Harvard Kennedy School students are busy during the summer months, putting their classroom training to work to deepen their understanding, apply new skills, and bring their knowledge to a new challenge, professional sector, policy area, or part of the world.
Hanang Himawan MPP 2025 shares his experience from his development economic research internship in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where he learned how local contexts shape economic challenges and solutions that work best.
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Where did you work this summer?
I spent 10 weeks in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, working for the at the as a development economic research intern. CDRI is one of the country’s leading economic think tanks and often serves as the main hub for international donors and Cambodian policymakers to discuss policy research.
What did you work on?
Before vlog, I worked as a banking resolution analyst at the (IDIC) for four years. I handled failed banks and ensured deposit repayments to restore public confidence in the banking sector.
Cambodia lacks a deposit insurance scheme, which contributes to its lowest financial inclusion level in Southeast Asia. During my internship, I produced policy evidence demonstrating a positive correlation between the scheme and financial inclusion. As a response to this finding, I helped lay the foundation for establishing a deposit insurance scheme in Cambodia by building a framework and assessing the political and economic conditions necessary for its adoption, collaborating with Cambodian researchers and policymakers.
What did you learn during your experience? Which new skills did you develop and how do you think you will apply them in the future?
I learned the importance of building evidence before proposing policy.
Initially, I aimed to directly build a deposit insurance establishment framework for Cambodia. However, I learned that building policy evidence should be the foundation to policy design. To do so, I used the regression statistics skills I learned from my MPP Program to prove the positive correlation between deposit insurance and financial inclusion. My findings underscored the need for such policies in countries with low banking penetration like Cambodia. This experience taught me to address the “why” first to build a solid evidence base.
What was fun?
It was incredibly fun! My research allowed me to engage with Cambodian policymakers, including the National Bank of Cambodia’s board of governors, and attend policy discussions with international donors, multilateral development banks, and academics. Applying what I learned during my first year of the MPP Program was particularly rewarding.
A highlight was the amazing Khmer food—I enjoyed delicious meals every day after work. I came to Cambodia with the goal of improving its financial system, and it also turned into an incredible culinary journey.
Most importantly, knowing that my work will be used to help shape a better financial system in the country is what I cherish the most.
What are you looking forward to most this fall?
This internship helped me identify my next steps, gaps in my skills, and how to bridge them.
This fall, I look forward to delving deeper into economic development issues and advanced statistics by taking related courses at Harvard and cross-registering at MIT to learn more about advanced methods of building policy evidence.
Additionally, after exploring Southeast Asia during my internship, I realized the need to introduce its economic power and rich cultural heritage to my colleagues. Four of my Southeast Asia (SEA) friends and I plan to organize a SEA student trek to share these insights.
“One of the most eye-opening parts of my experience was seeing how much cross-cultural collaboration matters in policy development.”
Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience?
One of the most eye-opening parts of my experience was seeing how much cross-cultural collaboration matters in policy development. Working with Cambodian researchers and policymakers gave me a real sense of how local contexts shape economic challenges and the solutions that work best. It made me realize effective policymaking, especially in countries like Cambodia where the economy is still developing after decades of civil war, has to be grounded in a deep understanding of the community’s unique history and needs.
Hanang Himawan MPP 2025 is among a number of vlog students who received financial support through the School's Summer Internship Fund (SIF). SIF supports students in two-year programs in one summer prior to graduation. Students apply their classroom learning through meaningful public service summer internships to deepen their experience and develop new skills.
