Feb 20 2026

Meet Current Intern, Nishi Patel

Nishi Patel joined the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) in September 2025, as a Data and Content Analyst Intern supporting the Chief Information Office (CIO). A typical day for Nishi ranges from building databases and analyzing data, to producing reports with tools and dashboards. She enjoys both the team and cross-team collaboration, as well as the opportunity and flexibility to work independently on certain projects. Overall, Nishi recognizes the value of her work in improving the information, knowledge and data management capabilities across a variety of topics at NCIA, in turn ensuring the Agency can work smarter, faster and more efficiently.

As NCIA’s internship applications are open again for 2026, we sat down with Nishi to ask about her internship experience at NCIA so far, and dispel common misconceptions about working at a large, international organization.

What skills, be they technical or otherwise, do you feel you have developed most during your time at NCIA?

Throughout my time at NCIA, I have developed both hard skills, mainly technology related, as well as important soft skills. From a technology standpoint, my work has required the use of specific tools to build data pipelines and create analysis dashboards. By working on multiple projects using these new software and environments, I have developed new insights into technologies, and have learned how to leverage them for efficacy. Before joining NCIA, I had never worked with some of the tools which have now become part of my daily tasks, which I’m sure will be useful knowledge for future career prospects.

When it comes to soft skills, working at NCIA has taught me how to adapt to working in an international and culturally diverse environment. Thanks to this, I have had the chance to learn about new cultures, which has positively influenced my own communication skills and workplace values. I have learned to navigate conversations to avoid misunderstandings, which has also influenced my work and has led me to streamline how I present analyses.

Do you think people have any misconceptions about working in technology roles within NATO or international organizations?

I think some misconceptions people tend to have about international organizations is that the work environment is slow. From my experience, I have been involved both in long-term projects that span the course of the year, and other assignments that progress quickly within a couple of months. It varies a lot, but there are many fast paced and urgent projects, which call for quick action. I also have heard people questioning if they need a political background to work at NATO, but not all roles require this. My own academic study is within science and technology, and I did not join NCIA with a strong political background, which did not hold me back. I have already learned a lot since I started in my position in September 2025, and gaining a better understanding of how NATO operates has only motivated me further, as I see how NCIA’s work contributes to the wider mission

Looking ahead, how has this internship influenced your career aspirations or the direction you hope to take next?

This internship has solidified my career aspirations in the tech sector. With the support of my team, I have been given the space to work independently on a multitude of projects, which has challenged me, allowed me to grow my skills and to navigate digital infrastructures across different regions. Looking forward, I want to continue building upon these skills and my knowledge I have already

acquired from my NCIA experience. I would definitely like to experiment with different technologies and explore other tools and engineering software to analyze data.

What advice would you give to young women considering a career in STEM or applying for an NCIA internship, particularly those who may doubt whether they fit the ‘right’ profile?

The advice I would give to young women considering a career in STEM, especially at NCIA, is to absolutely go for it! Given how fast technology is evolving, it is easy to feel that your skills may not be the right fit for a job, but no matter what job you start, there will always be a learning curve. The best approach is to be confident in your abilities and to view an NCIA internship as a learning experience to hone new skills and learn along the way.

Being passionate about your field and having a willingness to learn will always benefit you, and many teams often look at your soft skills to truly determine if you would be a great fit for their needs. Here, at NCIA, I found that while my background fit the profile for my role, there were still challenges when it came to adapting to technologies that I had previously never worked with, understanding the structure of the Agency, and figuring out how I can best contribute to the team.

Applications to join the next cohort of interns at NCIA are now open until 8 March 2026 23:59 CET. Find out more about the opportunities and apply today here.