European Commission Internship for Young Roma University Graduates

In conjunction with the European Commission, the Open Society Institute offers five internships for young Roma university graduates from all new EU member states (excluding Cyprus and Malta), Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The training period involves work experience in one of the commission’s departments. The internship has the following aims:

• to give Roma interns a general idea of the objectives and problems of European integration;
• to provide them with practical knowledge of the working of commission departments;
• to enable them to acquire personal experience by means of the contacts made in the course of their everyday work;
• to enable them to enrich and put into practice the knowledge they have acquired during their studies or professional careers.

Eligibility

• Nationals from all new EU member states (excluding Cyprus and Malta), Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina who are of Roma origin;
• Applications from women are encouraged;
• The candidates must have completed a course of university education and obtained a full degree or its equivalent (for minimum national education qualifications required, see Annex 1 in the attached guidelines) by the closing date for applications. Applications are only accepted if they are accompanied by a photocopy of the candidate’s degree certificate (or, in the absence of this document, an official statement from the university confirming the degree result, see Annex 2 for list of university degrees sought by the EC services);
• Preference will be given to candidates with proven experience in civil society work;
• Working knowledge of at least English or French, ability to draft reports in one of these languages. Other languages would be appreciated;
• Minimum computer literacy: The age limit for interns is minimum 25. However, the selection committee may, if there is a good reason, make exceptions to this age limit at the candidate's request (in which case, a cover letter should be submitted with the application form). As the commission’s in-service training program is addressing young graduates at the beginning of their career, this age limit should not be considered to be discriminatory;
• The internship scheme at the commission is open to candidates who have not benefited yet from in-service training in another European institution or body.

Deadline

December 5, 2009

Further Information

For further details and an application form, please download the documents attached below.