Internship Program

EUS20232023 EUSTIP group photo

In addition to the EU Study Tour, the Network offers an Internship Program. The internship opportunities are with EU institutions and several other organizations. Internships start immediately following the EU Study Tour. They typically end in the first week of August. Most, but not all internships are in Brussels. They are unpaid and this is an optional program that typically just over half of the EUST students benefit from.

The internships build on the EU Study Tour experience. Many internships are at the Commission or the Parliament and students experience the inner-workings of the institutions of the European Union. The Civil Societies and other organisations in the IP all interact with the EU as well, and students will sometimes be involved in such interactions.

Students in the IP contribute their own skills and learn from operating in an international work environment. The exact nature of the work will often be established during the first two weeks of the internship and can involve research, policy development and analysis, report writing, media updating, and attending meetings. Most interns are quickly absorbed into the work of their host institution. 

The internship program has traditionally targeted Network universities. Students indicate their interest in the IP when they apply for the Tour (through their own university). They confirm their interest after they got admitted and register for the EUST (see the “Registration” tab). Students cannot pick and choose internship opportunities and commit as such to the internship program (not to individual internship opportunities). However, down the line students indicate their preferences, in terms of host organization and location.

Further instructions follow by email soon after the registration deadline. Students will be asked to provide supplemental materials (including a CV in Europass format and a generic cover letter). They will be asked to submit the supplemental documents by Thursday February 20, 2025. Students are also asked to pay the $1000 IP fee at this time.

Placement will not occur unless and until the program has received the completed forms and the IP fee. If the completed application/registration form and the fee are received, but no placement offer can be made, the IP fee will be fully refunded. However, if a placement is made on your behalf and you decline to participate, there is no refund of the internship fee. 

We work our hardest to match students with an appropriate internship placement and are delighted that we have close to always managed to do so in the past. 

We endeavour to provide applicants an internship offer by mid-April, although each host organization has its own selection procedures which can cause delays. Host organizations always have required qualifications for interns and often additionally have preferred qualifications as well (for example, completion of course work on a certain subject, French proficiency, demonstrated social media fluency/experience). They may also require that the student have Canadian citizenship, is a grad student, studies Economics or History, etc. Please realize that you may not necessarily satisfy the requirements or the desired qualifications of each internship, which will affect placement offers. Placement offers are also affected on our end, for example, priority has traditionally been given to qualified graduate students.

Academic credit for placements is an aspect that is totally at the discretion of the local institution. If you are interested, then earlier is better. Co-op accreditation is not a simple matter to navigate for home institutions, seeing that co-op accreditation requires a minimum number of hours, while Schengen visa requirements mean for most students that they cannot extend their stay in the Schengen area beyond 90 days (this does not apply to students that have EU citizenship, in which case internships may sometimes be extended for a limited amount of time. It can also be avoided by applying for a work permit, but this is not easy and can be expensive. “Schengen” is the main reason why most internships are 2 months in duration, rather than for example 3 months. You will readily find more information through an internet search.)

During the EU Study Tour try to speak to the accompanying instructor about your internship and discuss how best to succeed in this opportunity. Students might also have the opportunity to communicate with representatives of their respective host institutions. If so, please do reach out as this will generally provide relevant additional information.

Evaluation of the internship experience is an important factor in developing future internships; hence each participant is required to provide Completion Reports of the internship experience, including a report from their supervisor at the host institution.

Insurance

Students who travel to Europe for an internship MUST have sufficient travel medical insurance to cover both the Study Tour and the duration of the internship. You will be asked to provide evidence of this insurance prior to your departure as this is required by UVic (instructions to follow). Additionally, all interns are required to have personal liability insurance, but this is provided via your required registration at the University of Victoria. Host organizations will not permit students to begin the internship without first seeing evidence of valid insurance.

Living in Europe 

Internships are non-remunerative, and all living costs are assumed by the intern. Internship applicants are responsible for finding their own accommodations, and should begin investigating options as soon as possible. Students who do not arrange accommodations until they arrive in Brussels will find that their options are limited and more expensive. The Director and/or Tour Assistant will provide advice on finding accommodations in March. Students should NOT confirm accommodations until an internship position is confirmed - locations and date of placements may vary. 

Travelling to Europe 

Interns should ideally wait until they have confirmed internships prior to arranging travel. Or another strategy is that you book a return flight and have the actual return date changed after they learn about the internship placement. [Note that booking two single fares is hardly ever a money-wise strategy!] Keep in mind “Schengen” as explained above as you book your flight.

Below is a tentative list of some of our internship host organizations: 

European Union Agencies

European Commission, Directorate General for Education and Culture (DG EAC)

European Commission, Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME)

European Commission, Directorate General for Energy (DG ENER)

European Commission, Directorate General for Environment (DG ENV)

European Commission, Directorate General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA)

European Parliament (secretariat, economic and monetary affairs) 

Civil Society Organizations in Europe

PAYOKE (NGO which works on issues of human trafficking See: https://www.payoke.be/)

EuroHealthNet (Network for public health. See: https://eurohealthnet.eu/)

EU Matrix (Brussels-based International Trade Advisory. See: https://www.eumatrix.net/) 

European Trade Union Institute (See: https://www.etui.org/)

European Centre for Electoral Support (See: https://www.eces.eu/en/)

European Federation for Transport and Environment (See: https://www.transportenvironment.org/)

Democracy Reporting International (Berlin-based consultancy, see: https://democracy-reporting.org/en/office/global)

The Canada EU Trade and Investment Association (CEUTIA) (Aims to promote Canadian and EU trade and investment interests. See: https://www.ceutia.org/)

African Futures Lab (Pursues the recognition and reparation of past and contemporary structural racial inequalities, see: https://africanfutures.mit.edu/)