The change of environment - from Copenhagen Business School to MS Tanzania

The change of environment

Adding practical experience from a developing country to your education can provide essential experience which could not have been gained at the school desk. MS Tanzania’s Danish intern for the last six months shares her experience.

By Pernille Baerendtsen, Information Officer

For Maria it was a well considered decision to add practical experience to her studies and join MS Tanzania and its Public Private Partnership Programme for six months. Her research and practical experience with MS Tanzania, despite challenges with health issues and the cultural and lifestyle adaptations of living in Tanzania, turned out to be an essential experience for development work, which could not have been gained at the school desk.

‘The knowledge I have gained here complements my theoretical insight, and MS Tanzania gets a motivated candidate and more knowledge about the benefits of having an intern and a connection to a Danish education institution,’ Maria explains.

However, Maria also points out that there are some prejudices among the candidates at her study about whether to enter the public sector or the private sector. Some she had too, but wanted to challenge. ‘The NGO world is still not as pro-active in regards to attracting new candidates - it is bureaucratic, with less innovation, and the career prospects are not clear. Yet, there are several areas to combine development and business as Corporate Social Responsibility, ethical trade and Public Private Partnerships.'

This leaves several opportunities for the NGO and the developing world to promote themselves more strongly. Furthermore, there are several student ‘development initiatives’ to make a link between the students, the developing world and the private sector. ‘We learn to be innovative, develop interdisciplinary approaches, be critical and we have a drive we want to make use of', she adds. 

Maria has primarily worked with Topic Team 2 and the Public Private Partnership Programme where she has participated in workshops, field visits and meetings with MS partners on issues related to policy analysis, assessment of MS partners and sustainable coffee production in rural Tanzania in order to build local democracy and alleviate poverty. ‘Further, I have, in agreement with my Programme Officer, Andrew Mhina, been attached to three partners (UVUKI, ACT and ICP), where I have worked respectively with marketing issues; advocacy and lobbying issues to promote a more open environment for Foreign Direct Investment; and sustainable coffee production and impact documentation in the coffee value chain.'

Maria acknowledges that there is something about bureaucracy when it comes to NGOs. She uses the concept ‘lack of process optimising’ when describing an issue which has surprised her the most about development work in Tanzania. She draws attention to communication and work routines as areas which ought to be looked into, and concludes: ‘I have noted that my suggestions and ideas always have been welcomed and received well, but implementation is still a challenge.’

Maria highlights a positive part of her stay, to have a Tanzanian as her supervisor; ‘Andrew made me feel welcome and an equal member of the team, and he prioritised the importance of introducing me to MS’ work and partners. Furthermore, he has encouraged me to be enterprising and jump into the challenges. This has given me independence and strength which I will bring with me home. The cultural aspects of working in a developing country should not be underestimated, and working closely with a local gives you a more comprehensive understanding of the environment in which you work.’

Outside her work tasks, Maria has found time for discussion of the role of the intern in MS Tanzania in the future, and she adds, ‘I feel I have opened up an area where MS Tanzania can grow, and I believe more considerations are now included in the preparation of having an intern. I actually wish I was the new intern starting next week!’

Maria has no doubt that both MS Tanzania and she have learned from each other and both gained knowledge. Co-operation, good communication and drive are mutually compulsory when an intern is joining the team; ‘An intern is here to learn and add value to the work of MS and each party has to make its demands to optimise the resource an intern can be. I know that you cannot always make all that you plan for and results take time, nevertheless I feel that MS has given me extra skills.’

Maria wishes to thank MS staff, Andrew Mhina and MS partners for welcoming her and inviting her into their projects for her short, but comprehensive and informative stay.