European Projects Association asbl

Individual Membership

Expert Membership

Organisation Membership

EXTEND key learning benefits to every employee of your organization. Join the organizations that use also ORGANISATION MEMBERSHIP as a resources center to identify key experts, project ideas and project partners.

Organization users have free access to:

• News - reading and posting
• Community:
  • Own Blog
  • Connection management
  • Private messaging
  • Direct mailing
• TrainingRoom and Blackboard
  • online course holding
  • 30% discount on EPA live trainings and courses
• ProjectShowroom - listing and posting
  • Project Proposals
  • Project Dissemination
  • European Projects Award
• ProjectsFactory - project management system
• WorkInProjects - job listing and posting
• Events - listing and posting
• Newsletter
• Advertising Banner
• Unlimited Expert accounts

At the heart of the European Projects Association learning experience are the dynamic and interactive courses. Led by top EU projects consultants, European Projects Association trainings are designed for small-group team learning and geared to every organizational level-from chief executive officers to administrative professionals, from seasoned executives to first-time managers.

JOIN the European Projects Association Platform NOW!

European Projects Association offers convenient, user-friendly online e-learning options designed to build knowledge of the EU funding programmes, and skills on proposal drafting and project management.

Our interactive courseware translates European Projects Association's practical, proven content into a self-paced format users can access anytime, anywhere.

JOIN the European Projects Association Platform NOW!

European Projects Association Professional Improvement Programme

European Projects association introduced its Professional Improvement Programme in 2009. The aim of the programme is to provide a small number of current or recent students or active employees with the opportunity to improve their knowledge and intern with the International Staff at EPA Headquarters in Brussels and its National Contact Points worldwide.

EPA is signing covenants with universities in order to develop a high quality programme in conformity with the Bologna Process of the European Higher Education Area.

Ministers responsible for Higher Education in the countries participating in the Bologna Process,
Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve Communiqué, April 2009

The universities that are already involved in the programme are:

University of Padova (Italy) University of Trieste (Italy)

University Ca'Foscari Venice (Italy)

The call for applications is open the whole year. Internships will in principle last 6 months.

The European Project Association is also collaborating with the Eurodyssey program which is an exchange programme of the Assembly of   European Regions (AER) which allows young job seekers aged between 18 and 30 to benefit from a traineeship placement abroad for a period between three to seven months.

Programme Objectives

The EPA Professional Improvement Programme has four main objectives:

• to provide a framework by which graduate and post-graduate students and new employees from diverse academic backgrounds may be assigned to EPA Offices where their educational experience can be enhanced through practical work assignments.

• to expose them to the work of the EPA.

• to provide EPA offices with the assistance of highly qualified students specialized in various professional fields.

• to provide the Organisation with access to the latest theoretical and technical knowledge that the intern can apply through practical work assignments, as well as with additional staff resources.

• to provide interns with an opportunity to learn from the EPA community and get a better understanding and a more balanced view of the Organisation.

• to contribute to creating a more diverse workforce.

• to expand understanding of EPA in European countries and worldwide by having interns return to their countries and/or universities or jobs after completing the Professional Improvement Programme and share their experience.

What does EPA offer?

Interns will benefit by experiencing an international organisation from the inside while substantiating their Curriculum Vitae.

Internships are offered in the following areas:

• Administration

• Information

• Communication

• Education

• Project Development

• Consulting

Activities

All interns will undergo an induction course organised by the Tutor, covering information about the organisation, procedures, security as well as advice on how to have a successful internship. It also covers information about the Staff Centre, which offers different activities at reduced prices for interns. Interns will be able to participate in all EPA activities. This gives them the chance to meet with personnel working in different parts and on different levels of the organisation.

Visits to other organizations when possible will be organized at interns request.

The Professional Improvement Programme Tutor meets with the interns on a regular basis to discuss different topics of interest and make sure they enjoy their stay at EPA. The feedback of the interns concerning different aspect of their internship is gathered twice via a formal survey. Supervising managers are requested to hand in a survey as well.

