WBG Pioneers, the World Bank Group's Internship Program, offers undergraduate and postgraduate students a high impact learning experience at the heart of global development. Participants gain hands on experience in a diverse and dynamic environment, contribute fresh perspectives and innovative ideas, and connect with international professionals working to end poverty on a livable planet.
Background/OrganizationalContext
The Smart Parcel Atlas for Resilient Cities (SPARC) is a World Bank Groupgeospatial intelligence initiative that helps task teams and city governmentsgenerate and apply parcel-level spatial evidence for urban planning,infrastructure prioritization, land management, disaster risk management, andinvestment decisions. SPARC combines satellite imagery, global datasets, GeoAImethods, and administrative information to produce decision-ready layers onbuildings, parcels, land use, infrastructure access, hazard exposure,population dynamics, and urban growth. The internship will support the thematicexpansion of SPARC to conflict-affected and reconstruction contexts (e.g.,South Sudan, Sudan, Ukraine), with a focus on how parcel- andneighborhood-level geospatial intelligence can inform remote monitoring, damageand change detection, population and displacement dynamics, service disruptionanalysis, and operational prioritization for recovery and resilienceinvestments.
Dutiesand Responsibilities
ย Review SPARC materials, reconstruction, and forced displacement use cases, and good practice on remote monitoring, damage detection, displacement tracking, and urban recovery analytics.
ย Map relevant conflict-specific (including forced displacement) data sources and methods, including satellite imagery, building footprints, road networks, land cover, nighttime lights, population proxies, hazard exposure layers, and administrative datasets.
ย Support definition of SPARC use cases for conflict and post-conflict settings, including reconstruction prioritization, service disruption screening, and remote supervision of recovery investments.
ย Contribute to analytical frameworks, prototype analytics, mock-ups, and concise operational materials for selected contexts, subject to data availability and team priorities.
ย Prepare notes, briefs, slide inputs, and documentation on data quality, uncertainty, limitations, validation needs, ethical considerations, and appropriate use in sensitive FCV contexts.