Internship at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva
FALL SEMESTER 2026: The ERC Research Project INNER_LEAGUE at the Saxo-Institute is looking for an MA-student in history at the Saxo-Institute to apply for internships at the UN Library & Archives Geneva. This is a unique opportunity to work in a global international organization, with physical and digital archives, individual research tasks and public historical dissemination.
The collaboration
INNER_LEAGUE collaborates with UN Library & Archives Geneva, which has recently digitized the entirety of 15.000.000 pages of the League of Nations Archives, and which is currently digitizing large quantities of its UN archival holdings. From this partnership has come, among other things, the digital research tool VisuaLeague. Continued collaboration will focus on public dissemination, digital archives and new research projects.
The internship
The intern(s) will have four main assignments:
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Prepare and create metadata on digital archival material for the UN Library & Archives. The work requires ability to manage large quantities of digitized archival material, proficiency in English (reading and writing), some knowledge of French is an asset, ability to do light digital work and organizational skills.
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Public dissemination, events, and online presence of the UN Library & Archives. Previously this has included the possibility to conduct a small research project ending with an online publication. The work requires proficiency in English (reading and writing), knowledge of French is an asset, strong organizational and communicative skills.
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Development and maintenance of Research Guides and ongoing projects with university partners. This work requires strong communicative skills, an eye for pedagogical and clear prose, and editorial skills.
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Research and Archival coordination with INNER_LEAGUE, and the possibility of sharing individual research or reports from UN Geneva with the INNER_LEAGUE blog. This work requires a proactive mindset, strong organizational skills and creativity.
N.B. Internships at the United Nations are unpaid. The United Nations Office at Geneva is unable to provide support for accommodation and transport.
Your application
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Please send a CV as well as a cover letter with a brief description of yourself and why the internship is of interest no later than 31.01.2026. Send it to INNER_LEAGUE PI Haakon A. Ikonomou at ikonomou@hum.ku.dk
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After an initial selection one candidate will be asked to apply via the UN Geneva website. The application should be in coordination with the UN (typically late spring). Please, note that the Terms of Reference in the Job Opening are drafted to fit all internships. Accordingly, not all of the information is directly relevant.
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After a screening process, interviews will be conducted, after which the candidates for internship will be selected.
Applicant should be a MA-student in history, looking for an extended academic internship (30 ECTS – in accordance with the ‘Studieordning’ for History).
Further questions? Please contact Haakon A. Ikonomou at ikonomou@hum.ku.dk.
Deadline: 31.01.2026.
About INNER_LEAGUE
INNER_LEAGUE investigates the inner life of the League of Nations Secretariat (1919-1945) to understand how it shaped the professional lives of the ca. 4,000 employees. And how this global workplace shaped the bureaucratic infrastructures of multilateralism it serviced. The project has several concrete objectives:
- To analyze the emergence and impact of professional, educational, epistemic, social, and emotional communities within the League Secretariat.
- To examine the often-contested formation of bureaucratic hierarchies via state-of-the-art digital approaches.
- To investigate how (1) & (2) impacted upon the professional lives of the staff of the League Secretariat.
- To explain how the officials and staff built, maintained, operated, and passed on new infrastructures of multilateralism.