The internship will be for a period of 12 months.

The IAEA accepts a limited number of interns each year. The internships are awarded to persons studying towards a university degree or who have recently received a degree (see the Internship web pages for further details).

• to provide interns with the opportunity to gain practical work experience in line with their studies or interests, and expose them to the work of the IAEA and the United Nations as a whole.
• to benefit the IAEA's programmes through the assistance of qualified students specialized in various professional fields.

Organizational Setting

The Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications implements the IAEA's Major Programme 2, "Nuclear Techniques for Development and Environmental Protection". This Major Programme comprises individual programmes on food and agriculture, human health, water resources, environment and radiation technologies. These programmes are supported by laboratories in Seibersdorf, Monaco and Vienna. The Major Programme's objective is to enhance the capacity of Member States to meet basic human needs and to assess and manage the marine and terrestrial environments through the use of nuclear and isotopic techniques in sustainable development programmes.

The Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture assists Member States of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the IAEA in using nuclear techniques and related technologies to improve food security, alleviate poverty and promote sustainable agriculture. The Joint Division consists of five Sections, each with an associated laboratory (located in Seibersdorf, 45 km south-east of Vienna), in the areas of: animal production and health; plant breeding and genetics; insect pest control; soil and water management and crop nutrition; and food and environmental protection.

The Insect Pest Control Section and Laboratory assist Member States with the development, dissemination and transfer of sterile insect and related environmentally friendly technologies for the area-wide integrated suppression, containment or eradication of major insect pests affecting crops, livestock and human health.

Main Purpose

To become familiar with and assist in the calibration and testing of a near infrared sorting system for the separation of tsetse fly puparia by sex.

Functions / Key Results Expected

• To handle puparia of several tsetse fly species, including incubation, feeding the pupae through the sorting machine into individual containers and recording the sex of the emergent adults in order to develop calibrations for the machine;
• To test the calibrations by sorting batches of puparia and recording the sorting efficiency.

Qualifications and Experience

• University Degree - BSc or MSc (applied physics, mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, computer science);

• Some experience working with mechanical and optical systems. Good general computer skills. The candidate must be willing to handle live insects;

• Experience with Computer Operations, Data Analysis, Engineering and Technology required;

• Experience in Mechanical Engineering an asset.

• Candidates must be a minimum of 20 years of age and have completed at least three years of full-time studies at a university or equivalent institution towards the completion of a first degree.
• Candidates must not previously have participated in the IAEA's internship programme.
• Candidates may apply up to one year after the completion of a bachelor's, master's or doctorate degree.
• Fluency in written and spoken English; fluency in any other IAEA official languages (Arabic, Chinese, French Russian, Spanish) an asset.
• Candidates must attach two signed letters of recommendation to their application.