Programme Pan European Seal

Objectives

The European Legal Studies Department of the College of Europe is a member of the Pan-European Seal Traineeship Programme. The Pan-European Seal Professional Traineeship Programme is a comprehensive IP programme which bridges academia and the IP labour market.

This programme is promoted in partnership by two of the world’s largest IP offices, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) (formerly Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM)) in Alicante (Spain) and the European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich (Germany) together with strategic University partners.

Information about this programme can be found on the Pan-European Seal webpage

 

E-learning

The Pan-European Seal is an IP Programme that covers many academic areas. Through its cooperation with strategic University partners, the Pan-European Seal offers an extensive catalogue of IP training materials, providing professional input to academic education and helping improve the professional qualifications of young graduates. Thus, through the Learning Portals of their respective Academies, both the EUIPO and the EPO will make available e-Learning material on IP and IP protection/enforcement produced by the Offices, as well as by other IP organisations. This will be provided, free of charge as a professional complement to partner Universities’ IP training syllabuses (the EPO’s eLearning portal can also contain some content subject to payable fees).

Traineeships

Through this programme, high-achieving young university graduates or students in the last year of their studies can access paid traineeships of one year in EUIPO and the EPO, helping them to get a foot in the door of the competitive world of IP through valuable on-the-job multicultural professional work experience.

This scheme provides young university graduates with a unique and firsthand experience of the European Union in general and the Office in particular, whilst enabling them to put into practice the knowledge acquired during their studies, in particular in their specific areas of competence, and helping them understand the objectives and procedures relating to Community trademarks and designs, as well as IP infringement and enforcement matters.

Successful applicants will be offered a traineeship agreement with EUIPO/EPO for the duration of 12 months starting by mid-September 2021 and be provided with a grant.

EUIPO traineeships:

Eligibility/Nationality/Language

The same candidate cannot be included in both Offices’ shortlists

The deadline for submitting the shortlist to the EUIPO is 31 March 2021

The candidates to EUIPO must not have benefited or not be benefiting from any kind of in-service traineeship (paid or unpaid) and not be or have been an assistant to a member of the Parliament, a contractual consultant or intra-muros researcher, or a temporary, contract, auxiliary or interim staff member within a European Institution, agency or body.

EUIPO’s Decision N° ADM 18-12 concerning the Pan-European Seal programme, in particular article 2 (Eligibility), nr. 1 (Nationality) states that “Trainees are selected from nationals of the Member States of the European Union and candidate countries. In addition, a limited number of nationals of candidate countries and third countries may, amounting to approximately 10% of the available positions, be selected ”.

Language skills: Present (as a minimum) a certified B1 level (Common European Framework of Reference for languages) in one of the five working languages of the EUIPO (DE, EN, FR, IT, or ES).

Submission of applications by the graduates

From 15 February to 31 March, shortlisted candidates (only) submit their applications through the e-recruitment tool https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/traineeships.

For this, candidates will have to select their University from a drop-down menu including all the Pan-European Seal members, and follow the steps indicated to submit the application, including the upload of the documents indicated below:

  • Motivation letter, clearly indicating the choice of traineeship location (EUIPO or EPO).
  • CV in English, Europass word format.
  • Degree/Master diploma or proof of conclusion, indicating the final grade. This can be replaced by a provisional declaration, until final diploma is issued.
  • Certificate(s) of completion of at least one online of these two mandatory courses of the Pan-European Seal learning plan: “EUTM in a Nutshell” (4h approximately); and/or “RCD in a Nutshell” (4h approximately).
  • To complete the above courses, candidates must create an account of PES user and log on EUIPO Academy Learning Portal (EALP)
  • EUIPO candidates will be also required to indicate their preferences among the traineeship profiles available at the Office, however, the Office is in no case committed by the candidates preferences indicated in their application, thus selected candidates may be offered any other position related to their profile different from the ones indicated in their application

Do not submit an application unless you have been shortlisted by you University, otherwise your application will be immediately disregarded.

Only online applications of candidates included in the shortlists will be considered.

EUIPO selection procedure

The selection procedure in the EUIPO will begin on 1 April 2021.

Form 1 April to 30 April 2021, the EUIPO will assess the applications and match each profile with the Office’s traineeship posts per Department.

