Adam's experience at the Social Wellbeing Agency allowed him to utilise his engineering degree skills within this government setting and apply them toward meaningful projects.

Transcript

Hi, I'm Adam and I've been interning at the Social Wellbeing Agency this summer. So before applying or even finding out about the ARG internship I had no idea that my skills from an engineering degree could even be used in a government setting. I've always had the desire to help people and I felt as though the internship could let me do so through informing policy with analytics and research. At my induction I was made to feel super welcomed and I got to learn all about what the Social Wellbeing Agency does. During my internship I also got trained on how to use the integrated data infrastructure which was a resource I didn't even know about before doing my internship. So, I was involved in a project that was all about getting data out of the integrated data infrastructure and into the hands of Iwi who really wanted to see that data.

I started off using SQL and R inside the IDI and then used optimisation models outside of the IDI to build customised geographies for Iwi. You get to be based in the heart of government and work on a meaningful project that could really go on and make a difference in the lives of New Zealanders and I've even gotten the opportunity to present my research to a partner Iwi of SWA and that will be at a hui. The ARG internship programme has opened up a whole new career path for me and if I didn't have to go back to university for two more years I’d definitely be applying at SWA tomorrow.