Title: Gleaning Insights From Summer Training: How Harvard Kennedy School Students Leverage Classroom Knowledge For Real-world Applications
Main body:
At Harvard Kennedy School, summer is far from a typical ‘break;’ rather, it is a time when students immerse themselves in hands-on professional experiences. The value of classroom learning is amplified as they work to enhance their understanding, put new skills into practice, and push their boundaries into uncharted territories in professional sectors, policy areas, and different regions worldwide.
One student who amply demonstrates this application-oriented approach to summer learning is Hanang Himawan, MPP 2025. Himawan traded the comfort of his classroom for an enriching stint in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where he spent his summer as an intern doing development economic research.
This assignment spoke volumes about the adaptability and commitment of Harvard Kennedy School students and emphasized how educational spaces’ global interconnectedness allows students to transcend their academic confines to tackle real-world issues practically.
Himawan’s Cambodian internship was marked by moments of discovery and learning. He delved into the intricate world of development economics while dealing with local contexts that shape the country’s economic challenges and potential solutions. His role as a development economist intern made him realize the multifaceted nature of economic issues. It also helped him gain insight into economic resilience and understand how context-specific solutions could work best when molded by unique societal fabrics and human complexity.
As Himawan expanded his academic horizons across geographic boundaries, he was exposed to a multi-dimensional view of economic development. He saw how cultural undercurrents, social frameworks, historical contexts, and resource endowments shaped the Cambodian economy. This complex interplay not only highlighted the diversity of economic paradigms but also underscored the need for deeply contextual and compassionate approaches to overcoming developmental challenges.
Such lessons are critical to shaping future policymakers and institutional leaders who are expected to propose solutions that work best within the framework of a specific country’s economic situation. It represents what Harvard Kennedy School aims to teach its students – the importance of understanding local contexts, recognizing different challenges, and devising solutions that respond effectively to these unique circumstances.
Himawan’s experience embodies the crux of what students at the Harvard Kennedy School set out to accomplish during their summer months. Not merely gaining work experience or adding another feather to their academic cap, these internships are dynamic spaces of learning, pushing, and breaking boundaries—a stepping stone towards tangible change, towards a better future.
Himawan’s stint served as a pivotal moment in his academic journey, a testament to the appreciation and understanding of development economics in a different cultural context. It broadened his perspective and provided valuable lessons in adaptability and resilience.
This story of student engagement and active participation is one of many from Harvard Kennedy School. It highlights the value of experiential learning in policy-making and international relations-the core essence of what the school seeks to impart among its students. As these stories continue to unfold, they bear testimony to the educational institute’s commitment to shaping scholars who are equipped with both theoretical and practical knowledge.
Finally, it is stories like these that enable schools such as Harvard Kennedy School to build a strong community of learners-both inside and outside the classroom, ready to lead, inspire, and drive change across sectors and boundaries. This narrative drives home the fact that real learning does not occur merely within the four walls of a classroom but extends to the expansive canvas of the world at large.
