EUM4970 - European Union internship in Brussels

Leader(s): Pascaline Winand, Natalie Doyle

Offered

Overseas First semester 2009 (Day)

Synopsis

Known as the "Capital of Europe", Brussels is home to many European Union institutions and NGOs, and to the corporate headquarters of many multi-national firms. Students will complete an internship in this international city under academic and professional supervision. They will work in EU institutions or in Brussels-based multi-national firms, European industry associations, international organizations, NGOs and political consultancies, think tanks and law firms. This will be an opportunity to gain first-hand, practical knowledge of the European Union in law, politics, business, finance and to practice European languages including French and Dutch.

Objectives

On completion of this unit students will have

1. gained a developed practical understanding of the institutions and policies of the European Union, thereby consolidating and extending what they have learned from core units and electives in the Master in European and International Studies;
2. developed skills associated with work in at least one aspect of the European Union and its policies;
3. developed communication and interpersonal skills appropriate to future professional employment;
4. developed organizational and time management skills;
5. developed their language skills in one or more European languages;
6. developed an appreciation of the pressures inherent in producing high-quality, focused research under strict timelines;
7. developed the capacity to devise, plan, write and successfully complete well-informed, well-structured and well-presented internship research reports;
8. developed strong skills in critical oral and written assessment of their work experience and how it relates to academic scholarship on the European Union.

Assessment

Written work (an internship journal and internship report - 9000 words): 80%
Oral presentation (given within 2 weeks of the students return to Australia): 20%

Contact hours

12 points: Minimum of 80-90 hours over the course of one semester spent in an internship in Brussels. Equivalent of 24 hours per week contact and private study.

Prerequisites

Successful completion of core units of the Master in European and International Studies or with coordinator's approval.

Prohibitions

EUM5970