A promising career spring boarded by an internship program

How a young talent reaped the benefits of the internship program at iMMAP.



“iMMAP gave me the ability to enhance my confidence in data collection, working with NGOs and all humanitarian fields. It was an amazing experience.”

That is how Khaled Al Taher sums up his internship experience at iMMAP. Growing up in Amman, Khaled always had a passion for computer games, which eventually led him to the world of information technology. Khaled majored in Business Information Technology at the University of Jordan.

“I was interested in computer games since I was a young kid, so I majored in Business Information Technology at the University of Jordan,” recalls Khaled. “However, my major introduced and directed me to the world of information management.”

“I heard about iMMAP from a friend and former intern, who thrived, thanks to the internship program,” said Khaled. “I headed down to iMMAP’s office, handed my CV, and crossed my fingers hoping for the acceptance. The program is highly reputable and recommended from many of my friends.”

In February 2018, Khaled was officially accepted to intern at iMMAP. During his six-month stint, Khaled accumulated valuable experience working with numerous information management tools, including KoBo, Power BI, and QGIS.

“I learned how to create an ODK form, maps with QGIS and was introduced to Adobe Illustrator and Power BI,” recalls Khaled. “I built amazing relationships with other interns as well as my trainer. It helped commence and launch my career.”

As part of iMMAP’s internship program, Khaled was seconded a month later to Medair - an organization that he now works, full-time, as an Information Management Assistant.

“Khaled has proven to be very efficient, self-determining and reliable. He quickly became a vital part of Medair’s IM team,” asserts Faris Al-Dorgham, Khaled’s supervisor at Medair. “Since completing his internship with iMMAP, Khalid now works on our Global Resource Information Team (GRIT) providing IM support for emergency responses as far away as Bangladesh and other humanitarian programs throughout the Middle East. Highly skilled IM professionals like Khalid are improving the delivery of humanitarian assistance to vulnerable communities around the world.”

Funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), iMMAP’s internship program under the Information Management Resource Centre Capacity Building program, aims to strengthen national capacity to support emergency response to crises-affected countries in the region.