Volunteer work

School of Global Health strongly recommends that all students within the global health field engage with volunteer work during their time as students. There are several reasons for the importance of volunteer work:

  1. You will learn valuable skills and expand your network;
  2. You will help organisations make a big difference to their target groups; 
  3. You will gain a stronger position in your future job search with volunteer experience on your resumé; 
  4. You can specialise within a specific field of your interest on a level that your study might not be able to offer - this is also important for future jobs as the demand for generalists is decreasing.

Many organisations (big and small) are currently looking for volunteers to fill various roles within their organisational structure and projects. Due to the new Study Reform, it has become more difficult to hire interns and therefore many turn towards volunteers instead.

Being a volunteer gives you the freedom to make more demands of the work place because you work for free e.g. in terms of responsibilities, hours and work load. However, you must also be okay with sometimes conducting simple tasks such as taking notes and making coffee.

Many organisations use volunteers as the driving force to accomplish their tasks. This means that you can start out as an assistant and work your way up to being a project manager if you show dedication and hard work. Even though you will work for free, it is time well-spend as it will significantly boost your resumé.

Websites relevant for volunteer jobs in Copenhagen