Elisabetta Carfagna

Updated rules regarding obligatory internships

Dear EMOS network members,

As part of the last few annual reporting exercises, it became clear that limiting the eligibility of internship hosts to official statistics producers (NSIs, ONAs, NCBs) presented an issue for many EMOS-labelled master’s programme coordinators and students. This was discussed by the EMOS Board during their meeting in October 2023. Based on the outcome of the discussion, the rules regarding internships were amended as follows:

• The definition of the host institution has been broadened to include ‘any organisation producing or dealing with statistics and data, as long as the work performed is relevant to official statistics and based on the EMOS learning outcomes’,
• This includes NSIs, ONAs, NCBs, international organisations (IO), universities, research institutions, private companies, etc.
• To qualify for the EMOS label, universities still have to have a signed cooperation agreement with their NSI, NCB, an ONA or IO
• The minimum duration for both in-country and cross-border internships is 8 weeks. This guarantees that 10 ECTS can be granted to students for their internship (1 ECTS = from 25 to 30 hours of work depending on country).

These changes have been incorporated in the EMOS Guide for applicants 2024, chapter 4 [https://cros.ec.europa.eu/book-page/4-criteria-awarding-emos-label] .

We have recently received a few questions regarding internship opportunities at Eurostat. Please note that Eurostat participates in the Blue Book Traineeships programme. Several Blue Book trainee positions are allocated to Eurostat each session. This is an opportunity for EMOS students to get a paid traineeship at Eurostat. There are two calls for applications each year and the next one opens in July. Please consult this calendar: https://traineeships.ec.europa.eu/calendar-sessions_en

Alternatively, Eurostat can host students for unpaid traineeships for a maximum of 4 weeks. For this type of traineeship, you can contact the EMOS secretariat directly.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or need further clarification.

Best regards,
EMOS Secretariat

Published on: May 17 2024