REGULATION OF THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME
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Internship Programme 2024
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
- Citizenship of the Republic of Moldova
- Enrollment in a higher education institution in the Republic of Moldova or abroad, first cycle (Bachelor’s/‘licență’) or second cycle (Master’s), or recent graduate of a higher education institution;
- Up to 30 years’ old at the time of application to the Programme;
- Fluency in Romanian;
- Advanced knowledge of English (at least B2);
- Active involvement in extracurricular activities, active civic position;
- Good academic results (based on the average of received applications);
- Motivation for a career in civil service in the Republic of Moldova.
DURATION & PLACEMENT
The duration of the internship is of two months, 24 June – 23 August.
Interns will be placed in central level public institutions, indicatively those where an EU HLA is serving. They can also be allocated to institutions with no designated EU HLA, but still being under the mentorship of an EU HLA, should there be a confirmed interest on behalf of the institution and relevance to the EU HLA intervention sectors and/or EU – Republic of Moldova negotiation clusters topics.
Interns will be guided in their daily activities by the EU HLAs and the staff of the hosting institution. The staff of the hosting institution will submit an evaluation report at the end of the Internship programme, assessing the interns’ performance.
The internship is designed as a full-time activity, with an involvement of 8 hours/day, with physical presence. Part-time participation in the Programme is not accepted.
TOPIC OF THE INTERNSHIP
The Internship Programme focuses on topics of EU – Republic of Moldova relations, and namely on the process of EU integration.
Given the country’s recent candidate status, the 2024 edition of the Programme will address subjects related to accession negotiations.
ALLOWANCE
Internship allowance will be offered to a maximum number of 90 interns. Additionally, should there be a higher number of potential interns and a confirmed interest and availability of hosting institutions, cost-free internships can be granted.
For each month of internship, an allowance of gross Euro 200 is paid in MDL at the INFOREURO exchange rate in the payment month (https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/procedures-guidelines-tenders/information-contractors-and-beneficiaries/exchange-rate-inforeuro_ro). The taxes will be deducted from this amount in accordance with the relevant legislation.
The allowance will be payable subject to a full-time involvement in the Internship Programme, proved by a filled-in Timesheet with a brief description of activities, signed by the Interns and the corresponding EU HLA (mentor). The allowance for the second month will be payable subject to a Timesheet accompanied by a Final Report.
SELECTION
The selection will be carried out in several stages.
The first stage will include a pre-selection process checking that the submitted applications are complete and correspond to the requirements set out in the ‘ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS’. The pre-selection will be carried out immediately after the deadline for applications, in the period of (indicatively) 15 – 22 May. Candidates will be considered short-listed if they fulfill all the eligibility requirements and have submitted both the CV and the motivation letter. Incomplete applications will be rejected.
The second stage of selection process will include an interview with the members of the Selection Committee, composed of representatives of the Delegation of the European Union, the Government, and EU HLA Mission. Interviews will be held in English and Romanian and be centered around topics related to EU integration. The invited candidates will be asked to sign the GDPR form. The indicative timeframe for the Interviews stage is 27 – 31 May. Interviews will be organised mostly with physical presence, but can also take place online. Members of the Selection Committee will fill in an Evaluation Questionnaire, marking in the grid their assessment of aspects like fluency in English, presentation skills, motivation, knowledge of EU – Moldova relations, knowledge of political, economic and social aspects etc.
Based on the results of the interviews, a ranking of applicants will be made starting with highest scores. The highest ranking up to 90 candidates can be accepted to the Programme. Alternatively, members of the Selection Committee can agree on a minimum score which is considered passing, and the number of selected interns will be determined by those reaching the minimum score.
ALLOCATION TO HOSTING INSTITUTIONS
The Selection Committee will allocate the selected participants to the different hosting institutions, based on their academic (and professional) background, subject to availability of internship positions in the hosting institution and mentor(-s). The Selection Committee cannot guarantee that the intern will be allocated to a specific institution/sector, but will do its best to perform the ‘best fit’ allocations, taking into account the interns’ profiles and the needs of the hosting institutions.
After allocation to a specific institution, the interns may be involved in the activities of a different institution, coordinated by an EU HLA, should there be interest on the intern’s side and availability of mentor(-s) in the latter and provided that a written notification is submitted to the project staff.
ACTIVITIES
Interns will perform activities as requested by their mentor(-s), related to the responsibilities of their hosting institution. Interns cannot be involved in activities not related to the area of responsibility of the hosting institution.
Interns will be involved in joint activities with other interns participating in the Programme, organised by beneficiary institutions and/or project, like round tables, conferences, debates etc. Participation in such joint activities is mandatory and is considered part of the Internship programme.
CONTRACTS
Interns will sign an Internship contract within the project ‘European Union High Level Advisors’ Mission’. In order to sign the contract, interns will provide a copy of their ID and academic record.
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PAYMENTS
In order to receive the monthly allowance, interns will have a valid bank account in the Republic of Moldova, in the national currency. They will submit their bank details along with the signed contract at the beginning of the Internship Programme.
REPORTING
Interns will fill in monthly timesheets, briefly describing their daily activities, and will bring the originals of such timesheets, signed by them and counter-signed by their mentors, to the project office on the last day of each internship month.
At the end of the internship period, interns will fill in a Final Report, describing their overall experience and including feedback on its positive and negative sides, as well as suggestions for the improvement of the sector they performed their internship in.
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SCHEDULE
The 2024 edition of the Internship Programme will take place according to the following schedule:
1 May – 15 May – submission of applications
15 May – 24 May – pre-selection of candidates
27 May – 31 May – interviews with shortlisted candidates
3 June – 7 June – ranking and decisions on accepting candidates to the Programme and allocation to institutions
10 June – 14 June – notification of selected candidates
17 June – 21 June – signing of contracts
24 June – beginning of Internship Programme
23 August – end of Internship Programme, handing of certificates, festive ceremony
Dates may slightly be adjusted based on emerging circumstances.
CERTIFICATION
Upon successful completion of two months of internship, and submission of a Final Report, interns will receive a Certificate proving their participation in the Programme.
BENEFITS
Upon successful evaluation by the beneficiary institution’s mentor, graduates of the Programme will receive the following facilities upon entering the civil service: no competition and no testing period (if applying for a vacancy in the subdivision of the institution where they carried out the internship), if they undergo at least one more month in the Government’s internship programme (i.e. having a total of three months of internship). Detailed mechanism of benefits is described in the Law nr. 123 of 2023 on paid internship in state institutions. Benefits will be subject to precise fulfillment of conditions stipulated in the national legislation.
VISIBILITY
Applicants and selected participants, by submitting their application, agree to be featured in materials related to the Internship Programme: press-releases, social media posts, pictures and videos, interviews etc.