The Research Center “International Finance” at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy is looking for an

intern (m/f/div), full-time (38.7h/week)

for our research project on “The Ukraine Support Tracker” to start in Summer 2026. We are a young, dynamic, research-oriented team, focusing on questions of international political economy, in particular regarding international relations, geopolitics, and foreign assistance.

The intern will actively participate in our broad-based research agenda on which countries support Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian war. In this research project, we explore international donation flows with a particular focus on humanitarian, financial and military bilateral aid and on aggregate and country-level decomposition of pledges. Processing and quantifying micro-level data on bilateral aid pledges and deliveries using Excel will constitute a big part of the project.

What we offer:

• Involvement in a research project with global visibility and large political relevance
• An open and international work environment in a team of motivated interns and research assistants
• Insights into quantitative work and state-of-the-art research, by using Excel, Stata and other statistics packages
• Attendance of various Kiel Institute seminars and participation, upon agreement, in courses offered by the Kiel Institute’s Advanced Studies Program (ASP) and Kiel Institute summer schools
• A remuneration of 650 Euros/month for Bachelor students and 1000 Euro/month for Master students. Low-cost accommodation in the Kiel Institute’s “Haus Weltclub” is possible

What we DO NOT offer:

• Literature review or any form of academic or policy related writing
• Day-to-day business tasks
• Collaboration on other projects of the department or of the Kiel Institute

The team of Prof. Christoph Trebesch is looking for a student who

• has a sound academic background in economics, political science, international relations, security studies or a related field
• has an interest in working with data, specifically on bilateral aid in the context of the war on Ukraine. Previous experience with data collection and with programming languages (Python, R) is a plus, but not required
• is motivated and proactive when it comes to the advancement of the project
• is able to think critically and independently and can perform tasks responsibly and reliably
• has very good English language skills. German language skills are not required

Please submit your application via the application form on our website using ID-No. „Intern_Ukraine_Support_Tracker“. Please include:

• Cover letter (please explain your interest in the position and where you gained skills in the use of the relevant software)
• CV (including your current GPA)
• Your most recent university transcript in German or English
• Reference letters, if available
• One academic writing sample such as your Bachelor thesis or a seminar paper, if available

Please note that you must be enrolled as a student to be considered for this position.

We only consider applications received via our online tool. Applications sent via email will not be considered.

In order to be eligible for this position you have to hold EU citizenship or need to be able to provide a work permit that is valid throughout the time of your contract. Please inform yourself about the work permit application procedure and eligibility before you apply to this internship position and be aware that the application procedure for a work permit might take up to three months.

The internship position is limited to three months. A part-time internship option is available to students enrolled at the University of Kiel.

Please do not include a photo of yourself with your application.

• intern (m/f/div), full-time

• ID-No.: „Intern_Ukraine_Support_Tracker“