
• Provide opportunities to gain practical skills in the field of developing, implementing and supporting digital public services;
• Increase interns' awareness of the work of central government and the process of designing state policies.

Format and structure of the Internship Programme:

The internship will last up to two months in online mode, with the possibility that some meetings will be held offline. Interns are expected to dedicate at least 2-3 hours of their time to the internship on working days, and will be involved in one of the following areas:

• Stream 1 (technical): development or reengineering of public digital services, UI/UX design, programming and testing (QA).
• Stream 2 (non-technical): project management, business analysis, and government relations in the field of digitalization, with a focus on state digital services.

Each applicant should choose one of the two streams and the corresponding worksites offered. Depending on this choice, assignments for the intern will be adapted by mentors accordingly.

As an additional opportunity for gaining more applicable knowledge, the internship organizers will offer a series of thematic online events in the form of lectures, webinars, and open discussions, which will reflect the programme’s goals and key objectives. Attendance of these events is compulsory for interns, and they should be ready to dedicate their time to such activities, and actively participate in discussions.

Upon the successful completion of the Internship Programme, participants will receive a certificate confirming that all the requirements of the programme, including 100% implementation of tasks stipulated by an individual work plan and at least 80% attendance of the online meetings set up for the Programme have been met.

The internship will be coordinated by a dedicated consultant who will help personalize the programme for each participant and maintain effective interaction between interns and their mentors. Since mentorship is an essential element for the successful completion of the internship, mentors will mainly guide each intern through the programme, as crafted by the consultant. The consultant will also initiate all thematic online events, and will be the main focal point for any inquiries from Internship Programme participants.

Who can apply (eligibility criteria):

• Women in their 3-6^th year of studies, or recent graduates (graduation in 2021 or 2022) who have been studying STEM specialities at a Ukrainian university;
• Who are available for a part-time internship for two months starting in mid-November 2022;
• Who have fluent Ukrainian, and a strong working level of English;
• Previous experience in STEM projects is considered an asset.

The selection process consists of four main steps:

1. Online application: first, an online application form should be filled in. It contains also a Letter of Interest describing the applicant’s motivation to participate in the internship. A link to the application form can be found below;
2. Screening: all applications are screened by the Selection Panel represented by UNDP, MDT and the Swedish Embassy. All suitable candidates are placed on a shortlist as semi-finalists;
3. Interview: Only semi-finalists will be invited to brief online interviews with the Selection Panel lasting up to 20 minutes. The interview will be conducted in the Ukrainian and English languages.
4. Internship Offer Letter: those persons who are selected following the previous steps, will receive an e-mail with their internship offer letters from the DIA Support project within one week of the interview. The organizers plan to enrol eight participants in the Internship Programme – four each for the two streams.

Application form and the deadline:

All interested candidates are invited to submit their application by the following link by 10 October 9.00 a.m. Kyiv time. Applications received after this deadline will not be considered.

NOTE: Due to the expected high volume of applications, the DIA Support project team is not in a position to provide individual feedback. Therefore, only semi-finalist candidates will be contacted for interview.

In case you have questions regarding the Internship Programme, please contact Oksana Grechko, Digitalisation Policy Specialist, UNDP DIA Support Project at oksana.grechko@undp.org

About the DIA Support project: 

The “Digital, Inclusive, Accessible: Support to Digitalisation of Public Services in Ukraine (DIA Support)” project is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Transformation in Ukraine and with financial support from Sweden.