ACCESSIONS: EVENTS

The China WTO Accessions Internship Programme

The WTO Accessions Internship Programme was established as part of China’s LDCs and Accessions Programme under a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the WTO and China in 2011. Sponsored by the Government of China, this Internship is intended to develop the capacity of recent graduates and young professionals from developing and least-developed (LDC) Members and Observers to master the WTO rules-based system, in particular WTO accessions, so as to prepare for careers in the fields of trade law, international economics and international relations. Five full-time intern positions are available on an annual basis, for a maximum duration of 10 months.

General functions

Interns are normally placed in the Accessions Division. Assignments given to interns are intended to enhance their knowledge of the WTO, trade law, economics and policies more generally. Interns are supervised by professional staff of the WTO. They are expected to assist the Division in the day-to-day work including covering meetings and preparing reports; carrying out thematic research and performing other tasks in accordance with their capacity-building needs.

Duration

Up to 10 months.

Remuneration and benefits

Interns under the programme receive a daily allowance of CHF 90 (including weekends and official holidays that occur within the selected periods). In addition, travel expenses (economy class air fare) to and from Geneva are also covered by the programme.

Medical health insurance coverage is mandatory in Switzerland, and interns are responsible for organizing their own health insurance prior to commencing their internship at the WTO. In this respect, interns receive an extra CHF100 per month to subsidize their health insurance premium payments for the duration of their internship.

Eligibility

To take part in the programme, a candidate must be: 1) a national of an LDC or developing WTO member; or 2) a national of a country or a customs territory engaged in WTO accession process (see list of countries here).

A candidate must have obtained an undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. economics, law, political science, international relations), and must have completed at least one year of their postgraduate studies.

The minimum age for a candidate must be 21 years and the maximum age 30 years.

Implementation of the programme

The Accessions Division, in coordination with the Human Resources Division, manages the implementation of the China WTO Accession Internship Programme. The WTO and the Government of China meet annually to review the operation and implementation of the programme.

Who has participated so far?

