Apply for a Robert Schuman traineeship in the EPRS

If you hold a university degree, you can apply from 1 October 2023 onwards for a Robert Schuman Programme traineeship in the European Parliament. In the DG EPRS, 21 traineeship positions will be available, which will be featured here starting 1 October 2023.

Candidates without distinction as to gender, sexual orientation, cultural, ethnic backgrounds or disability are encouraged to apply, with reasonable accommodation available for successful candidates with disabilities who may need them.

The deadline is 31 October 2023 for the traineeship period of 1 March 2024 –  31 July 2024. A paid traineeship will enhance your education and your vocational training and will provide you with an insight into the work of the EU institutions and the European Parliament. Find more info on the application criteria and process here.

About EPRS – The European Parliamentary Research Service

The European Parliament’s Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services (DG EPRS) is the in-house research centre and think tank of the EP. It provides research, analysis and information, on an independent basis, to Members of the European Parliament and parliamentary committees on all EU policies, legislation and issues. Usually known as the European Parliamentary Research Service, we comprise four directorates: the Members’ Research Service, the Directorate for Impact Assessment and Foresight, the Directorate for the Library and Knowledge Services, and the Directorate for Resources.

In addition, there are three horizontal units within the Directorate-General’s central services: the Strategy and Innovation Unit, the Publications Management and Editorial Unit, and the Linking the Levels Unit. The directorate-general comprises a total of 24 units and just under 300 staff. ‘Empowering through knowledge’ is the guiding principle of EPRS, underpinning the mission of the entire DG. In concrete terms, between 2014 and December 2022, EPRS:

• Answered over 24 000 requests for substantive research and analysis from over 90 per cent of individual Members of the European Parliament,
• Replied to over 3 700 such requests from other parliamentary clients,
• Undertook targeted research work for 20 parliamentary committees,
• Treated over 155 000 reference requests from within the Parliament and over 480 000 citizens’ enquiries,
• Produced over 9 800 publications, most recently at a rate of around 800 physical publications and 150 digital-only texts annually.

Take a look at the video about the EPRS:

Video specifically on EPRS publications:

Video on EPRS multi-media products:

Some testimonials by current and past trainees in the EPRS

Tamara, Germany:

During my traineeship in the Ex-Ante Impact Assessment Unit, I had the chance to conduct in-depth analysis of impact assessments on various legislative proposals. I learned a lot about policy analysis, and the law-making process and got to immerse myself in new topics such as how to ensure better recycling of batteries. Best of all, I was part of a team of talented professionals from all over Europe, who were very welcoming and eager to share their knowledge.

Zsófia, Hungary:

This experience is an excellent opportunity to understand the dynamics of the European Parliament and the EU institutions. The Strategy and Innovation Unit is a great place to train creative and analytical skills, as the Unit is constantly developing new services adapted to the ‘new’ fully digital world. I felt valued as a full member of a tight team, invited to contribute my ideas to a diversity of projects, ranging from outreach communications towards Members of the European Parliament, to processing publications.

Nina, Denmark:

During my traineeship in the Budgetary Policies Unit, I carried out research a broad range of budgetary related topics and contributed to various publications. For example, I prepared Eurobarometer data for a publication on public opinion regarding the EU budget. I also worked on a briefing on the EU’s post corona pandemic recovery package (NGEU), where I compared the EU Member States’ available and requested funding.

Kjeld, The Netherlands:

As a trainee at the Strategic Foresight and Capabilities Unit I hoped to be able to apply my Mandarin language and policy analysis skills to help inform EU policy-makers on strategic developments in East Asia. Thanks to a great team that supported my research ideas, this opportunity offered exactly that. It also taught me a great deal about various strategic foresight methods and their use to anticipate the future.

Lena, Austria:

As a trainee working in the Strategy and Innovation Unit, I was in direct contact with Members of Parliament, to provide them with the relevant publications by our policy analysts, but I also helped to coordinate (and innovate) in communication with the wider public. It’s a great traineeship unit if you want to get a good overview of the processes at EPRS and the EP in general, because you get to see and collaborate with many different units and on many different topics.

Ivona, Slovakia:

During my traineeship at the European Added Value Unit, I was able to contribute to research on policy areas including litigation funding, poverty and inequality, stress-testing and many more. I learned a lot about how publications are written from start to finish, and how to quantify the economic and social value of policy measures.

Lenka, Czechia:

I assisted with the design of LibGuides, compiled a number of selected reading guides on various topics, including law, artificial intelligence or state aid. I was involved in the selection of books as well as their acquisition and catalogue-related tasks. I was also given the opportunity to attend plenary sessions and meet with some Czech MEPs as well as with the Vice-President of the European Commission.

Lucia, Spain:

My traineeship at the Ex-post Evaluation Unit in EPRS was incredibly enriching. I was able to learn not only how to do quality research and policy analysis, but also how to adapt large amounts of scientific and technical information, about any topic imaginable, into comprehensive studies or summarised briefings. The work carried out by the Unit is an essential part of the policy-making process, and I had the opportunity to learn from its excellent professionals, who made me feel like a part of the team from the very first moment

Ilaria, Italy:

I applied for a traineeship with the Ex-Post Evaluation Unit to benefit from the opportunity to explore a wide range of policy areas, and that’s exactly what I was lucky enough to do. For example, within the same week I would work on three different studies on defence, digital finance and unemployment. My learning curve has been extremely steep and very rewarding.

Jiline, Luxembourg:

During my traineeship, I contributed to researching and drafting model answers, a service that provides material for Members to use in their correspondence with the general public. This allowed me to delve into a wide variety of topical subjects, ranging from investment protection agreements to the illegal trade in pets and from the Conference on the Future of Europe to hazardous chemicals in recycled materials.

Suna, Germany:

My traineeship in the Scientific Foresight Unit, which provides advice to Members on scientific and policy options, allowed me to learn about the foresight approach and apply it to exploring impacts and policy considerations, in particular regarding artificial intelligence.

Marta, Belgium:

During my traineeship in the IT Unit, I worked on an open data project to support the DG’s policy analysts in their research. Besides exploring implementation of AI solutions and comparing different technologies, I was also able to gather a lot of insights into the work of the EPRS.

Tom, UK:

During my traineeship, I contributed to the drafting of publications relating to the issue of mis- and disinformation, with a particular focus on how the issue has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. I was also tasked with editing publications on a wide variety of interesting topics, as well as with updating the EPRS blog.

Elise, Belgium:

I participated in the elaboration of a pilot project regarding a pre-legislative analysis of five topics in the European Commission Work Programme during my traineeship with the Linking the Levels unit. The work consisted of researching the different levels of government (national, regional local), and contacting partners in the different organisations to get their input on our research. I also helped with the unit newsletters and with work on a new IT tool in collaboration with the IT Unit.

Agerti, Albania:

My traineeship included contributing to several briefings or papers through researching and editing information for the Budgetary Policies Unit in the Members’ Research Service. For example, I rendered numeric information from the plenary session, which was then published in a briefing on establishing a contingency plan for the European Union multiannual financial framework.

Sam, UK:

Working in the Scientific Foresight Unit and the European Science Media Hub during the coronavirus pandemic has been a really stimulating experience – I had a fantastic opportunity to interview leading researchers for articles exploring the crisis on the European Science Media Hub (ESMH) website, for example on lockdown easing and the United Kingdom perspective.

Rafael, Portugal:

As a trainee in the Financial Management Unit, I updated the DG EPRS Manual of Financial Procedures, which I also presented in an online meeting with all financial initiators. Currently, I’m analysing the Public Procurement procedures to assess to compliance with good practices.