2019 Summer Intern

The Susan Casey Brown Fund for McGill was established by Garvin Brown (BA'91) in honour of his mother, Susan Casey Brown.Administered through the Dean’s Office in conjunction with the Faculty of Arts Internship Office, this award is meant to provide partial funding to assist students with travel and other expenses related to their international internship. The Susan Casey Brown Fund for McGill is part of the McGill International Experience Awards. For more information, click here.

The Internship Offices Network is pleased to announce the selected McGill student for the 2019 summer internship at the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei, and the recipient of the Susan Casey Brown Fund for McGill.

Julia Nguyen, BA Political Science and Economics

Julia is a third-year student double majoring in political science and economics. She will be interning in the General Affairs section at the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei. Julia will help the office conduct analysis of political and economic trends that affect Canada’s interests in Taiwan. She hopes that this opportunity will allow her to put her strong interest in the Asia-Pacific region into practice and learn more about the diplomatic field.

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I would first like to thank Mr. Garvin Brown, whose generous contribution to the McGill International Experience Awards through the Susan Casey Brown Fund has made it possible for me to partake in my internship at the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei (CTOT). Their dedication to this program has helped me and countless other students enrich our education through life-changing experiences.

The Canadian Trade Office in Taipei (CTOT) represents Canadian interests in Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties. It facilitates cooperation between the two jurisdictions on a number of sectors and issues, including trade and investment, educational and cultural exchanges, aboriginal affairs, and human rights. I was immediately drawn to the internship at the CTOT given my passion for Asian affairs and my interest in the foreign service as a potential career path.

As an intern in General Relations section, I had the opportunity to touch on a wide variety of matters. Shortly after I arrived in Taipei, the Legislative Yuan passed a landmark bill legalizing same-sex marriage, becoming the first legislature in Asia to do so. One of my first tasks was to produce a report on developments in LGBTQ rights over the past years that have led to the passage of this historic bill. For this report, I interviewed several Taiwanese legislators and activists who were pioneers of LGBTQ advocacy in Taiwan. Being able to witness the union of the first LGBTQ couples in Asia at a special ceremony organized by the Taipei government was one of the highlights of my internship.

As Taiwan prepares itself for the January 2020 elections, I also produced several other reports on the presidential primaries, China-Taiwan relations, and other electoral issues. Most of these reports were sent back to the Global Affairs division in Ottawa; other informational pieces were kept for internal use. In addition, every week I compiled and summarized articles from both international and Chinese-language press for distribution in Canadian embassies in the Asia-Pacific region.

An important learning objective I achieved was the development of my writing and research skills. Specifically, I learned how to adapt my writing to different purposes or audiences and became more comfortable with reading primary sources in Mandarin Chinese. My academic background in Political Science and Economics, combined with several years of studying Chinese and experience as an exchange student in Beijing, were of tremendous help in my daily work at the CTOT. I was able to grasp the complexities of Taiwanese politics, and quickly became familiar with its important figures and issues.

Although I worked in the political section, I had the chance to spend a few days in the trade section helping my colleagues at BioAsia, a trade show featuring biotech and pharmaceutical companies from around the world. I networked with other exhibitors, introducing them to services provided by the CTOT for investing in Canada. This experience allowed me to witness another side of Canadian international cooperation.

For my participation in this internship, I will be working on a research paper under the supervision of Professor Krzysztof Pelc on the topic of trade preferences in Taiwan the context of globalization and economic integration with China.

My time at the CTOT helped me clarify my academic and career goals, confirming my deep interest for international relations and Asian affairs. I have been extremely fortunate to receive the McGill International Experience Award, which has helped me cover the costs of transportation, accommodation, and food in Taipei. Many thanks again to Mr. Garvin Brown, the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei, and McGill University.

Julia at the Canada Pavilion at BioAsia Taiwan 2019

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