On the evening of November 29th, the second peer salon, one of the signature academic eventsunveiled by the School of Global Governance of Renmin University of China, was successfully held in Mingde Business Building. The guest speaker of this salon was Lu Chenyan, a student of the School of Global Governance and the RUC Law School.

Chenyan Lu’s sharing mainly consisted of three parts: an introduction of International Organization Talent Cultivation Program, the preparation for internship in international organizations, and the anecdotes during her internship.

At the beginning of the sharing session, Lu Chenyan emphasized that any academic background can find a suitable position in international organizations, and that the School of Global Governance has designed a lot of good courses and provided a lot of precious opportunities for all students, encouraging us to actively apply and explore more.

In the formal sharing,Lu focused on the RUC International Organization Talent Pool Program, and, proceeding from her own experience of studying in Geneva and participating in internships in international organizations, she reviewed the application process of the program as well as the necessary preparations for application. Lu Chenyan specially thanked the support of the RUC Law School and the funding from the China Scholarship Council (CSC). The details of the CSC program were introduced to the audience.

Lu then emphasized the importance of gathering necessary information and appraising the authenticity of the information. She told students to learn how to distinguish reliable “sources” and to be wary of telecommunication fraud. As for collecting information about internships in international organizations, she recommended the official information channels, including checking the campus website, consulting the teachers in charge of foreign affairs in specific colleges, paying attention to the official website of thecolleges and other information platforms. She also introduced Inspira, a system for submitting job applications to the United Nations.

Following the basic introduction, Lu Chenyan went on introducing her life experience in international organizations.Firstly, she shared her experience of cultural differences in the international environment as a Chinese student in her internship. Expressing oneself clearly and bluntly is especially important in the UN work environment. This does not mean that you have to be a contrarianwho frequently argues with others, but rather that you have to learn to express your views rationally, so that you can stick to China’s position, tell China’s story well, and then safeguard the interests of the country.

In terms of mindset, Lu pointed that, as an intern at the United Nations, you can see excellent talents from all over the world, and when facing peer pressure and work pressure, you should first adjust your mindset and find your own position. Lu Chenyan also shared her experience as a preliminary round judge of the Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition.

In the end, Lu Chenyan urged the students to stay healthy and emotionally stable, because keeping happy is in itself a very important ability.

Following her sharing is the Q&A session in which Lu Chenyan engaged in an in-depth dialogue with the guests, answering questions from students concerning application, language learning, career development and many other aspects.