FIT is committed to developing human capital to support international development by providing opportunities for young professionals in Canada to gain field experience and generate and share knowledge on emerging issues. Engaging the participation of young people helps to bring fresh ideas and enthusiasm to development activities. Through our youth engagement program, FIT and its overseas partners have benefited from the commitment, enthusiasm and fresh perspectives that young people bring to their work. At the same time, field and project experience opens opportunities for the next generation of development professionals.
International Youth Internship Program - Global
CIDA’s International Youth Internship Program provides graduates from the ages of 19 to 30 with an opportunity to gain experience in international development through placements with organizations and projects overseas. FIT has been an implementing partner since 1997, managing over 50 individual assignments. Interns receive training and orientation at FIT’s offices to become familiar with important management and cross-cultural skills. This orientation period is followed by a five- to six-month overseas placement, providing interns with the opportunity to apply their skills and experience to the reality of international development. FIT’s approach has achieved remarkable results as most participants have gone on to secure jobs in international development or the non-profit sector in Canada.
Ranjit Kumar Graduate Fellowship with The University of Toronto
In 2002, FIT honoured its founding executive director by establishing with the University of Toronto, the Ranjit Kumar Graduate Fellowship. This Fellowship is awarded annually to enable graduate students to undertake research and field work required to complete their post-graduate studies. Research projects undertaken by recipients have included: a study of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Nepal and Vietnam and their impacts on the poor; analysis of West Papuan culture in an effort to determine how modern concepts of reconciliation can or cannot engage with “traditional” Papuan social systems; the formation of the African Union and analysis of the role of ideas and supranational entrepreneurs in interstate cooperation; an examination of the interplay between gender, social capital and schooling in non-formal schools (NFS) in a slum community in Nairobi; and environmental rights and environmental refugees.
Internships and Work Study Program
In cooperation with the Co-op Program of the University of Toronto, Scarborough, FIT has provided opportunities for students to gain practical work experience in the field of international development by offering three- to eight-month work study placements in our Canadian office. Through these placements, students from the Arts and Science faculty and the International Development Studies program gain insight into the management and administration of development projects. Interns have participated in research activities to support projects such as a policy study on the relationship between poverty and disability issues, the changing environment for development activities in Africa, awareness among Canadians of our work, developing multi-media learning materials and planning and managing training events.