Behind the scenes: Internship at the MEL Unit at Madiba

??Are you curious about monitoring and evaluation in development cooperation?!

In today's post, we want to highlight our team at the Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) unit at Madiba!?? We interviewed our previous intern Madeleine Lauer and new intern Leonie Ernst to hear about their journey at Madiba.???

We are happy to announce that Madeleine (center-right) will continue as a working student with us! ???? ?? Working alongside project manager and Co-CEO Wolfgang Merla (right) and project manager Aleksei Efimov (left), Madeleine has gained valuable experience in monitoring and evaluation. Having Madeleine as part of our team during her internship has been extraordinary, and we're delighted she's staying on board. ?? As Madeleine begins this exciting new chapter with us, we also warmly welcome Leonie (center-left)! ??

We are looking forward to working closely together, as both continue to drive innovation and make a meaningful difference at Madiba. Stay tuned for more updates and achievements from our talented team! ????

PS: If you are interested in doing what Madeleine and Leonie do and want to join us in keeping up the good work – check out our job adverts on https://www.madiba.group/work-with-us/jobs as we are regularly looking for interns to join us!

??Let's dive into the interview and learn more about their experiences and aspirations!

Madiba: Name three words that come to your mind about your experience at Madiba.

Madeleine: “The first word is insightful because I have rarely gained so many insights during an internship. This ranges from diving into monitoring and evaluation topics to dealing with current AI tools and actively contributing to processes at the firm. The second word is ambitious. Everyone at the MEL unit but also generally at Madiba is ambitious and aiming for the best possible outcome of projects while ensuring high-quality results. I think this is also why I learned so much because I took away a lot of things from interacting with the people here. Lastly, I would say Madiba is encouraging. The company and especially my unit really encourages you to try out things and get involved. As an intern, you wouldn’t usually get a lot of responsibility but here people really motivate you to take it.”

Madiba: Describe a project that you worked on during your internship. What was the project about and what did you learn from working on it?

Madeleine: “A project that I worked on was a proposal that we wrote for a GIZ tender, which we won, and I am taking care of together with Wolfgang. The project is an M&E contract where we support a portfolio of projects at GIZ liaising with the African Union (AU). Through writing the proposal, I have gained extensive insights into its components such as structure and content. This experience has been particularly valuable to me, given my prior familiarity with writing academic papers within a university setting. Moreover, actively engaging with the project has granted me insights into the prevailing themes within the African Union and the M&E practices at GIZ. This experience is undoubtedly enriching my professional growth and understanding of the broader development landscape.”?

Madiba: What is a typical day at the MEL unit like?

Madeleine: “Our days vary quite a lot. On Tuesday’s we have a full house at our unit since the "commuters" are in the office then. This is also when we have our MEL updates in the morning, where we inform each other on the nine different projects we currently work on. After this it really depends on what the current tasks are. During my internship, I was engaged in a diverse mix of MEL tasks, which included keeping track of incoming requests to perform evaluations, searching for experts, who work in our projects, interviewing the experts and writing M&E proposals for GIZ and other institutions. On top of that, I also worked on digitalization tasks, and public relations, sometimes even venturing into other units to provide support. Now, as a working student, my focus revolves primarily around the GIZ-AU project, yet I occasionally support my unit and other colleagues wherever required.”

To get to know Leonie better, we asked her: “What made you apply for the position at Madiba?”

Leonie: “I was drawn to apply to the Madiba MEL unit because of their vision and their commitment to their work. Applying to Madiba provided me with the opportunity to not only contribute to these transformative goals but also gain valuable insights into the German development cooperation landscape. As a small yet impactful consultancy, Madiba empowers interns to actively contribute and take on significant responsibilities. The "learning by doing" approach, coupled with their unwavering support and encouragement, sets Madiba apart. Even though I have only been here for three weeks, I can confidently say that my internship experience has consistently surpassed my expectations, providing me with invaluable learning opportunities each day.”

Dr. Kristian Kampfer #MadibaGroup #DevelopmentCooperation #MELUnit #MadibaTeam #InternshipExperience #Teamwork #ProfessionalGrowth #Insights #AmbitiousProjects #AfricanUnion #GIZ #Collaboration #TransformativeGoals #LearningOpportunities #Innovation #MakingADifference #Achievements