The Trans European Policy Studies Association has recently won an ERASMUS+/Jean Monnet Support to Institutions project, named PONT. PONT (Professional Training on EU Affairs) is a project that aims to provide a bridge connecting young academics and EU practitioners, in order to improve the employability of young researchers. The project is planned to take place within three years, starting with two trainings in 2016. Dr. Johannes Pollak will be the academic coordinator of this project.
PONT enhances teaching and training activities in selected topics and fields (migration and asylum policy; climate, environment and energy; and EU health), with the common objective to give young academics the opportunity to develop their professional skills and prepare themselves for taking up a job in political administration, the EU institutions, NGOs, academic institutions or think tanks across Europe. Two main branches of the project are the Working Europe seminars for students and the Three Career Skills Trainings for young professionals.
Three Working Europe seminars are set to bring about a first-hand understanding of both academic and everyday practice of EU decision-making by offering students insights in the “real life” political processes of the salient topics of EU health; climate, environment and energy; and migration and asylum policy. The PONT project is targeting students who do not automatically come into contact with EU studies, and therefore provides them with a unique opportunity.
Three Career Skills Trainings for young professionals aim to offer emerging academics an opportunity to train professional skills applied to different dimensions of EU work life. These trainings will increase participants’ employability.
Besides workshops and seminars, a major part of the activities are six TEPSA Pre-Presidency Conferences which bring together academics, civil society and policy-makers to discuss the agenda and challenges of the upcoming EU presidencies.