Training and master’s thesis (Training supervision & Master's thesis)

Teacher(s)

Cabrita Teresa; Defacqz Samuel;

Language

English

Main themes

Students carry out a 3-to-5-months internship either in a public or in a private organisation dealing with EU affairs. The internship aims to equip students with the necessary skills to successfully integrate the EU affairs job market in their area of professional preference upon completion of their degree. It offers the students the possibility to gain experience in the political, administrative or societal circles of the EU system. A list of host institutions is provided to the students. Subject to prior approval by the academic supervisor(s), students are allowed to carry out their internship in an organisation other than those included in the given list.
Students may exceptionally be allowed to write a Master thesis instead of carrying out an internship. This Master thesis will be supervised by a professor teaching in the programme. It will explore a topic related to the European Union.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

By the end of the internship, students will be able to:  Understand the functioning of an organisation dealing with EU affairs and describe one or several specific topics addressed by that organisation, Apply the knowledge developed during their degree to a specific professional setting, Demonstrate the added value that they brought to the host organisation, Critically analyse the work of the host organisation and of the topics worked on, and Master a large set of organisational, communication, planning and information-processing skills relevant for their future professional environments. By the end of the Master’s thesis, students will be able to: Identify a research topic and formulate a research question, Have in-depth knowledge of an EU-related topic, Apply an appropriate research methodology to investigate the chosen EU-related topic, Critically analyse the chosen EU-related topic, and Communicate according to academic standards on EU-related issues.

Evaluation methods

Internship
Students will be awarded an overall grade of 1-20 points for the successful completion of their internship. This grade will take into account the (i) assessment of the student’s performance by the host institution, the (ii) evaluation of the student’s internship report by the internship academic coordinator(s) and, (iii) the oral discussion of this report with the internship academic coordinator(s).
Master’s thesis
Students will be awarded an overall grade of 1-20 points for their Master thesis. This grade will take into account the (i) evaluation of the written thesis, and (ii) the oral discussion of the thesis. The evaluation will be conducted by the thesis supervisor and a second reader.
The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems is not encouraged in this course. However, if AI systems are used during assessments, students are required to submit a print-screen or transcription of the exchange had with the chosen AI system(s), together with a paragraph explaining the reasons for resorting to AI and the advantages and disadvantages found in the use of this method.

Faculty or entity

> IEEB