2024 Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, University of Tartu
Host Organization: Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, University of Tartu
Website: http://www.ut.ee or https://skytte.ut.ee/en
Organization Profile: The University of Tartu is Estonia's leading institution of research and higher education. Founded in 1632, it is one of the oldest universities in Northern and Eastern Europe. Today, the UT is the only Baltic university ranked among the best 250 universities in the world (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022). It is also ranked as the best university in “New Europe” – the 13 nations that have joined the European Union since 2004 (Times Higher Education New Europe Ranking 2018). The UT’s competitive edge stems from research excellence and impact, as well as the quality of its learning environment.
The UT has about 14, 000 students (including over 1000 international students from 70 countries) and about 3000 employees (including 1500 academic staff members). It has four faculties, including the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Faculty Science and Technology. The UT has about 1300 doctoral students and awards more than a half of all doctoral degrees issued in Estonia. The UT has 72 partner universities in 26 countries. It offers a wide range of support services to its international students and staff.
City: Tartu
Internship Format: In-person
Internship Department: Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies
Department Profile: The Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies at the University of Tartu combines top-level scholarly research with a dynamic, international learning environment at all three levels of higher education. It offers a Political Science BA program at the Bachelor’s level (in Estonian), five MA programs (International Relations and Regional Studies, Politics and Governance, EU-Russia Studies, European Studies, Central & East European, Russian & Eurasian Studies) in English and in Estonian, as well as a Political Science PhD program (in English). The institute has over 430 students and about 30 academic staff members, in addition to researchers and analysts working on applied projects. The Skytte Institute is one of the most international units of the University of Tartu, both in terms of staff and students. The Institute is ranked as one of the top three political science departments in the new member states of the European Union (QS University Ranking by Subject 2019).
Research conducted at the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies encompasses the main subfields of political science (comparative politics, international relations, and political theory), as well as area studies (Baltic, Russian, East European and EU politics) and, more recently, research on the usage and impact of information and communication technologies. The main research directions of the Institute include:
- International Relations
- Comparative Politics
- Political Theory
- Russian and Eurasian Studies
- Baltic Studies
- European Union Studies
- Governance and Public Administration
- E-Governance and Digital Public Services
- Applied Social Science Research
- Behavioural Policy and Financial Well-Being
The Institute is a member of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR). The Institute has been successful in obtaining competitive research grants, including from the EU’s Horizon 2020 program, the Estonian Research Council and other domestic and international funders. Since 2011, the Institute has been very active in hosting and supporting foreign visiting scholars, post-docs and PhD students, and has developed a reputation as a reliable organizer of large-scale international conferences in political science and area studies.
Project description:
We offer three possible ‘tracks’ for the internship (which can also be combined, depending on the interests and competences of the intern):
1) Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe track. The intern would contribute to research and applied projects as well as summer schools run by the Centre for Eurasian and Russian Studies and/or by the University of Tartu Ukraine Centre. This could include a variety of research, communication and
dissemination tasks, as well as event organization and reporting.
2) E-governance and e-democracy (including internet voting) track. Main activities include assisting the ERA Chair in E-Governance and Digital Public Services (a large EU funded project, implemented by a multinational team of researchers) with a range of activities, including research on e-governance and e-democracy, outreach activities, preparation of teaching and learning tools, event organization, and preparation of funding proposals.
3) Comparative European politics track. Main activities include providing research assistance to a team of researchers focusing on elections, voters, and parties in Europe. Topics covered could include voting behavior, democratic backsliding, the rise of populism and extremism, and political polarization. Specific tasks could include finding and summarizing relevant academic literature, compiling datasets, and conducting basic statistical analysis. The intern could also be asked to contribute to preparing grant proposals focusing on these and related topics.
Number of Opening(s): 2
Work Hours and Internship Start/End Dates: (Monday to Friday, June 24 –August 16, 2024) Five days and 35-40 hours a week (flexible working hours)
Work Attire: Casual
Local Language: Estonian. Not required. English and Russian are also widely spoken.
Additional desired intern qualifications:
- has very good communication and writing skills (in English);
- is motivated, punctual and reliable, and able to work effectively both independently and as part of a team.
- has an interest (and at least some background) in one of the internship tracks described above.
- is interested in learning about Estonian, Baltic or possibly Russian cultures and societies.
- Global Studies minors in European Studies will receive preference.
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- Local language skills are based on the internship description requirements.
- Global Studies minors receive preference for the program.
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