Internship reports 2023 (Charlotte, David, Nathalie, Mathilde, Antonio)

Created: 13 October 2023 Written by EMADOM

Name: Charlotte Erbach

Institution: German Bundestag-Office of Dr. Franziska Brantner, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), Berlin

What did I like most?
The interesting people I met while accompanying my boss and being a good addition for her team. No two days are the same - at least during parliamentary sessions. Seeing how she works (how much and how hard) and being a part of her team was a great privilege! There are so many different things she attends in a single day. I was there when she doubled the Minister, or when she held an off - the - record meeting with journalists, for example. Being able to see the reality of actively making politics at such a high level is amazing!

Tip for the internship:
Be calm! Things can get quite stressful quite quickly, don’t panic. And take every opportunity you can get!

Charlotte, 9th Generation

Name: David Gussen

Institution: German Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtige Amt), Berlin

What did I like most?
Right from the start, I was given tasks to complete independently, even over a longer period of time. I always saw the relevance of my tasks and was not left with typical “intern tasks”.

Tip for the internship:
Look outside the box, in this case your own department. Ask yoursupervisor if you can help out in other departments where you are interested

David, 9th Generation

Name: Nathalie Metzel

Institution: Südkurier Medienhaus, Konstanz

What did I like most?
Thanks to my journalistic knowledge from previous internships and journalism school, I was able to gain a lot of practical experience and write many articles about different topics -from a Constance start-up that invented a robot for harvesting strawberries to the situation in the region’s emergency rooms. While researching for these texts, I learned alot of new things and talked to interesting people from all kinds of different fields. I also had very nice and many young colleagues my age, who made it very easy for me to integrate into the office.

Tip for the internship, especially in newspaper editorial offices:
Don’t be shy! Ask forwork, present your own topics you would like to work on, ask for feedback on your texts andshow that you are motivated.

Nathalie, 9th Generation

Name: Mathilde Charpentier

Institution: Council of Europe, Strasbourg

What did I like most?
The quality of the tasks. It can differ a lot but I had to write important reports or accompany delegations which is not a typical “trainee task” and thus independently. Also, all the interns are in the same office so it’s really nice to get to know people.

Tip for the internship:
The team has a lot of work and is constantly busy so you really have to be able to work independently and sometimes quickly, which can be stressful but they are very understanding and open to every question.

Mathilde, 9th Generation

Name: Antonio Mittelstädt

Institution: Representation of the German state of Baden-Württemberg to the EU in Brussels-Department of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Protection.

What did I like most?
Turning theory into practice. I had the opportunity to go to all of the big European institutions, attend committee meetings, meet European deputies and talk to them. After all the classes (especially in Mainz) we had about the European institutions, it felt great to get a taste of "EU air" and be at the place where European laws are actually being made.

Tip for the internship:
Try to attend every event. Ask your supervisors if it's possible even when the topic is not directly related to the department you are working in. You will meet a lot of people which will definitely give you some insights into how "networking" actually works.
Also: On Thursdays after work, going to the Place de Luxembourg ("Plux"), located right in front of the European Parliament is a must. All the interns of the European Institutions gather there to have beers and some interesting chats together. You will experience what "informal meetings" actually means.
Use the weekends for traveling. Trains are cheap and Belgium is a small country. You should go for places like Bruges, Ghent or Antwerp. Cities like Paris (1,5h) or London (2h) are alsonot far away.

Antonio, 9th Generation