Internship Project of the University of St. Gallen

1. Origin and Basic Idea

The Internship Project has been initiated in the year 2000 by Prof. Li-Choy Chong who presides the Research Center for International Management at the University of St. Gallen (FIM-HSG) with the purpose to promote the engagement of Swiss students in development organizations. The internships are open to all students of the University of St. Gallen who show high motivation and interest to work for a development organization. Today, the internships are organized by students and former interns.

The partner institution offering such internships is the biggest and best-known NGO of Thailand, the Population and Community Development Association (PDA). The projects in which the students are involved belong to one of PDA’s main divisions: either the so-called Thai Business Initiative in Rural Development (TBIRD) or the Community-Based Integrated Rural Development (CBIRD).

Under the Community-Based Integrated Rural Development (CBIRD) program begun in 1979, PDA established field offices in the North and North-East which addressed basic rural needs and equipped villagers with tools to develop their communities. Over the time, the CBIRD program has reached over 124,000 households in 11 provinces.

TBIRD was launched in 1988 to share the financial, technical and managerial resources of the private sector with government and community initiatives, in order to support the economic development in poorer areas. In that time, the rural areas faced several problems, among which the most severe was the migration of a large part of the population into the cities. TBIRD is the brainchild of Mr. Mechai Viravaidya, Chairman of Thailand’s Population and Community Development Association (PDA), well known throughout the country for his leadership role on the country’s highly successful birth control program.

With over 20 years of experience in rural grassroots development, PDA has pioneered some of the most effective integrated community-based development projects in Thailand, based on the principle that local participation and initiative are essential for self-development, vocational training, HIV/AIDS prevention, education, income generation, environmental conservation, population and primary health-care from its head office in Bangkok and its 12 rural development centers in north-east and northern Thailand. Today nearly 100 companies – ranging from medium-sized Thai businesses to major multi-nationals with investment in Thailand – are actively involved in TBIRD projects. More information about the organization’s projects can be found on their website www.pda.or.th.

 

2. Working Fields

The basic idea is that students can help the NGO in the realization of different projects as well-qualified volunteers. The jobs for the interns may include working on English language documents, developing project proposals, possibly contacting with Swiss companies in Thailand about TBIRD/CBIRD projects. Generally, PDA lacks people with knowledge in foreign languages, but also as regards to computer and business knowledge. Due to their education, the students may be very useful resources to the organization.

In 2004 the interns spent about three weeks each in the two local centers in Wieng Pa Pao and Chiang Rai. Both centers are located up North, in rural areas.

In Wieng Pa Pao, the students are very useful to the organization, because with their knowledge in business and foreign languages, they can support the center in the coordination of projects and in the communication with foreign development organizations. In addition, they also have the responsibility to teach English to the center’s restaurant staff so that they can communicate with the growing number of tourists that visit PDA centers upcountry.

In Chiang Rai, the students are in charge of different tasks in connection with the Hilltribe Museum. The museum has just been enlarged recently and has the function of informing the tourists about the culture of the hill tribes before they visit their villages. As the students can communicate in English, German and French, they can lead through the museum and take care of the tourists from several countries.

In 2005 the major part of their internships took place in CBIRD Ratchaburi (80 kilometers south-west of Bangkok) while in the last days the students visited the Tsunami Projects in CBIRD Center in Krabi (on the Andaman coast in the South of Thailand).

In CBIRD Ratchaburi they were working separately in different teams, rotating every week. Their main activity was teaching English to the staff and several schools as well as the work in the field within the teams of PDA. They could join the activities, they had helped to organise, like several study tours or the so called eye-opener-trips for income generation, introduction to the Village Bank, organic farming and Public Relation events with the power plant of Ratchaburi, where PDA took the role of a facilitator. Another task was to design a two-day English camp by PDA for local pupils.

In CBIRD Krabi they could follow a two-day AIC (Appreciation-Influence-Control) and join a donor by visiting his sponsored villages.

During their entire internship, the students are also integrated in all other projects such as the AIDS - prevention or the vegetable bank project, which were mentioned above. Through their internships, the students can gain an insight into the daily work of an NGO. Furthermore it is a new and exciting challenge where the students have the possibility to get into contact with another culture – definitely an experience that will affect them in their future life.

 

3. Contacts

Project Initiator                                             

Prof. Li Choy Chong
FIM – HSG
Bodanstrasse 6
9000 St. Gallen

Tel: 071/ 224 24 52
Fax: 071/ 224 24 47
Email: li-choy.chong@unisg.ch

Project Coordination
Christopher Selig

Rorschacherstr. 46

9000 St. Gallen

Tel.:071 220 9879

Mob.: 078 674 2290

Email: christopher.selig@asa-unisg.ch

PDA headquarters in Bangkok

Populations and Community Development Association
8 Sukhumvit Soi 12
Bangkok 10110
Thailand

Telephone: +66 (02) 229 4611 – 28
Fax: +66 (02) 229 4632
Email: pda@mozart.inet.co.th,
Chairman: Mechai Viravaidya.

Contact Person Thailand:

Kridinand Somanandana
Tel: +66 (02) 229 - 4611 - 28
Mobile: +66 (06) 323 – 6556
           +66 (09) 606 – 2322

Email: kristcd22@yahoo.com

 

Web sites:

http://www.pda.or.th
http://www.asa-unisg.ch