Internships
As part of our activities, the Centre for Sport and Human Rights provides high quality internship opportunities for individuals with interest and potential in fields relating to sport and human rights.
The objectives of these internships are:
- To support people with an interest in sport and human rights in gaining meaningful work experience and developing a career in the field;
- To create an opportunity for educational and professional development for interns that supports delivery of CSHR programme objectives;
- To build a network of individuals and universities that support the Centre’s mission.
Internship opportunities fall into two categories: Academic Placements & Project Placements.
Below, some of our former interns offer a testimony of their experience working at the Centre and explain how their time with us has impacted on the development of their careers.
Thwane Fouche, Australia
My experience at the Centre
"My time with the Centre for Sport and Human Rights has been invaluable to me. I found it to be a very rewarding experience which exposed me to an array of subject matters and complex issues. The subject matters were at times complex to navigate however, I always felt supported to explore, research and ask questions. I am extremely appreciative of how flexible and accommodating the Centre and my supervisors were to work with whilst being in Australia".
Next steps in my career
"Since my time with the Centre, I have concluded my academic studies and graduated with a Bachelor of Law (Class I Honours) and a Bachelor of Business majoring in Sports Management. I have worked as a paralegal at a Private Law Firm in Brisbane, Australia. I am currently in a legal officer position working for the Australian Federal Government. Throughout this year, I am continuing my studies and will be completing my Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice and aspire to be an admitted as a solicitor".
Pedro José Mercado, Spain
My experience at the Centre
"My path and that of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights (CSHR) crossed at the beginning of 2021. Under the supervision of Dr Daniela Heerdt and Dorothy Rozga, I worked, among other things, on developing a teaching note on human rights and sport, proofreading academic papers, and researching e-sports and children's rights. What I liked most was the freedom and autonomy I had. This helped me to combine it with my studies, and even working at the CSHR was crucial for the completion of my thesis on artificial intelligence, human rights and sport.
At that time the Centre was in a transitional stage, but having the opportunity to join all the weekly calls, training meetings and a myriad of different activities, helped me to see how the Centre works and the great human and professional quality of the people who work there. Since I finished my placement there, I have always remained linked to the Centre through its different activities and posts on social media".
Next steps in my career
"Partly thanks to my internship at the Centre, my passion for sport and human rights has continued to this day. I am currently pursuing the Erasmus Mundus Master in Sport Ethics and Integrity (KU Leuven), an interdisciplinary programme in which the topic of human rights and sport is always present. In the meantime, I have been able to publish several academic articles and book chapters on this topic. I also had the pleasure in 2022 of participating in the first Summer School in Sport and Human Rights organised by the Asser Institute in collaboration with the CSHR and FIFPRO. In short, since my time at the Centre, my academic and professional life has been linked to the world of human rights and sport. In fact, such was the impact that this period had on me, that I will soon begin a PhD on this magnificent subject".
Mercy Muriithi, Kenya
My experience at the Centre
"I participated in a literature review for a project on Remedies for victims of Abuse in Sports. My colleagues were collaborative and resourceful. Working at CSHR deepened my knowledge of Safeguarding in Sports. I also appreciated the regular check-in calls to check on my well-being at work since I was working remotely".
Next steps in my career
"Post CSHR, I am still working in the field of Integrity in sports in areas beyond safeguarding".
Robbie Newton, United Kingdom
My Experience at the Centre
"The Centre for Sport and Human Rights is a truly unique organisation, which plays an important role in the sporting ecosystem. Through my academic placement at the Centre, I was able to gain valuable insights into how the organisation operates internally as well as how they collaborate with partners and key stakeholders. The central focus of my placement was to support with the drafting of an independent review of the Human Rights Volunteer Programme at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This project provided a really useful lens through which to understand some of the complexities and challenges of embedding human rights into sport, and in particular mega-sporting events. It also helped to shape and guide my masters research which looked at the socialisation of human rights norms at major sports governing bodies in the twenty-first century. The Centre is a fantastic place to work, and it was really inspiring to work alongside colleagues who have devoted their careers to pushing for positive social change in, and through, sport".
Next steps in my career
"I am currently working as a coordinator at Human Rights Watch, and going forward, I hope to build and expand on the skills and knowledge gained whilst at the Centre to continue to advocate for a world of sport that fully respects and promotes human rights, from the grassroots level to the largest sporting events and everywhere in between".
Clémence Ringuet, France
My Experience at the Centre
"Doing an internship at the Centre for Sport and Human Rights helped me to really see what has been done since the first FIFA scandal and especially what is done in order to implement human rights in sport. Working with Alison Biscoe and Guido Battaglia, and everyone truly was a great experience, I had many opportunities to learn, to understand the life cycle of an event, the necessity of human rights risk assessment, and most of all the impact of sport, event on rights: for athletes, locals, workers, fans, the environment, etc. From this experience, I decided to base my master thesis on the organization of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, “Developing a Human Rights Agenda for Sport in France: Challenges & Opportunities”.
Next steps in my career
"Since my internship, I am working as a jurist for the Legal & Transfer Department of the International Handball Federation. I do not know where my career will bring me but I wish to participate and to help implement human rights in sport as much as possible."
Nils Voggensperger, Switzerland
My experience at the Centre
"As a Master student in Sport and Leisure Management, I had the chance to do a very rewarding three-month academic internship at the Centre for Sport and Human Rights. I joined the MSE team in Geneva, for which I had various missions, such as risk assessments of upcoming major sports events, preparation of the monthly Working Groups and the annual Sporting Chance Forum, or helping with the stakeholder engagement.
The Centre was in the midst of a transition phase with the new Convergence 2025 strategy, so working across the different teams was particularly necessary and almost daily, which allowed me to have an overview of the ongoing work of other colleagues, especially in the field of human rights".
Next steps in my career
"So I really enjoyed being able to put into practice my theoretical knowledge in the field of sport, which I was studying, but I also really enjoyed learning more about human rights, which I have been passionate about ever since. It is partly for this reason that I have since started a Bachelor of Law in Lausanne, with a view to potentially making this link between sport and human rights in my future professional career.
Thus, I have very good memories of this experience, which allowed me to put a first foot in the world of work. The whole team has always integrated me well and continually encouraged me to come up with ideas. I learned a lot in just a few months, both professionally and technically, as well as in terms of human relations".