But what exactly will you be doing?

I received a draft Terms of Reference for my internship the other day. In addition to broadly supporting the Philanthropy Secretariat's Program Manager, I'll likely be tasked with a specific project that I'm incredibly excited about: defining Liberia's leapfrogging technology strategy and determining how to partner with foundations and private companies to make it a reality.

This idea was one of several "visionary" initiatives defined at a meeting between Liberia and the foundations they are working with last September. At this point, it is very nebulous with a few ideas thrown on the table but no comprehensive thought in terms of what the opportunities are, what will have the biggest impact, and what's feasible.

Needless to say, it's a big task. And to be frank, it's hard not to initially react with "Really guys? This is a country without electricity and you're talking about technology leapfrogging?" But I'm definitely the right person for the task given the Google background and connections, and it's an incredible opportunity to put more thought into what technology and development means and whether this is something I want to turn into my area of focus down the line. And I can see it become a killer second year policy analysis paper next year.

So there you have it. I'll be spending my summer in the middle of Liberia's foundation coordination, with a focus on technology opportunities. I couldn't have imagined a more perfect internship if I tried.