Background

UN Global Pulse (UNGP), Kampala (aka Pulse Lab Kampala) is one of the hubs of the Global Pulse network (https://www.unglobalpulse.org) with other hubs in Indonesia, Finland and the United States.

 

In Kampala,  UNGP operates under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator.  Global Pulse is the Secretary-General’s Innovation Lab. With its vision of responsible and inclusive innovation, the lab supports the UN’s Common Agenda for global cooperation. We are a multidisciplinary team – not wholly tech-centered – which serves the wider UN as it renews its ways of operating in the 21st century.

 

The goals of the UNGP Network are: i) to generate knowledge, capabilities and approaches that support the transformation of the United Nations into a more agile and resilient ‘next-generation’ institution; ii) to create and accelerate the development of globally accessible approaches which help communities and partners anticipate and address emerging global challenges; and iii) to advocate for the global transformation of policies, practices and culture required to maximize the impact of digital innovation, minimize its risk of harm, and ensure pathways to scale and sustainability.

 

UNGP in Kampala collaborates with African governments in their efforts around Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data governance. For example, UNGP in Kampala is currently working with Uganda's Ministry of ICT and National Guidance and other stakeholders to ensure Uganda develops a plan to maximize the value of data, including unlocking safe and responsible data sharing within government, government-to-business, business-to-business, and business-to-government. This effort will also see Uganda domesticate the recent  African Union (AU) Data Policy framework at the National level.

 

Duties and Responsibilities

The selected candidate will join a multidisciplinary team and benefit from rich interaction with experts in different fields, including development, data analysis and visualization, technology and communications. Throughout the internship, the intern will be involved in different aspects of the project.

The Intern-Graphics Design will work closely with the data science specialist to support Global Pulse’s overall data mining, analysis and visualization activities. The internship will provide an excellent opportunity to learn about the applications of new data sources and artificial intelligence technology to support the SDGs Agenda 2030, as well as to understand communications inside large international organizations like the UN system.

 

Duties and responsibilities

 

The outputs for each specific assignment will depend on scope of work engaged by the hiring unit. List of deliverables may include, but not limited to, the followings:

  • Graphic design for all types of communication materials
  • Layout design and typesetting for printed and electronic publications
  • Video graphics and animation design
  • Art-work editing of photos and other graphic elements

 

Competencies

The intern is expected to:

  • Have a strong sense of collaborative work, excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Possess keen attention to detail.
  • Have excellent analytical and research skills.
  • Be able to work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals and solicit input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise.
  • Be willing to learn from others by placing team agenda before personal agenda;
  • Support and act in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position
  • Be fluent in English and the working language of the duty station
  • Have prior experience in data collection and analysis in the field of social or economic development fields;
  • Have knowledge of statistical software like R/SPSS/STATA;
  • Have good command in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) as well as handling web-based applications.

Required Skills and Experience

Applicants to the UNDP internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:

  • Be enrolled in a postgraduate degree programme (such as a master’s programme, or higher) in Industrial Art, Graphics Design or professional course on graphics design.
  • Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (such as bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in computer science, Electrical engineering, Mathematics, Statistics.
  • Have recently graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation;
  • Be enrolled in a postgraduate professional traineeship program and undertake the internship as part of this program.