A post by Akorshi Sengupta, Alumni Officer at UNU-MERIT
Nexus is a career fair organised by the UNU-MERIT Alumni Office for the purpose of bringing together organisations and candidates who are engaged in societally-minded work.
As a UN University, UNU-MERIT supports the furthering of the Sustainable Development Goals, and the alumni office is committed to creating opportunities for their alumni to engage with employers who bring a similar mindset to their work. This year, the event was organised in collaboration with United Nations Students Association (UNSA), Maastricht.
Last Friday (21 April), our 2023 edition concluded with close to 50 candidates participating and 5 different organisations. Each of the organisations is focused on creating an impact through their day-to-day outreach. The day was filled with activities ranging from career advice, presentations and workshops, to networking, drinks and interviews!
Participating organisations
CINOP is an expert in learning, training, and development. They are a leading strategic partner in learning with impact with a strong focus on improving Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) worldwide. CINOP creates well-founded, integrated, and practical solutions for complex education and labour market issues.
Digital Power is a fast-growing data consultancy in the Netherlands that attempts to solve every data issue. As a data consultancy, they enable both small organizations and multinationals to work effectively with data. The team specializes in Data Analytics, Technical Web Analytics, Customer Experience, Data Science, and Data Engineering. With a multi-disciplinary team, Digital Power is a strategic partner of organizations in the field of data-driven digital transformation.
Marieke Schulte, Digital Power
Using a sustainable development model, Aflatoun International offers social, financial & entrepreneurship education to children and young people worldwide. The programmes are implemented by over 300 partner organisations in 102 countries, reaching over 5 million children annually.
Amandine Sabourine, Policy Officer EU Foreign Policy Development, ECDPM, and Paul Helsloot, Director Strategy, research, and Political Affairs, Amnesty International were amongst the two prominent speakers who shared their career journeys with candidates. Amandine is specialised in the EU and international development cooperation, including the effectiveness principles, ACP-EU relations, EU Neighbourhood policy, engagement with civil society, decentralised cooperation and local governance. Paul has been active in the field of human rights and development for over the last 25 years.
Workshops and career advice
The workshops were hosted by CINOP and Digital Power, in which candidates were given a practical hands-on challenge to solve within 60 minutes.
Both CINOP and Digital Power are represented by UNU-MERIT alumni and it was great to have them return to share opportunities for the next generation of evidence-based policy professionals. The career advice sessions were focused on personal interactions with the candidates and shaping their career trajectories. For the first time, the organisations held interviews for open positions at UNU-MERIT and we sincerely wish this to become a trend in the coming years with more organisations participating. The session closed with networking and drinks, where interested candidates had more time to get to know the organisations more closely and explore ways to find themselves a good fit.
A few more photo impressions from the day:
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MEDIA CREDITS
Photo: H. Pijpers / UNU-MERIT | Maastricht University
