Our Students’ Stories

Taking GEH1049 in Year 1 was what first sparked my interest in global health and humanitarian work. Thus, when I was matched to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) / Doctors Without Borders for a three-month internship for SPH3001, I knew that this was not an opportunity to be missed. As an intern under the Operations Support Unit, I was given the autonomy to plan and execute the first phase of a research and stakeholder mapping project on emergency preparedness and response. It was a great learning experience as I needed to be highly independent in conducting the research and producing its outputs.

I also had valuable opportunities to engage in a variety of work from the Communications and other departments, including the digital mapping of rural areas around the world and maintaining the Instagram page. These, together with attending weekly meetings and presentations, opened my eyes to how such a complex organisation like MSF functions through the coordination of different departments within and across countries to fulfil its larger mission of delivering medical aid to where it is most needed. I was able to better appreciate the importance of backend support (such as operational support, fundraising, communications, logistics coordination etc.), and also gained insights into the challenges that MSF field workers face on the ground when working in resource-scarce and inaccessible settings. Seeing the immense dedication that my fellow colleagues had to their work was truly admirable and inspiring!

While this was fully remote, the learning experience was definitely not compromised thanks to the high-quality support provided by my supervisor and colleagues who were so understanding, approachable and encouraging. All in all, spending my summer break with MSF was no doubt a fulfilling and inspiring learning journey, with takeaways that I will keep with me for a long time as I continue to pursue this path.