As I had enrolled this school with a view to acquiring the expertise and experience required for my career plan to address development issues in international organizations, I seized on the opportunity to apply for the internship program immediately after learning of its launch. Little had I expected it would be in Paris, yet I fully enjoyed this hard-won internship opportunity at OECD Headquarters for two months. Moreover, I greatly benefitted from the fact that I was sent under the program conducted by Waseda.

My post of duty was in the Aid Effectiveness Division of the Development Co-operation Directorate. The division plays a central role in coordinating international activities regarding "Aid Effectiveness," on which the development aid community has recently put much emphasis. I worked there in August and September and this was the period when the division was busy with the preparation for and follow-up of a high-level forum organized by the OECD. I was involved in the production of a key survey report for the forum in a variety of ways - updating statistical data, finalizing text revision, and coordinating external editors - that largely determined the quality of the report. Later, my supervisors also assigned me the task of research on the relationship between Aid Effectiveness and my specialty, e-Government. It has become my irreplaceable experience to have joined the team that leads the world aid trends and to have made a certain practical contribution. The acquaintances I made with some of Japanese staff and a leading expert in my field is a treasure that I would not have obtained without the chance to work inside the organization.

It is extremely difficult to personally get an internship opportunity in the OECD. Considering all the interns I met there were the best and brightest such as a Ph. D. student at Oxford University and a trainee at a German aid agency, I realize that it was a great advantage to have such a chance through this program. I would say another benefit was that I shared the occasion with the other interns from Waseda - all we did together, including information sharing not to mention, going out after and off work, and linking the networks each of us built there, made me fully aware how precious it is to have like-minded friends around. The overall support from International Affairs Division of Waseda reassured me as well.

It goes without saying that I enjoyed eating Parisian cuisine, museums, strolling about the city, watching a soccer game, and even visiting London, Vienna, and Prague on a leave of absence. In my time there I had both the challenging job of tackling global issues and a fulfilling private life. Thus it is no wonder why I have begun to aim for the OECD as my actual career goal.