DP 2 students share their summer internship journeys at virtual showcase

Students in Diploma Programme (DP) 2 at the Aga Khan Academy (AKA) Mombasa, who participated in internships during the summer, shared their experiences with the DP 1 class, parents and agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network Program (AKDN) at a virtual showcase held on 6 October 2021. The internships, which are under the AKDN Internship Programme, offer students meaningful and sustainable career-oriented opportunities in various agencies of the AKDN that promote sustainable development.

“This is a tremendous highlight for the students as it captures a significant milestone in their DP journey. It marked a celebration of their 5-week long internship experiences and they shared what they have been working on with their peers,” said Student Leadership, Service Learning and Enrichment Coordinator, Kauthar Mohamed, who is also in charge of the Internship Programme at AKA Mombasa.

This year, the programme had a total of 44 students take advantage of the internship opportunities that were both in-person and virtual. They got to explore different professional fields such as communications, media, information technology, finance, health, hospitality, and research, to name but a few. It was both an exciting and enriching learning experience which gave students insight into the workplace environment as well as gained expertise.

“The internship helped me gain research skills that I believe are applicable and relevant to my school coursework and enhanced my communication skills as a result of interacting with people in professional setting,” said Zahra Mamujee, who interned with the Aga Khan Foundation USA.

Noah Wanjohi, who interned with The Ismaili website said: “The internship was an engaging and wonderful experience that allowed me to hone my writing skills and learn about digital marketing as well as understand the professional work setting, and the importance of networking for future endeavours.”

Leaders of the various AKDN agencies had high praise for the students for demonstrating incredible work ethic, interpersonal skills, and a sense of understanding of the socio-economic development work done by the network to make a difference in the lives of people.

These internship placements foster the students’ personal growth as they are able to apply their talents and classroom knowledge into the workforce which is a great way to explore different career paths that suit individual interests, as well as learn how to make an impact in society. All of this is in line with the Academies’ vision to provide education of the highest quality to prepare young people to lead and bring positive change in the world they inhabit.