OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence (IT & AI) Unit at WHO/Europe develops and operates secure digital solutions that improve staff productivity, access to organizational knowledge and the delivery of operational services.

A central component of this work is Pera, WHO’s internal AI workspace – an agentic, multi-agent system that provides staff with AI-enabled capabilities such as writing, translation, meeting notes, knowledge search, AI-first learning environment, document generation, workflow automation and role-specific AI agents. Pera brings WHO knowledge, AI models, specialized agents, tools and workflows together in one secure workspace – helping staff find trusted answers, get intelligent support and handle complex work with ease.

The objective of this internship is to provide students and recent graduates with hands-on experience building agentic AI systems in a production environment. The intern will contribute to the design, development, evaluation and improvement of Pera’s AI agents and agentic workflows – including multi-step task automation, tool calling, retrieval-augmented generation and agent orchestration – that are used daily by WHO/Europe personnel across the Region.

Interns will work directly with the AI Software Engineer Lead in a small, fast-moving product team, ship features to real users on short iteration cycles, and gain rare exposure to frontier AI engineering practice – agent design, evaluation and responsible-AI deployment – within an international public health organization.

WHO/Europe intends to recruit multiple interns under this Terms of Reference. Interns will be assigned to one of three focus areas:

AI Data Engineering: preparing, structuring and maintaining the trusted knowledge sources, retrieval pipelines and document-processing components.

AI Full-Stack Development: building front-end and back-end features for AI agents and workflows, from user interfaces to APIs, integrations and orchestration.

AI Quality & Evaluation: designing and running evaluation methods for AI agents, including trajectory analysis, tool-call accuracy, grounding, safety and user-experience testing.

Applicants are requested to indicate their preferred focus area(s) in their motivation letter. Final assignment to a focus area will be determined at the offer stage, based on the candidate’s profile, stated preference and organizational priorities.

The internship will support the development of technical, product and responsible-AI skills in a multicultural international environment, while contributing to practical tools used by WHO/Europe personnel.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Under the supervision of the AI Leads in various areas, the intern will be assigned the following duties:

  • Assist in the design, development and enhancement of AI agents and agentic workflows in Pera, including multi-step task automation, tool calling, agent orchestration and Model Context Protocol (MCP)-style integrations.
  • Support the development and application of evaluation methods for AI agents and AI responses, including agent trajectory analysis, tool-call accuracy, grounding, relevance, reliability, safety and user experience.
  • Contribute to the development of user-friendly web interfaces using modern front-end technologies, including React, Next.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, HTML and CSS.
  • Support the development of back-end services, APIs, integrations and data-processing components using TypeScript and/or Python and other relevant technologies.
  • Assist with the implementation of generative AI capabilities, including large language model integration, prompt design, retrieval-augmented generation, semantic search, tool calling and AI agent workflows.
  • Support the preparation, organization and evaluation of trusted knowledge sources used by AI applications.
  • Contribute to the development and testing of AI-enabled workflows that support administrative, operational and knowledge-management processes.
  • Participate in product discovery, user-feedback sessions and iterative improvement of features based on staff needs.
  • Assist with functional testing, quality assurance, usability testing and documentation of software features.
  • Learn and apply secure coding, data protection and responsible-AI principles in all assigned work.
  • Contribute to code documentation, version control, code reviews and team knowledge-sharing activities.

  • Participate in project meetings, product demonstrations and technical discussions with colleagues and stakeholders.

