Internships
The ICDS welcomes applications from any outstanding candidate with the potential to significantly contribute to our work. Given the heavy research focus of our internship programme, those with relevant education and/or experience in our areas of study, especially current postgraduate students, are particularly welcome to apply.
The ICDS provides successful applicants with practical experience in conducting research and policy analysis for a wide range of stakeholders. Our interns perform substantive work with both analytical value and practical impact. Cooperating closely with ICDS experts as their supervisors, our interns receive regular feedback on their work while gaining a deeper understanding and awareness of various foreign, security, and defence policy issues. They also benefit from invaluable networking opportunities through access to the academic, diplomatic, government, and policy communities in Tallinn, the Nordic-Baltic region, and beyond.
ICDS internships are unpaid and can be either full- or part-time positions on-site in our Tallinn office or via remote-work arrangements, depending on an individual’s interest, the needs of a given research programme and/or supervisor, and available infrastructure. The exact nature of work depends on the issue area but generally includes research, writing, and administrative tasks such as assisting with event organisation. The ICDS hosts resident interns all year round but can accommodate only 2-3 interns at the same time, January through July and September through December.
General requirements:
- Advanced reading and writing proficiency in English. Proficiency in other languages (especially Estonian, Ukrainian, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, and Russian) is an advantage;
- Willingness to demonstrate initiative combined with an ability to follow instructions and constructively respond to feedback;
- Good research, analytical, and communication skills;
- Professional work ethic, diligence, and attention to detail;
- Commitment to the goals expressed in the ICDS vision and mission statement.
To apply, candidates must submit their detailed CV and a letter of motivation specifying their research interests, period of availability for internship, and its anticipated duration, as well as the qualities and skills with which one will contribute to the ICDS work if selected. Providing a letter of reference from a faculty or research staff member of a home university or research institute, or from the place of previous internship, if applicable, would be highly advantageous, as would presenting samples of one’s academic writing in English.
The applications should be sent to the ICDS by e-mail ([email protected]) and addressed to the ICDS Head of Studies. Due to the high volume of applications we continuously receive, we regret that we cannot respond to all of them. Only those candidates who have been selected for an interview will be contacted usually within four weeks from the time when the ICDS receives the application.