Start Date	End Date	Name	Nationality	“Alumni” stories
CLASS OF 2024/2025
04/11/2024	29/08/2025	Rukhsora SATIMBOEVA	Uzbekistan	Coming soon
09/09/2024	27/06/2025	Raul MAMMADOV	Azerbaijan	Coming soon
09/09/2024	27/06/2025	Milzat SALIME	Comoros	Coming soon
01/07/2024	30/04/2025	Elshaday GETACHEW	Ethiopia	Coming soon
04/03/2024	20/12/2024	Ybrayym ESENOV	Turkmenistan	Coming soon
CLASS OF 2023/2024
04/09/2023	28/06/2024	Lynn AL WAZZAN	Lebanon	Coming soon
04/09/2023	28/06/2024	Harouna TRAORE	Burkina Fasso	Coming soon
07/08/2023	31/05/2024	Ishmael LIWANDA	Malawi	Coming soon
07/08/2023	31/05/2024	Muhanna AL LAWATI	Oman	Coming soon
CLASS OF 2022/2023
09/01/2023	10/11/2023	Nisha TELESFORD	Grenada/Canada	Coming soon
01/11/2022	31/08/2023	Tarig ALI YOUSIF AHMED	Sudan	Coming soon
12/09/2022	14/07/2023	Souksana SISOMPHONE	Lao PDR	Coming soon
10/08/2022	09/06/2023	Suraya AHMADI	Afghanistan	Coming soon
25/07/2022	26/05/2023	Nour KABBARA	Lebanon	Coming soon
CLASS OF 2021/2022
13/09/2021	13/07/2022	Trang TRAN	Viet Nam	STORY
23/08/2021	24/06/2022	Amanda Sayuri MIASHIRO	Brazil	STORY
23/08/2021	24/06/2022	Gracious AVAYIWOE	Ghana	Coming soon
CLASS OF 2020/2021
09/11/2020	10/09/2021	Hodhan JIBRIL	Kenya	Coming soon
07/09/2020	09/07/2021	Alexandre MARCHAND	Venezuela	STORY
07/09/2020	09/07/2021	Minyi Angela HOU	China	STORY
07/09/2020	09/07/2021	Ashwini TALLUR	India	STORY
CLASS OF 2019/2020
23/09/2019	24/07/2020	Chidinma ONYEBUCHI	Nigeria	STORY
08/07/2019	08/05/2020	Lizaveta TRAKHALINA	Belarus	STORY
03/06/2019	31/03/2020	Nahom GEBREMARIAM	Ethiopia	STORY
03/06/2019	31/03/2020	Norsirkhon GOZIKHONOV	Uzbekistan	STORY
CLASS OF 2018/2019
19/11/2018	20/09/2019	Walter MANDELA	Uganda	STORY
18/06/2018	19/04/2019	Sariyya BUNYATOVA	Azerbaijan	STORY
22/05/2018	22/03/2019	Kulé GALMA	Kenya/Somalia	STORY
03/04/2018	01/02/2019	Jelena TODIC	Serbia	STORY
CLASS OF 2017/2018
07/10/2017	27/04/2018	Apurva MUDLIAR	India	Coming soon
04/09/2017	06/07/2018	Esau SIMUTOWE	Zambia	STORY
18/07/2017	18/05/2018	Pegah KOUCHAKI VARNOUSFADERANI	Iran	Coming soon
20/03/2017	19/01/2018	Maria MARTINS DA SILVA	Timor-Leste, Portugal	Coming soon
CLASS OF 2016/2017
14/11/2016	15/09/2017	Khusrav RASULOV	Tajikistan, Russian Federation	STORY
04/07/2016	05/05/2017	Emilia MALAVOLONEQUE	Angola	STORY
270/6/2016	10/02/2017	Fahimeh ASLANI	Iran	STORY
CLASS OF 2016
29/02/2016	16/12/2016	Mariam SOUMAR?/p>	Mali	STORY
CLASS OF 2015/2016
27/07/2015	30/06/2016	Vicky CHEMUTAI	Uganda	STORY
15/06/2015	15/04/2016	Tatiana YANGUAS ACOSTA	Brazil/Colombia	STORY
15/06/2015	15/04/2016	Maša LEKIC	Montenegro	STORY
CLASS OF 2015
12/01/2015	14/11/2015	Ghulam Reza MOHAMMADY	Afghanistan	STORY
CLASS OF 2014/2015
24/11/2014	25/09/2015	Nannan GAO	China	STORY
4/08/2014	29/05/2015	Jesse Jefferson FAHN	Liberia	STORY
23/06/2014	24/04/2015	Assel KUSSAGOVA	Kazakhstan	STORY
CLASS OF 2014
01/09/2014	19/12/2014	Amara OKENWA	Nigeria	STORY
20/1/2014	21/11/2014	George TEBAGANA	Uganda
CLASS OF 2012/2013
1/7/2013	27/9/2013	Rafat AL-AKHALI	Yemen/Canada	STORY
04/03/2013	20/12/2013	Chen HUI	China	STORY
18/2/2013	20/12/2013	Onosetale AYEWOH	Nigeria/US
15/10/2012	13/08/2013	Lidet Assefa KEBEDE	Ethiopia	STORY
15/10/2012	12/07/2013	Miguel CASTRO	Colombia
CLASS OF 2012
16/01/2012	12/10/2012	Alexandra BHATTACHARYA	Bangladesh	STORY
16/01/2012	12/10/2012	Huanhuan LIN	China

How to apply

Interested candidates, who meet the above base criteria, have to complete 2 steps for their application to be considered:

1. Complete a general internship application under the e-recruitment section on the WTO website, click here; and thereafter,

2. Send an email to [email protected] to indicate their interest in the Programme, attaching a CV and a motivation letter.

Please note that:

There is no opening or closing date for applications. The selection process, which involves written exam and interview, is conducted on a rolling basis. Internships may be offered at any time during the year.