Become the next Circle U. intern
Each year, the Circle U. office hires interns for the autumn and spring semesters. The internships are open to master's students and recent graduates from Circle U. partner universities.
These internships are a great opportunity to:
- Get professional experience in an international environment​
- Discover the sector of European Higher Education
- Engage with the “Brussels bubble”
- Contribute directly to the development​ of Circle U.
Applications open respectively on 1 April and on 1 October for the Autumn and Spring internships. Get ready to apply!
About the internship
Policy & Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL)
Support Circle U. office’s policy work:
- Participate in events in Brussels organised by EU institutions and stakeholders and report to Circle U. Secretary General, President and Management Board members
- Conduct thematic analysis, research or study, of relevance for Circle U.
- Prepare clear and succinct briefing papers on specific EU policy developments
Support the implementation of Circle U.’s MEL framework:
- Provide support in the conducting of data collection exercises (mapping, knowledge building, surveys, interviews, focus groups)
- Manage databases of Circle U. activities and funding schemes
- Assist in writing any reports and documents relevant to the MEL strategy
More generally, the Policy & MEL intern will:
- Participate in the day-to-day running of Circle U. Office, located in Brussels,
- Assist the Secretary General in the strategic management of the alliance,
- Assist the MEL Officer in data collection and evaluation activities within the alliance
- Collaborate with our partner universities as well as our associated partners,
- Follow, analyse and report on regional, national and EU policy developments,
- Work in an international, diverse and creative environment.
What do we offer?
Circle U. is offering a unique internship opportunity for master's students enrolled at or recently graduated from one of our partner universities.
The internship duration will be of 4 to 6 months, starting preferably from September 2026 (autumn internship) or January 2027 (winter internship).
The internship is not remunerated. However, the intern may be supported by the home university with an Erasmus+ traineeship grant or any similar national, regional or university mobility grant. Your home university will be able to advise on how much financial support is expected to be available. Additionally, the Circle U. Office will cover costs related to public transport in Brussels and a mobile phone plan.
Please note that King’s College London currently does not take part in this internship scheme. For any questions, please contact circle-u@kcl.ac.uk.
Who are we looking for?
- A Master student, or recent master graduate from one of our nine partner universities who is eligible for Erasmus+ traineeship grant (or similar national, regional or university mobility grant) at his/her own university
- A Master student or recent graduate in economics, political sciences, European studies, international relations, European or international law, public policy, social sciences or similar
- Academic experience or proven interest in data analysis related fields for both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis
- Very good verbal and written command of English; knowledge of French or any other language used in the alliance will be an asset
- Very good writing and communication skills, in both formal and informal settings
- Confident user of Microsoft Office 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams)
- Confident user of data visualisation tools, for example, Power BI or Python.
- Good organisational skills and capacity to take initiatives
- Knowledge of EU higher education and research policies, and more specifically, in the European Universities initiative
- Good knowledge of the EU institutions and decision-making processes
- Ability to analyse and report on policy documents
- Interest in working in an international, diverse and creative environment
How to apply?
Prepare a CV (preferably a Europass CV) and a one-page motivation letter in English and apply directly to your home university by 15 May 2026 for the autumn internship or by 15 November 2026 for the winter internship.
Please indicate in your application whether you are applying for the autumn (from September 2026 on) or the winter (from January 2027 on) internship.
Home university contacts:
- Aarhus Universitet: aarhus@circle-u.eu
- Univerzitet u Beogradu: stamlj@rect.bg.ac.rs
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin: berlin@circle-u.eu
- UCLouvain: infocircleu@uclouvain.be
- Universitetet i Oslo: oslo@circle-u.eu
- Université Paris Cité: paris@circle-u.eu
- Università di Pisa: circleU.erasmus@unipi.it
- Universität Wien: vienna@circle-u.eu
Each university will nominate a maximum of three candidates, while Circle U. Office will make the final selection based on the applications received. If necessary, candidates might be invited for a short online interview.
As indicated, applicants shall check eligibility for Erasmus+ traineeship funding or any similar national, regional or university mobility grant at the respective home university.
For further information on the internship, you may contact the Circle U. Office (office@circle-u.eu). For further information on the financial support and eligibility, you may contact your home university, as indicated above.
What our interns say...
The Circle U. Office is busy and lively! I typically participate in most meetings with the Circle U. key actors and also spend a substantial amount of my week at events and conferences around Brussels. The rest of my days I spend on writing briefing papers and reports or liaising with relevant stakeholders to support the operations of the Circle U. Office,
Ngoc (Riley) Nguyen, Circle U. intern (UiO)
I was impressed by how collaborative the network is. Even though Circle U. brings together different universities and cultures, there is a strong sense of common purpose and cooperation. That was really inspiring for me.
Adama Bah, Circle U. intern (UCLouvain)
I hope to try a lot of different things professionally… learn to work in policy administration in Brussels, understand how European stakeholders act, and get experience working with policy analysis.
Mathias Nissen, Circle U. intern (AU)
I was particularly drawn to its mission of creating an alliance that goes beyond traditional exchange programmes like Erasmus. Circle U. aims to build an open campus where students can genuinely engage with all nine universities.