Selected candidates will be contacted by EUIPO Traineeships by the end of May 2021 in order to provide them with information about the Office Department for which they have been selected, and the tasks description related to the traineeship. All selected candidates will be informed about precise date(s) of the beginning of the traineeship (EUIPO Trainee’s Orientation Programme – ETOP) at a later stage.

The final results following rejections form candidates, replacements, etc. will be communicated to the PES University members during the month of November.

A reserve list of non-selected candidates will be kept by EUIPO Traineeships at least until 31 October 2021. Therefore, in case of casual vacancies, non-selected candidates might be contacted for replacement.

Important note to the candidates integrating the shortlist

Please make sure that your application documents are complete.

Shortlisted candidates must bear in mind that withdrawals have a serious impact on the selection procedure as well as on the smooth running of the Programme itself.

Furthermore, having been selected implies that other candidates have not been able to participate in the Programme due to the limited number of vacancies.

It is therefore expected that all candidates give considerate thought to their application and the necessary commitment until the final selection has taken place.

EPO traineeships:

Eligibility/Nationality/Language

Eligible candidates must, by the start of the traineeship, possess:

  • Nationality of an EPO member state;
  • A completed undergraduate degree of equivalent;
  • Knowledge of one of the three working languages (English, French or German)at a minimum level of B1.

Submission of applications by the graduates

Deadline for shortlisted candidates to submit online application is 31 March 2021.

The application shall contain

  • a letter of motivation, including the preferred business area
  • updated curriculum vitae
  • Degree/Master diploma (provisional certifications accepted)

EPO selection procedure

As of 1st April 2021, the EPO will start evaluating the applications submitted online by the candidates based on the shortlists provided by the universities.

Only online applications of candidates included in the shortlists will be considered.

Preselected candidates will then be invited to a phone/skype interview with their prospective tutor. Candidates suitable for multiple business areas may be interviewed more than once.
 

Selected candidates will be informed in May and, by the start of the traineeship, are required to complete the following e-learning courses:
a)    Introduction to the European patent system (all graduates)
b)    Using CPC (science and engineering only)
c)    The EPO as PCT authority (All non-science and engineering).

 

Note to the candidates integrating the shortlist

Shortlisted candidates must bear in mind that withdrawals have a serious impact on the selection procedure as well as on the smooth running of the Programme itself. Furthermore, having been selected implies that other candidates have not been able to participate in the programme due to the limited number of internships.

It is therefore expected that all candidates give considerate thought to their application and the necessary commitment until the final selection has taken place.

Financial Support

Trainees are supported by a grant of 2000 EUR per month. This amount is subject to local taxes and social security contributions (deduction approx. 20%)

Final notes

The number of selected candidates will be established by the EUIPO and the EPO taking into consideration the maximum number of traineeships offered yearly

Both Offices reserve the right to select the candidates from the shortlists according to the matching of each profile of the applications and the Offices’ traineeship needs/posts

As per stated in article 8.2 of the MoU, if a Member of the PEs programme systematically fails to provide the required shortlist, this may lead to the termination of the MoU.

Application process

EUIPO deadline: 31 March 2021

EPO deadline: 31 March 2021

The EUIPO and the EPO will select the candidates of the College of Europe on the basis of shortlists established by the European Legal Studies Department. Candidates cannot apply without having been shortlisted first.

Those interested in participating in traineeships under this programme should submit a written application (CV and cover letter) by 1 March 2021 (EUIPO and EPO application) to Mr. Esteve (xavier.esteve@coleurope.eu) with Ms. Auquier in cc ( magali.auquier@coleurope.eu).

The applications will be evaluated upon following conditions:

  • proven interest in IP law,
  • certificate(s) on selected EPO/EUIPO online courses,
  • language skills (English, German, French, Italian or Spanish on at least B1 level for EUIPO; English, German or French on at least B1 level for EPO) and preferably a good knowledge of another official EU language,
  • have customer service, organisational and prioritisation skills; communication skills; capacity to analyse problems and find appropriate solutions; ability to work independently as well as part of a team; responsibility, professionalism, flexibility and self-initiative,
  • participation in Erasmus or other similar exchange programmes and further language skills will be considered as an advantage.

EPO and EUIPO have reserved the right to revise the results of the selection process.

More information available on:

For additional information on the traineeships you can contact Mr Xavier Estève, Head of the Careers Office (xavier.esteve@coleurope.eu).