The World Federation of KSIMC

Hanna Tejani

In 2018, I was very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to intern at The World Federation. Prior to this, I had a brief understanding of what The WF did and had taken part in various fundraisers over the years, but never fully considering what goes on behind the scenes.

In my time here, I have been working with the Madrasah Centre of Excellence (MCE), helping out with various tasks related to the new Tarbiyah Curriculum. I began with assisting with the development of the new website which included user testing as well as watermarking and uploading content. It was really interesting to be involved in the process behind the content being produced to it being printed in the form of both manuals and story books.

I also gained experience across the departments, including spending a day with the Marketing and Communications department.

In my second summer at The World Federation, I was allocated a project that coordinated and collated all the feedback that had been submitted by teachers and students regarding the completed MCE Tarbiyah Curriculum. I was given the responsibility of interpreting, analysing and presenting the data so that improvements could be made to the curriculum for the next version. Most notably, I was given the opportunity to present my analysis and findings to the various Office Bearers of the Regional Federations and answer their questions relating to my analysis. Although this experience was a little daunting at first as I had little exposure to public speaking in this setting, I had unwavering support from everyone and was very thankful for being given this opportunity to develop skills I will definitely use in the future in both my academic and professional life.

Following the completion of this project, I conducted some user testing and data sorting for the new CRM project. It was interesting for me to see the project developing and adding value via my comments.

I felt a sense of responsibility and ownership over both projects, which I really enjoyed. Above all, I would highly recommend interning at The World Federation. Aside from the work aspect, I’ve been given the opportunity to give back to the community, enhance my skills, meet people from different backgrounds and experiences and build relationships with many people both within and external to our community, all of which will remain after I leave The World Federation.

Aaliya Chagpar

For two weeks during the summer, I was an intern at the World Federation, working mostly within the marketing department and producing short videos for aid projects. I learned a great deal during my time there and the experience has been useful both for my future career decisions and to gain more knowledge about the developing world around me. I also gained an insight into how an organization works and have developed a greater appreciation for the work done by the World Federation.

As an intern, I did a few different types of tasks, including both promotional and walk-through videos. I also saw some of the preparation work needed for a marketing project and learnt the steps taken from start to finish. While the environment was new to me, I never felt unwelcome and was always able to ask if I was unsure of anything. Through the work and the experience in a new setting, I learnt a lot and will always be grateful for the chance to be a part of what the World Federation do and what they stand for.

Abbas Kermalli 

One guide, 40 pages, over 5000 words, 4000 contacts later over 3 weeks’ summaries the work that I have completed during my internship at the World Federation. Sadly, my internship is drawing to a close giving me time to reflect upon where I was 3 weeks ago when it all started.

In August 2019 I applied to the World - Federation with the aims of increasing my IT skills and applying them to increase my proficiency as well as having an opportunity to practice my language and writing skills before starting my first year of Law in September. On the first day at 9am it was exciting to learn that the team had the perfect task for me. Within in moments, I was introduced to the innovative new project of the Customer Relationship Management System which will be instrumental in the new marketing strategy and will aid the efficiency of the marketing team to give them greater access to the vast number of contacts be it individuals or organizations that the World Federation has now. This network is now at their fingertips.

3 weeks ago and I would not have been able to write a whole sentence about CRM systems but through the support of the team and time spent getting to grips with the system I was able to carefully put together a guide on how to use the system which the World – Federation will now use, hopefully leaving a legacy of my own for as long as the CRM system is in place and people being trained to use it. My full appreciation for the necessity and power of the system only really came about when sorting through the existing data stored in various places using various different methods to store this data making use of it challenging. With the new CRM system, the ability to standardize the data being stored and collate all the data into one place gives a greater ability to analyze the data to produce marketing strategies that can increase the success of various projects such as the Muharram Podcast that were being worked on while I was interning. Not only were the skills involved critical for my own personal development but also crucial to my understanding in an era where the debate regarding privacy and companies that collect big data is more prevalent than ever.

The most rewarding aspect was the realization that all this work would be used to improve the reach and publicity of events such as the Najaf Retreat that 3 weeks ago I had not heard about with these projects are aimed at students the same age as me to build a future for us. I leave my reflections over the past few weeks here. I would like to thank the World Federation Team who have made me feel like I am well and truly part of this team and who have helped me at every step of the way during my experience. I look forward to continuing to help the World Federation in whatever way possible in future days and months to come. 

Would you like to intern here? If so drop us an email detailing what kind of work you are interested in at [email protected].