CCRIF’s Regional Internship Programme continues to shine as one of the Caribbean’s most impactful investments in human capital. The 2025 cycle not only delivered strong technical contributions across the region but also culminated in a dynamic End-of-Internship Forum on January 14, 2026 - a celebration of learning, growth, and the emerging leaders shaping the future of resilience that included both interns and host organizations.
With 23 interns placed across 16 host organizations, the programme once again demonstrated its ability to bridge academic training with professional practice, strengthen institutional capacity, and create employment pathways in disaster risk management, climate resilience, environmental science, engineering, and related fields.
2025 – Another Year of Excellence and Impact
The 2025 cohort upheld the programme’s reputation for excellence:
- 100% of host organizations rated their interns and CCRIF as Excellent or Good.
- 100% of interns said they would recommend the programme.
- Interns achieved an average performance score of 90%.
These results reflect the programme’s strong alignment between intern capabilities and host expectations, and its growing role as a pipeline into resilience careers.
Interns contributed to a wide range of impactful projects, including:
- Hazard and storm surge maps (TEMA)
- Smoke forecasting and fire‑weather research (CIMH)
- Disaster risk information systems (Anguilla DDM)
- Mangrove mapping and drone-based fieldwork (MGI)
- Drought and heat risk atlases (Belize Met Service)
- Climate-smart agriculture assessments (CZITT)
- Gender and inclusion frameworks (ODPM Trinidad)
These contributions strengthened institutional capacity and advanced ongoing resilience initiatives across the Caribbean.
Several interns secured full-time employment or extended assignments, including Raheem Buckley (Mona Geoinformatics Institute at The UWI), Donel McMaster (Anguilla Department of Disaster Management), Benita Vital (Grenlec – Grenada Electric Services Limited), and Adria Leben (Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology). Others were retained for additional projects or earmarked for future roles.
A Truly Regional Experience
Interns represented seven Caribbean countries, with Trinidad & Tobago contributing the largest share. Importantly, 35% of interns completed placements outside their home country, strengthening cross-border collaboration and exposing participants to diverse institutional contexts. Even interns who moved from Trinidad and Tobago — or vice versa — reported gaining new insights into the unique challenges and opportunities of their sister island.
End of Internship Forum: A Celebration of Growth and Community
The 2025 cycle concluded with a vibrant End-of-Internship Forum, bringing together interns, host supervisors, and the CCRIF team for reflection, learning, and celebration.
Highlights from the End-of-Internship Forum
1. “One Word to Describe Your Internship” Icebreaker
Interns kicked off the session by sharing a single word that captured their experience. The responses painted a powerful picture of the programme’s impact:
Rewarding. Transformational. Enlightening. Purposeful. Amazing. Insightful. Fulfilling.
2. Intern 2-Minute Lightning Talks
Each intern delivered a two‑minute showcase of their project, key learnings, and professional growth. From hazard mapping and climate modelling to gender-responsive DRR frameworks and environmental management plans, the breadth of contributions was remarkable.
3. Panel Discussion: Lessons and Future Pathways
This rotating panel of interns and host supervisors explored:
- What surprised interns the most
- How interns contributed to regional resilience based on the perspectives of host supervisors
- The skills young professionals need for the next decade
- How to strengthen collaboration across countries and institutions
The discussion underscored the importance of adaptability, communication, and cross‑sectoral collaboration.
4. Skills for the Future Mini‑Workshop
The CCRIF team led a Skills for the Future mini workshop in which Interns participated in interactive sessions on:
- Networking and professional branding
- Communicating technical work to non‑technical audiences
- Soft skills such as punctuality, teamwork, and workplace etiquette … “Technical Skills Open Windows of Opportunity, Soft Skills Keep them Open”.
These sessions equipped interns with practical tools to navigate their next professional steps.
Intern Voices: Pride and Achievement
During the Forum, interns shared the moments that made them most proud:
- “Producing an Environmental Waste Management Plan.” — Benita Vital
- “The maps and charts I produced to support national drought planning.” — Keoni Williams
- “Being rewarded a position afterwards for my hard work.” — Raheem Buckley
- “Contributing to a gender and inclusivity framework for DRR.” — Reanna Swamber
- “Drafting content for a major regional climate assessment.” — Araiya Shah
These reflections highlight the programme’s ability to build confidence, sharpen technical skills, and inspire purpose.
The 2025 Internship Programme and its inspiring End-of-Internship Forum, reaffirm CCRIF’s commitment to building a skilled, confident, and connected workforce capable of leading the Caribbean’s resilience agenda. By investing in young professionals, strengthening host institutions, and fostering regional collaboration, CCRIF is helping to shape a future where resilience is not only a policy goal, but a lived reality powered by the next generation of Caribbean leaders.
