French Institute of International Relations

In summer 2011, the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy sent three student interns to Paris and Brussels to work with research fellows of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI). This unique opportunity combines policy experience in a foreign arena with the strong mentorship program offered by Leadership Rice each summer.

"This program provided the opportunity to get graduate-level work experience after just two years of undergraduate education, it gave me access to top-tier leaders in a foreign professional context, and it required that I look into myself while simultaneously reaching out to world," 2011 intern Chris Keller said in a Rice News article about the IFRI program. "To my knowledge, no other comparably comprehensive undergraduate experience exists."

Keller was selected from a pool of 150 Rice University students who applied for these prestigious internships.

IFRI interns study policy in areas such as energy and environmental issues, Africa studies and U.S. relations. Possible plans for expansion to this program, which began in 2009, include policy centers in London, China and the Middle East.

• Read a letter from James W. Crownover '66 about why he supports the IFRI student internship program and find out how to get involved.

2011 Program Interns

Chris Keller, a sophomore from Osprey, Fla., majoring in political science; he is proficient in French and speaks basic Arabic. He studied "Kanal Istanbul: Pipedream or Politics?"

Devin Glick, a junior from Houston, Texas, majoring in political science (comparative politics), economics, Asian studies and policy studies; he is proficient in French. His research culminated in "A Look at the IEA 2011 Release of Strategic Oil Reserves."

Navtej Dhaliwal, a sophomore from Dallas, Texas, majoring in mathematical economic analysis and policy studies; he speaks basic French. He studied "U.S. Demographics: The Hispanic Boom."

Program Alumni

2010

Jing Luo, then a junior from Chandler, Ariz., majoring in biochemistry and policy studies, studied national nanotechnology regulations in the United States, China and the EU.

Christoph Meyer, then a junior from Houston, Texas, majoring in mathematical economic analysis, studied “2020 and Beyond: 2050 in Light of the Copenhagen Accord.” He also wrote a report on "Carbon Dioxide Emissions: 17 Years and Still Talking."

Tam T. Nguyen, then a junior from Silver Spring, Md., majoring in political science, studied “European Governance and Geopolitics of Energy.” Read an outline of her summer experience.

Page Robinson, then a senior from Chesterfield, Mo., majoring in anthropology, studied “A Comparative Analysis of the Women’s Movement in the United States and France.”

Ariel Rogers, then a senior from Los Altos, Calif., majoring in political science, studied “European Governance and Geopolitics of Energy.” Read her report "Lessons Learned from Oily Pelicans? A Comparative Policy Paper on Maritime Oil Spill Disasters."

2009

Everette Kreider, then a senior from Helotes, Texas, majoring in political science, studied “Africa and the Changing World of Conflict.”

Claire Newman, then a senior from Sugar Land, Texas, majoring in English and policy studies, focused on “The Middle East and Maghreb.”

Ruchir Shah, then a sophomore from Barrington, R.I., majoring in energy studies, examined “European Governance and Geopolitics of Energy.”

Joyce Yao, then a senior from Taipei, Taiwan, majoring in history and political science, studied “European Governance and Geopolitics of Energy.”