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Call for Applications for the Professional Volunteer Program of the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade

Call for Applications for the Professional Volunteer Program of the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade
2018-09-05 Béla

The Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT) invites applications for its 12-week-long professional volunteer program for undergraduate, graduate and PhD students.

The Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT) invites applications for its 12-week-long professional volunteer program for undergraduate, graduate and PhD students. (The professional volunteer program is the continuation of the former internship program of the Institute.)

Requirements

Selected applicants contribute to the work of IFAT at least twice (16 hours) a week on the premises of IFAT (Külügyi és Külgazdasági Intézet, 1016 Budapest, Bérc u. 13-15.). Certain tasks might require work outsie IFAT premises.

The program is open to:

BA students, who completed at least 4 semesters of studies,
Students who have started their MA studies, and
PhD students.

Volunteers are encouraged to incorporate the skills and knowledge gained during their stay at IFAT into their own research, and will be expected to submit a 20,000-character analysis paper by the end of the program. Volunteers will be supervised by the deputy director for research of the Institute, and will work under the professional guidance of a research fellow of the Institute, according to their professional interests. The fellow designated for mentoring the volunteer will provide feedback on her/his work. Midway through the program, a positive assessment on the quality of the volunteer’s work will be required for further participation in the program.

High-level command of English is expected; skills in other languages, corresponding to the volunteer’s field of interest, are appreciated.

On the completion of the program, the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade will issue a certificate on the volunteer’s work.

Objectives of the program

IFAT advertises its professional volunteer program primarily to university students enrolled in programs in International Relations, Law, Economics, Philology, History, Political Science, Security or Area/Country Studies. The objective of the program is to provide future talents with an opportunity for professional development and, in selected cases, a platform for the publication of their work. With that aim, the volunteers can use the infrastructure of the institute, including access to its library. Moreover, volunteers can acquire valuable professional experience related to their fields of interest during research work at the Institute.

Volunteers

take part in the organization and management of events held at IFAT,
participate in the reception of delegations visiting the Institute,
contribute to the research activities of the fellows of the Institute (data mining and analysis, research of scientific literature, project work, etc.), and
they can assist in tasks related to public relations and communication of the Institute (website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.).

Areas of Research

Volunteers primarily take part in the writing of IFAT Policy Briefs. That is why in the applications we expect an expression of interest not necessarily in geographical areas, but rather in different policies (e.g. international trade, security policy, new challenges on the international scene, European Union, developing Southern and Eastern relations). During their time at IFAT, volunteers might need to provide analyses and reports with short deadlines and in relatively unknown topics. Thus, we expect voluteers to be cooperative and proactive.

Application

Documents needed for the application (MS Word or Pdf format):

the professional CV of the applicant,
a list of publications (if any), and a writing sample (an analysis or paper formerly written), and
a research plan (not a motivation letter!), containing the theme, problem or foreign policy-related event that the volunteer wishes to research (maximum one page).

Candidates who are eligible according to the criteria outlined in this call will be invited to take part in the first round of selection, which consists in the preparation of a written analysis (either in English or Hungarian) on a current problem or question in international affairs with a relatively short deadline. The written task will be communicated through email. The second, oral round of selection will be a personal interview with one of the research fellows of the Institute.

Applications and related inquiry should be sent to: info@ifat.hu

Application deadline: September 16, 2018 (midnight)

The first round of selection is scheduled to take place between September 21-23. The second, oral round of selection is to take place between September 25-28, after making individual appointments.

Results of the selection process will be communicated to all candidates by October 1, 2018.