The CPP event was organized in the context of the Political Careers Week at UCL. BAFUNCS’ principal collaborators were the UCL Political Science Department and the Careers Service, which meant that most of the 80 students attending the event were Political Science students. The event was fully subscribed, reflecting an encouraging level of interest in working in the UN.
The BAFUNCS panelists were Peter Kessler, Nicholas Rosellini, and Alison Tilbe, who had a variety of UN experiences across development, humanitarian and peacebuilding programming. The panel was moderated by a post-graduate student from UCL, Varun Butaney. It was conducted in-person only, with no possibility of connecting online.
The event started with a presentation showing the structure of the UN and the breadth of the its work, and all the career possibilities beyond the better known inter-governmental aspects. The presentation was followed by a conversation between the moderator and the panelists on three pre-set questions:
- Why, how, and where did you first join the UN - and what stage in your career did that occur?
- What are the pros and cons of working for the UN?
- What advice would you give to anyone wishing to join the UN?
In the following Q&A session, the students were very engaged and asked many questions. Much of the conversation revolved around contract work, what type of work experience is required, etc. The panellists explained the current realities of UN reform and budget reductions, but encouraged students to seek employment with the UN. With a very varied and complex system with so many UN entities and no central recruitment facility, it was difficult to point to a single route to access employment, and instead students were directed to target a few specific organisations.
Overall, the session went very well and the students showed great appreciation.
