As the Embedded Scholars’ internships come to a close at International IDEA in Chile and Panama, we are deeply grateful to International IDEA and its country partners for hosting these UT students this summer!

We owe particular thanks to Carlos González Martínez, Katherine Batista-Sánchez, Roberto Ogg Fabrega, and Ana Elisa Miranda in IDEA’s Panama office and Latin America regional office for their partnership in building this internship program over the last two years.

We also owe special thanks to each of them and to Marcela Ríos Tobar, Alicia Del Aguila, Nicolás Liendo, and Corina Rueda Borrero in IDEA’s Latin America regional office, Ricardo Mena in IDEA’s Chile office, and Salvador Sánchez and Aneth Zambrano in the Electoral Tribunal’s Institute of Democratic Studies for their mentorship of these students during their internships this summer.

As one fellow said this week, the time at IDEA has “catapulted my career in the right direction.” That sentiment is certainly shared across the board as the fellows have conducted research and writing related to elections and candidates, executive power, women’s representation, youth civic engagement, the right to resistance, security and democracy, lawmaking processes, environmental legislation, anti-discrimination legislation, disinformation and hate discourse in elections, democratic backsliding and resilience, civil and constitutional culture, and the impact of AI on democratic processes.

International IDEA notes, “The students offered valuable support in the daily activities of the different programs…. we would like to thank all the staff and students of the University of Texas at Austin for the support provided during this period and their valuable contribution to democracy at the regional level.”

Thanks to these incredible leaders at International IDEA and the Electoral Tribunal of Panama for sharing their expertise and time in training the next generation of democracy professionals!