My Summer Internship with the Brookings Institute

David Kanos, MPP Class of 2021, discusses his summer internship with the Brookings Institute’s Africa Growth Initiative, and how Harris equipped him with the tools he needed to succeed.

My name is David Emmanuel Kanos. I am from Jos, Nigeria, and I am currently pursuing my Master in Public Policy at Harris. I am interested in economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa and am looking to couple my academic and personal experiences with my skills in data and research to help change the idea of what economic development looks like in the region.

In my time at Harris, I have been involved in student organizations, serving as Vice President of Black Action in Public Policy Studies (BAPPS), which dedicates itself to centering the experiences and needs of Black people through policy. I also work as a research assistant for Professor James Robinson, and as a graduate assistant for the MAIDP program.

This summer, I am working as a Research Intern for the Africa Growth Initiative (AGI) at the Brookings Institution’s Global Economy and Development program. I applied for this position through the Career Development Office (CDO) and they supported me throughout the process by proofreading my resume, helping to better frame my cover letter, and preparing me for my interview.

I am thoroughly enjoying my internship at Brookings, where I am currently working on two major projects.

One project involves working with a Brookings fellow in researching the effects of COVID-19 on business in Africa. We mainly analyze the service and manufacturing sectors, as well as the overall trends compared with various countries in Europe. The coding, data analytics, and ability to interpret and explain data that I learned at Harris have been integral skills for this project.

My second project involves publishing weekly content for the AGI website. For one series, “Figures of the Week,” another research assistant and I summarize and analyze a report on various development topics in Africa with figures that help illustrate the phenomenon. Our second weekly publication, “Africa in the News,” brings to light current events across the continent and the implications they could have for the future. The emphasis on analytical thinking at Harris has definitely helped me better synthesize information succinctly for readers.

My internship has been both enlightening and challenging, and I am looking forward to applying some of the skills I have gained and honed here to my classes in the fall.

Check out this post from Hana Passen and Amanda Whaley, two students in the MSCAPP Class of 2021, on their summer internship with Brighthive.