Learning objectives

Within this internship, the intern will:

  • Gain practical experience in the end-to-end development of AI agents and AI-enabled digital products.
  • Learn how production AI agents are designed, orchestrated, evaluated and improved, including tool use, multi-step workflows and agent evaluation harnesses.
  • Develop hands-on skills in front-end development, including React, TypeScript and user-centred interface design.
  • Strengthen back-end development and integration skills through APIs, services and data-processing tasks.
  • Learn how generative AI systems are implemented in organizational settings, including large language models, grounding, retrieval, prompt engineering and AI agents.
  • Understand the trade-offs between model quality, reliability, latency, cost, privacy and user experience.
  • Gain exposure to software engineering practices, including version control, testing, code review, documentation and iterative delivery.
  • Learn to apply responsible-AI, cybersecurity and data-protection principles to real-world AI products.
  • Develop communication and collaboration skills through work with technical colleagues, product owners and non-technical users.
  • Build practical experience contributing to products used in an international public health organization.

DURATION OF INTERNSHIP

The duration of the internship is six months.

DUTY STATION AND WORK ARRANGEMENT

This is a full-time, in-person internship based at the WHO/Europe office in Istanbul, Türkiye. Remote or hybrid working arrangements are not envisaged for this assignment.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Have completed the equivalent of three years of full-time studies at a university or equivalent institution in Software Engineering, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Information Systems, Data Science or a related field prior to commencing the assignment; and be enrolled in a course of study leading to a formal qualification.

Applicants who have already graduated may also qualify for consideration, provided they apply to the internship within eighteen months after completion of their formal qualification.

Skills

Core competencies

Teamwork: Works effectively with colleagues across technical, product and operational disciplines and contributes constructively to shared goals.

Respecting and Promoting Individual and Cultural Differences: Works respectfully and effectively in a diverse international environment.

Communication: Communicates progress, technical concepts and issues clearly in writing and verbally.

Learning mindset: Demonstrates curiosity, initiative and willingness to learn from feedback.

Delivering results: Produces quality work, manages priorities and meets agreed deadlines.

All interns should be able to demonstrate the following skills in line with WHO core competencies:

  • Communicating effectively orally and in writing.
  • Working collaboratively with team members.
  • Producing and delivering quality results.
  • Demonstrating willingness to learn and improve.
  • Organizing work effectively and managing priorities.

Experience

Essential

  • Demonstrated programming experience in at least one modern programming language, preferably TypeScript/JavaScript and/or Python.
  • Familiarity with modern web development concepts and frameworks, preferably React.
  • Basic understanding of software development practices, including Git, APIs, testing and documentation.
  • Hands-on experience building with large language model APIs, including at least one demonstrable project involving tool calling, retrieval-augmented generation or AI agents.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
  • Ability to translate user needs into practical technical solutions.
  • A GitHub profile, technical portfolio or public repository demonstrating relevant projects, including at least one involving LLM integration.

Desirable

  • Experience developing web applications using React, TypeScript, Next.js or similar frameworks.
  • Experience with Python, FastAPI, Node.js or other back-end development technologies.
  • Familiarity with cloud platforms, containers, CI/CD pipelines or DevOps practices.
  • Experience with LLM APIs, vector databases, semantic search, knowledge retrieval or document processing.
  • Experience with agent orchestration frameworks, Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations, multi-agent systems or AI evaluation harnesses.
  • Experience with UX/UI design, usability testing or product prototyping.

Languages

Essential

Expert knowledge of English.

Desirable

Intermediate knowledge of another UN language.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Interns do not receive a salary. They receive a living allowance in accordance with the WHO Internship Programme policy and applicable arrangements for the duty station. WHO also provides accident and medical insurance coverage in accordance with applicable rules.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Please note that internships at WHO are highly competitive and only a limited number of candidates are selected each year. Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.

Living abroad can be expensive and finding accommodation may be challenging. Candidates should consider these factors before applying.

If selected, candidates will be required to provide certified copies of proof of enrolment in an eligible course of study, a completed WHO medical certificate of fitness for work and contact details for reference checks.

WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and is committed to putting the WHO Values Charter into practice.

WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment.

WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States are strongly encouraged to apply.

Persons with disabilities may request reasonable accommodation to enable participation in the recruitment process.

WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.

WHO contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow vaccination, as certified by WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services.

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Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify. Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.