Students encouraged to work in global civil sector

A senior official from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has encouraged more Chinese university students to embark on internships or work at international organizations around the world.

Wang Tao, director of the International Staff Division of the Ministry's International Cooperation Department, made the remarks during a recent lecture at Fudan University in Shanghai, in light of statistics that show how there were less than 500 people working at the secretariat of the United Nations last year. In contrast, about 2,600 Americans and 900 British work at the secretariat.

"The country pays great attention to this. We hope more college students who possess the qualities of integrity and professionalism will work as international civil servants and shine in their roles," he said.

Song Yunfu, a former senior official of the World Health Organization and the former director-general of the foreign affairs department of China's Health and Family Planning Commission, also encouraged students to align their career goals with the effort to promote world peace.

"Students who aspire to work in international organizations can find a seat there no matter what their fields of study are. For example, as far as I know, only 65 percent of the job positions at the WHO are related to health and medicine, and the rest cover all kinds of professions from law to information technology," he said.

Xu Zheng, deputy Party secretary of Fudan University, said that it is an educational institute's duty to train its students to be future international civil servants with a global perspective so that a university can attain a place among the world's best.

"We've maintained good relationships with international organizations and informed students regularly of their recruitment updates. Nearly 50 among those who will graduate this year have shown strong willingness to work in international organizations, including UNESCO and the International Telecommunication Union," she said.

Zhang Youyun, a senior advisor, founder and first director of the Bureau for Gender Equality of the International Labor Organization, said that students must be prepared to deal with unexpected hardships when working at international organizations.

"They must handle all kinds of complexities, different situations and cultures and be determined to dedicate themselves to the work of benefiting their country and the whole world," she said.

Yao Jinqiu, a freshman at the School of Journalism of Fudan University, said almost all her schoolmates are interested in taking up such internship opportunities. She added that her seniors who have practical experience are often invited by the university to share their feelings and perspectives.

"I'm very much inclined to work abroad, especially in public communication in an international organization, after graduation. But I'm still pondering on the specific area of communication," she said.

zhouwenting@chinadaily.com.cn