Southeast Europe and the EU – Leadership Development Programme

Venues: Austria and Slovakia [Sep. 2011]
              Southeast Europe [Nov. 2012]
              Bruge and Brussels (Belgium) [2012]
Application deadline: Apr. 27, 2011

The Programme runs over a ten-month period and aims to transmit knowledge about the EU and its relation to the region, to stimulate the leadership and professional skills of participants and to encourage the exchange of views.

The 2011/2012 Programme will consist of the following activities:

•  Two-week Summer Academy in Austria and Slovakia in September 2011
The curriculum includes topics related to the European Union and the development of its relations with Southeast Europe, as well as wider issues of international and economic relations. Practical training components focusing on negotiations, project management and presentation skills provide participants with essential leadership qualities

•  Group activities, between November 2011 and March 2012
The participants will work together in small groups to develop and implement a joint activity or an event in Southeast Europe

•  Five-day Spring Seminar in Belgium (Brussels/Bruges), in April 2012
The programme includes working visits to the EU institutions and NATO in Brussels and classes in the campus of the College of Europe in Bruges 

Certificates are awarded to participants upon successful completion of the Programme.
The cost of participation in the Programme will be covered by the Programme. This will include travel costs, full room and board, visa fees and health insurance where required.

Up to 30 participants will be carefully selected. Interested individuals coming from the following countries are invited to apply:
• Albania,
• Bosnia and Herzegovina,
• Bulgaria,
• Croatia,
• FYROM,
• Greece,
• Kosovo,
• Montenegro,
• Romania,
• Serbia,
• Turkey.

A limited number of participants will be selected from other EU countries. Please note that candidates from outside these countries are not eligible to this programme. The Programme is specifically designed for students who are currently pursuing or are about to begin their postgraduate studies as well as recent graduates at the start of their professional career. The three parts of the Programme require the full-time presence of all participants.

Applicants are expected to:
• be under the age of 26 with a successful academic record
• have an excellent level of English
• have a strong interest in the EU and international affairs;
• possess a high degree of personal commitment and professional orientation;
• have had some initial work experience through internships or voluntary work;
• fully attend the three compulsory parts of the Programme.

Preference will be given to applicants with no previous or limited international experience.

Applications are made exclusively through the online application form at http://www.seeyoungleaders.org/index.html and must be submitted before 27 April 2011. In addition, please note that each applicant is required to indicate two referees, their details and relevant e-mail addresses.
 
After the deadline, the applications will be evaluated by a selection committee composed of members of the TRANSFUSE Association, the College of Europe and the European Fund for the Balkans.

A pre-selection will be conducted on the basis of the online applications. The referees of the 90 pre-selected candidates will be contacted by email by the end of May. They will be asked directly to submit their reference letter online for the final stage of the selection process. Scanned or e-mailed references will not be accepted. The referees, after receiving the notification e-mail, will need to submit their online reference letters by Thursday 14 June 2011.

The final selection will take into account the candidates’ applications, as well as the reference letters. It will be conducted by a panel composed of the representatives of the organisers, the Academic Dean.

The short-listed candidates will be notified of the results by e-mail during the first week of July. The candidates will need to confirm their participation within a week of receiving the notice. Failure to do so may result in removal from the list of candidates and the place being offered to another candidate from the reserve list.

e-mail: ldp@coleurope.eu