The organisation in which you intend to carry out your traineeship must be defined in the Programme Guide issued by the European Commission as:

"any public or private organisation active in the labour market or education, training and youth".

This definition includes:

• Enterprises: public or private; small, medium or large

• Agencies: public agencies at the local, regional or national levels;

• Trade unions or other job market representatives, including Commerce Chambers, professional and trade associations;

• Research Institutes;

• Foundations;

• Schools, institutes, educational centres at any level;

• NGOs and other non-profit associations;

• Professional orientation, professional consulting and information service organisations;

• European Council, United Nations, UN Economic Commission for Europe, UN Organisation for Education, Science and Culture and UN and UNESCO offices;

• Universities or university-level institutions in any member state or programme country.

For traineeships at a university-level institution (e.g., university laboratories, university libraries, etc.), the activity carried out must be professional training and NOT study. For traineeships at Italian cultural institutes abroad, schools, Italian Chambers of Commerce abroad, Italian law firms with registered offices abroad, private companies with registered offices in Italy, etc., the principle of transnationality must be guaranteed (e.g., the trainee acquires different know-how from that which they would acquire through a traineeship in their own country).

INELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS

NOT eligible as Traineeship institutions:

• EU institutions and other bodies, including specialised agencies. The full list is available at: http://europa.eu/about-eu/institutions-bodies/index_en.htm). The candidate must independently find an organization willing to host him/her as a trainee and then propose to carry out an internship at the contacted institution either independently or through the intermediation of a professor. For application to this call, acceptance must be formalized by means of an acceptance letter (Letter of Acceptance, see Annex 1).

• Host institutions may also be found at: Sapienza website: https://www.uniroma1.it/it/pagina/ricerca-dellorganizzazione-ospitante

*Full list available at: http://europa.eu/about-eu/institutions-bodies/index_en.htm

Once you have pinpointed the host organisation you are interested in, you can propose your application by sending your curriculum vitae and a short covering letter. We recommend that you also attach to the email a short description in English of the Erasmus+ Traineeship programme and its opportunities.

The Jobsoul portal

On the Jobsoul portal, there are numerous companies based abroad that you can contact directly. However, you must register (free of charge) on the portal to access all the contact information.

The web is now the main source for jobs and internships. Many companies (from small entities to large multinational corporations) use their websites for advertising internship opportunities.

You can:

• Draft a list of companies operating in your field of interest and regularly visit the 'Work with us', 'Jobs', 'Vacancies', 'Careers' and similar sections of their websites.
• Visit the many websites listing internship/job opportunities
• Use search engines with the right keywords (pay attention to the source's reliability!)

Below is a list of useful websites to get in touch with companies. Some of them may be fee-based. It is the student's responsibility to assess the appropriateness of the service offered:

• TEuroBrussels, the European Affairs Jobsite
• EURES ,European portal 
• EURODESK, information and orientation on EU programmes (in Italian)
• EURACTIV jobsite 
• GARAGEERASMUS
• GLOBAL PLACEMENT, Internship Network
• Praxis Network
• Reconfirm Trainee Portal
• https://www.stage4eu.it/ 
•  Arbeit Market Service Öesterreich (National Public Employment Office) 
•  Euro Brussel, European Affairs Job Search
• Agence Nationale pour l’Emploi
• Germany forum jobline
• Careers in Poland
• Placement in Portugal
• Tecno Empleo (Spain)
• Placement Slovakia
• Slo Export (Slovenia)
• Swedish public employment Service

As with web search, the world of social networks can be extremely beneficial in searching for internship positions. Sometimes opportunities are advertised on the social channels of companies even before the official website. Through Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc., it is possible to start direct (even informal) communication with the different companies and perhaps manage to stand out among the many applications sent. Finally, having a well-kept, updated and complete Linkedin profile (and above all, with many 'links') is a tool that should not be underestimated.

Colleagues who have already done an internship abroad, friends or family members who work or study outside Italy, foreign offices of Italian or multinational companies that can be contacted through direct knowledge or word of mouth are all examples of valuable connections that can be activated through the interpersonal relations that each of us possesses. The virtual counterpart of such networks is, for example, Linkedin (see "Using social networks"). It is important not to confuse these virtuous mechanisms, present in many countries and often based on the presentation of candidates whose value is guaranteed, with other anti-meritocratic and corrupt phenomena, which often occur in Italy and other countries.