Tag Archives: Interns

As part of continuous growth, INESAD and Development Roast are bringing on board a host of new interns. Join us in welcoming our newest addition Valerie Giesen:

Valerie is currently studying Social Anthropology and Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. Before starting her degree, she facilitated informal education projects with the Instituto Politécnico Tomás Katari for children on the outskirts of Sucre for 15 months. Engaging with her Bolivian colleagues’ perspectives and being an outsider herself led her to question the effectiveness of external development actors. Also, living and participating in the social microcosm of the Mercado Campesino for over a year was a formative experience which sparked her interest in the issues that labor migrants face and the country’s current identity politics. This also led her to study Quechua at the University of Chuquisaca and learn how to spin wool, which opened many doors. During countless weekends on the market discussing the week’s events and listening to tales from the countryside, she decided to study Anthropology – hoping that it would allow her to repeat similar long-term stays abroad.

Back in Germany, Valerie coordinated fundraising activities for Bootschaft, an organization that builds floats from recycled material and hosts film screenings and workshops on the rivers of Berlin. This equipped her with the invaluable lesson that it is possible to build up viable projects even with few resources. Read More »

Tracey Li has an unusual background for an INESAD intern. She has been passionate about science all her life and studied physics at university before going on to complete a PhD in theoretical particle physics. Afterwards she continued her career as a researcher in Valencia, Spain, where she worked for two years.

At some point she realised that although she still loved physics there were several reasons why she didn’t want to be an academic scientist for the rest of her life. One of the main reasons was a growing desire to use her skills to solve real-world problems that could improve people’s lives in some capacity, rather than abstract mathematical ones. Read More »