Sunday, 5 August 2012

Study and Work in Europe: Key Websites

This article should be useful to anyone intending to study or work in Europe. The below websites and resources give essential information about study programs and scholar funding in Europe(1); EU affairs internships and entry-level jobs in the private sector(2); and vacant positions(3) at the EU level and in various European countries, across all sectors.

Friday, 3 August 2012

Jobs in Geneva & UN System

This article provides a selection of key websites useful to job seekers wanting to work in Geneva and/or the United Nations system.

Geneva is known not only for being home to many of the UN agencies but also to many other international and non-governmental organizations, professional associations and various consulting companies. Jobs in the private sector and websites with information on research funding and jobs in Switzerland have also been included in the list.

In addition to the official UN career page, there are currently several other websites where UN vacant positions are published. Note that UN internships are unpaid and entry-level positions are rarely announced. However, there are opportunities for young professionals through the Young Professional Programs based at various UN agencies, only nationals of countries sponsoring these programs are eligible but sometimes nationals of developing countries may also apply.

While it is true that foreign language fluency is a requirement, or at least an advantage, for a career in international organizations, many people believe that social science degrees are the only suitable qualification. In fact, international organizations are also looking for staff trained in the natural sciences and engineering, and IT skills are highly sought after, irrespective of the degree.

Development Opportunities: Jobs, Funding, Research

This post is a selection of online resources for finding a job or internship in development as well as funding and scholar opportunities for nationals of developing countries.

The first part(I) provides resources for people interested in working in development-related organizations. Note that despite the fact that many jobs in the field are either in NGOs or volunteer positions, development career opportunities may exist in government agencies and even in the private sector, e.g. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) functions.

The second part(II) is geared toward nationals of emerging and developing countries who are looking for scholarships and grants; and the third part(III) is a compilation of scholar resources - advise from volunteer mentors, free resources on academic writing, methods and research and accessible scientific literature, and research reports on development issues carried out by governments or various organizations.

Sites & Directories for Kids, K12 Students & Teachers | Research Keys, Part 4

Research Keys is a series of blog posts which will cover essential resources on search engines and information intelligence; directories and sites for kids, K-12 and university students; global search sites for jobs and travel; multimedia search engines; online library guides; content-rich subject guides by educators and professionals; resources by foundations, universities and governments; open access repositories; content curation sites; similar sites - their application in research; free Excel tutorials; global and European research scholarship websites. Although the focus is clearly on research, many of the resources are useful for business and individual targeted search (e.g. competitive intelligence sites; sites for jobs and travel; library guides and content-rich websites provide information in many areas and the websites are freely accessible; Excel resources)

Research Keys, Part 4 examines education-related search engines, directories and sites for kids and K-12 students, teachers and parents. Search engines for kids differ from other search engines because they are free of adult content, sites are almost always reviewed by professionals and focus on fun-education activities. The below sites are public and free, created and put together by educators, librarians, writers, foundations, government agencies and schools. Some of the sites target both kids and young students, and some directories for K-12 students provide materials useful to all audiences (e.g. guides for writing genres, foreign language tutorials, misc. links)

Thursday, 2 August 2012

Open Access Education Resources | Research Keys, Part 3

Research Keys is a series of blog posts which will cover essential resources on search engines and information intelligence; directories and sites for kids, K-12 and university students; global search sites for jobs and travel; multimedia search engines; online library guides; content-rich subject guides by educators and professionals; resources by foundations, universities and governments; open access repositories; content curation sites; similar sites - their application in research; free Excel tutorials; global and European research scholarship websites. Although the focus is clearly on research, many of the resources are useful for business and individual targeted search (e.g. competitive intelligence sites; sites for jobs and travel; library guides and content-rich websites provide information in many areas and the websites are freely accessible; Excel resources)

Research Keys, Part 3 is a collection of important open access education resources useful to students, researchers and lifelong learners. Two subcategories have been outlined - initiatives funded by public institutions/foundations, and resources which are crowdsourced or maintained by private individuals/firms