All inters are offered the possibility to take Language Classes, organised by the Staff at a reduced price.

Leaving the Organisation, Alumni Network

At the end of the Professional Improvement Programme, the employing office will provide the intern with a letter of reference, evaluating his/her work. A copy of the letter will be kept in the intern’s file for future reference. Interns also receive a formal certificate for their programme, provided by EPA.

Interns will be offered to join an Alumni Network, storing their contact details and enabling them to keep in touch, at the end of their programme. The Alumni Network is managed by the Tutors.

Remuneration

There is not remuneration for the attendance of the Professional Improvement Programme.

Travel

Interns will not be reimbursed for their travel expenses on taking up duty or on leaving the service.

In exceptional cases only, the employing office in which the intern has been placed may grant authorisation for an intern to be sent on mission, on the condition that the mission is of a technical nature and not a representative one. The expenses will be taken on by the Divisions which requests the mission. The Managing Board should always be informed before an intern is sent on mission and should receive a copy of the signed mission order.

Leave

Interns will keep the same hours of work and have the same official public holidays as other EPA staff members.

After two months of service interns shall be entitled to leave (including sick leave) at the rate of 2 working days for every month of service completed. Any accumulated leave not taken during the contractual period will not be considered.

In case of sickness, interns must notify their division immediately, and if absent for more than two days, must provide the organisation with a medical certificate.

Unauthorized absences will be charged against such entitlement and the leave will be reduced accordingly.

Obligations and Responsibilities

Interns are required to exercise the utmost discretion regarding facts and information that comes to their knowledge during their internship. They remain covered by this obligation after the internship. The Organisation reserves the right to terminate the internship and take action against an intern who does not respect this obligation.

Interns are not permitted to draw files from registries. The Head of Division/Office will assess the need for access to classified information in both paper and electronic form.

Insurance

Interns are responsible for their own health and accident insurance.

Interns will be required on joining to provide evidence that they have adequate insurance coverage.

Administrative Formalities for National Authorities

Interns will be responsible individually for fulfilling all administrative formalities required by the host nation, including registration in their local authority, during their residence in the coutry. The Tutor assigned will assist the interns by providing all necessary information and documents.

Office Space and Equipment

Office space, furniture and equipment will be drawn from the Tutors’s own resources and planned before the arrival of the intern.

Future Employment

The Professional Improvement Programme is not directly linked to recruitment, interns may however been recruited after completing their programme, as long as the conditions and rules established for employment in the category of staff in which he/she will be recruited have been fully respected and applied.

Eligibility Criteria

Students, recent graduates and young employees with:

• Age: over 21 at the time of programme starting

• Studies: at least 3 years of university study or equivalent. However, depending on the job description, candidates may be required to have obtained a specific degree.

• Languages: working knowledge of English; desirable proficiency in one of the languages of the countries where EPA National contact Points are established.

Interns are required to have health insurance coverage, and to take care of formalities with the authorities regarding their stay in the country where the programme is held.

In Belgium: Federal Public Service of the Interior, Chaussée d’Anvers 59B, 1000 Brussels (phone: + 32 2 206 15 99, http://www.dofi.fgov.be or http://diplobel.fgov.be or www.diplomatie.be ), or Belgian Embassies and Consulates outside Belgium.

Application Instructions

If you are interested in doing an internship at EPA, here is how it works:

1) You need to submit electronically:

• Application Form

• Curriculum Vitae

• Letter of motivation, indicating why you want to intern at EPA and why you chose a specific area.

Please note that incomplete applications will not be processed. Due to the high number of applications received we will not be able to get back to you in case of incomplete information.

2) If you hold a grant or scholarship for your internship at EPA you need to mention it in your letter of motivation.

Contacts

Application Form, CV and a one page essay on your motivations; questions about the Professional Improvement Programme should be sent by e-mail to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it