CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

FOR THE RESEARCH INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

of the The Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade

The Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT) launches its 2019/2020 Fall Term research internship program with the objective of providing the participants with valuable professional experience related to their research, an insight into the work of Hungarian institutions operating in the field of foreign, defense and trade policy, as well as, in selected cases, a platform for the publication of their work.

The new research internship program of the Institute consists of a 12-week training module and a 6-week consultation period. The program starts on October 4, 2019 and concludes on February 6, 2020.

TASKS ꞏ Research interns contribute to the work of the Institute at least twice a week (16 hours in total) during the training module (October 4 throughDecember 20), and work on their research papers under the supervision of their mentors until the end of the consultation period (February 6). The training module includes the attendance of mandatory programs on Fridays, as shown in the schedule below. Apart from the Friday programs, interns report at the Institute as agreed with their mentors. Certain tasks and programs require attendance outside IFAT premises.

Attendance requirements: Events highlighted in black are obligatory to attend. In addition, at least two of the field trips and one of the small group workshopsare obligatory to attend. The total number of absences cannot be more than three. Noncompliance with the attendance requirements leads to the automatic termination of participation in the program.

Research interns are encouraged to incorporate the skills and knowledge gained during their stay at IFAT into their own research. They will be expected to submita 20,000-character analysis paper by the end of the program in English or Hungarian, corresponding to the regional/thematic scope of the flagship research programs of IFAT, which are:

• Global Security Challenges,
• International Trade,
• The Middle East and North Africa,
• The Americas,
• The Transatlantic World and the European Union,
• The Balkans, Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia.

On meeting required standards of quality, the papers can be published as part of the KKI Policy Briefs / KKI-Elemzések series (in English or Hungarian). Interns will be supervised by the deputy director for research of IFAT, and will work under the professional guidance of a research fellow of the Institute, corresponding to their professional interests. The fellow designated for mentoring will provide regular feedback on the intern’s work.

On request, research interns also:

• contribute to the activities of the fellows of the Institute with research related tasks, e.g. data mining and analysis, research of scientific literature, project work, media watch and news analysis, and

• participate in the events held at IFAT, write memos and news articles of these events, and participate in the reception of delegations visiting the Institute.

Research interns are not eligible for financial compensation, scholarship or salary for their work. The successful completion of the program will be recognized by an official certificate issued by IFAT.

ELIGIBILITY ꞏ The research internship program is primarily advertised to university students enrolled in programs in International Relations, Law, Economics, Philology, History, Political Science, Security or Area/Country Studies. The program is open to undergraduate (BA/BSc) students who completed at least 4 semesters of studies, graduate (MA/MSc) students, PhD students, and recent graduates of any such program not currently enrolled in an institution of higher education, who are interested in pursuing research in the area of International Relations. High-level command of English is expected; skills in other languages, corresponding to the volunteer’s field of interest, are appreciated.

APPLICATION ꞏ Applicants are required to submit (in .doc or .pdf format) their:

• CV,

• most recent thesis (“szakdolgozat” or equivalent), or, in the case of undergraduate students who have not yet written any, a university paper (e.g. seminary paper, TDK paper, term paper) that demonstrates the applicant’s capabilities in academic writing, and
• a research proposal in English or Hungarian (4,000 to 8,000 characters) corresponding to the thematic scope of the flagship research programs of the Institute (see above). Applicants are encouraged to narrow down their chosen topic to a specific problem inside the scope of the research programs. A model for the expected proposal is attached to this call.

Complete application packages should be sent to info@ifat.hu.

Application deadline: September 22, 2019 (midnight)

A selected number of candidates who are eligible according to the criteria outlined in this call will be invited to a personal interview at the Institute (H-1016 Budapest, Bérc u. 13-15.). Personal interviews for selected candidates will take place between September 24 and 30, by individual appointment. Results of the selection process will be communicated to all candidates by October 1, 2019.

Enquiries related to the internship program and the selection process should be addressed to Mr. Barnabás Szabó at barnabas.szabo@ifat.hu.

Click here to download the call for application (in PDF format).

Click here to download the research proposal model (in PDF format).