IIP Placements in Sweden
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
International IDEA is an intergovernmental organization that supports sustainable democracy worldwide. Its objective is to strengthen democratic institutions and processes and it acts as a catalyst for democracy building by providing knowledge resources, expertise, and a platform for debate on democracy issues. International IDEA’s areas of expertise include constitution-building and electoral processes, political parties, democracy and gender, and democracy assessments. IIP candidates with a background/interests in political science, law, social science, sociology, development studies or other relevant discipline are encouraged to apply. Two placements have been created for International Internship Program (IIP) interns.
Previous work responsibilities (in the words of the previous IIP intern): My main task was to assist in updating the Direct Democracy (DD) section of International IDEA’s Unified Database. Specifically, this involved editing, formatting, and revising country-level data on legal provisions for DD instruments. In almost all cases, most of the relevant information was already available in the form of questionnaires completed by external researchers. I conducted research to find relevant legal text where necessary and searched for additional legislation to supplement and verify the information provided in the questionnaires. I edited and uploaded data to the Unified Database for a total of 15 countries, with an emphasis on European countries that have complex legal provisions for DD instruments. As part of this effort, I also compiled a checklist on how to edit and upload data on DD to the Unified Database. This mostly involved gathering existing guidelines on how to classify and organize the data for certain questions in the questionnaire. I added my own suggestions to the checklist where relevant. In addition to updating the database, I engaged in other tasks as a member of the Electoral Processes team. I drafted a background memo on the Association of World Electoral Bodies (A-WEB) for internal use and edited the first draft of the 2014-2017 strategy development document for the Electoral Processes Team. I also revised the Korean translation of an informational brochure for the ACE Electoral Knowledge Network.
Karolinska Institute, Division of Molecular Structural Biology, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
The Research Division of Molecular Structural Biology at Karolinska Institute is a laboratory that covers a broad range of topics, from structural enzymology, to molecular neurobiology, to the structural basis of glycoprotein export from the endoplasmatic reticulum.The IIP intern will participate in an ongoing project in the lab, working alongside a graduate student or researchers. It is highly likely that the project will be working towards structural studies of proteins involved in L-cysteine biosynthesis in M.tuberculosis or structural, biophysical and biochemical characterization of proteins involved in peptidoglycan remodeling events in M.tuberculosis. This group uses a wide-range of techniques including cloning of protein constructs, protein expression and purification, crystallization, characterization of protein integrity, biochemical characterization of protein activity, and the characterization of protein inhibition. The lab will try to ensure that the IIP intern experiences as much of this process as possible, but it is almost certain that the project will include purification of protein from recombinant E. coli cells and screening for crystallization conditions, as well as other techniques. This IIP placement is ideal for IIP candidates with a background in biological sciences and an interest in biophysics or in the structure and function of proteins. Experience in the basic lab techniques of biochemistry/molecular biology, such as the use of pipettes, electrophoresis, preparation of buffers etc., would be an asset. Two placements have been created for International Internship Program (IIP) interns.
Previous work responsibilities (in the words of the previous IIP intern): Cloning protein constructs of proteins involved in the transport pathway from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus into bacteria and insect cells to generate protein that could be purified and crystallized for structural studies. Work responsibilities: Performing the cloning procedures, Western blots, SDS-PAGE gels, etc. The work is heavily lab based and is perfect for Molecular Biology majors. Occasionally, you will write protocols outlining the modifications used in your procedure, or will analyze DNA sequences and primers on the computer.