Articles
The Internship Pool is one of SEELS’ projects, which was a direct product of the “EU Opens Markets” Summer School, held in 2015. The summer school was held, and the project was initiated and maintained in collaboration with the Europa-Institute (Saarland University), with support of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) trough the financial assistance of the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The Internship Pool, as an idea, arised in times when the countries in South Eastern Europe (SEE) are trying to stabilise and recover after the large social, economical and political changes that have occurred in the past decades. One of the most common consequences from all these turbulences and changes is, as it is known, the high unemployment rate, especially when speaking about young academic. As an integral part of the whole society the young educated lawyers also face the issue of finding a workplace, which will be appropriate for their education and qualifications. That is why we, as a network, decided to be proactive in this area and try to help the young lawyers find their way towards a job and build a career.
One of the best mechanisms for fighting unemployment, are certainly, the internships. The internship allows young academics to establish contacts with the business world even before they start seeking for a perpetual workplace, while still being a part of the formal education. That way the interns can broaden their aspects regarding their future career and the professional world and, what is really important for the lawyers - they can compare their theoretical with the practical knowledge. On the other hand, the potential employers get to know the young academics and personally challenge their qualities and capabilities, and share their knowledge so that the new generations could bring even more excellence in the area.
After the initiation of the project of Internship Pool, SEELS recognized the potential of this platform and decided to further develop it, by adding a scholarship component to it. Namely, besides internship opportunities as until now, scholarship opportunities will also be published in the future.