Attending EU Careers Ambassadors conference in Brussels, Belgium
I was recently fortunate enough to attend EU Careers Ambassadors conference in Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the center of European politics. Brussels is home to the EU’s most important institutions, such as the European Commission, European Council and European Parliament. Sadly, this time my schedule was fully booked, so I was unable to visit these famous places. However, it is safe to say that I enjoyed my time in Brussels very much and hence I am looking forward to visiting Brussels soon again.
A few things about my new position
My journey to becoming an EU Careers Ambassador started last Winter when I submitted my online application. During April, I learned that I have been preselected to the second phase of the competition – an online interview. Back then, recording video answers of myself seemed nerve wracking, but luckily all went well and later in May I was chosen to represent the University of Turku & Åbo Akademi University as their EU Careers Ambassador for the upcoming academic year (2019/2020).
As an EU Careers Ambassador, I am acting as the contact person for students interested in EU Careers. More specifically, I have been tasked with raising awareness and knowledge of employment opportunities in the EU among my fellow students through career events, workshops, presentations etc. As I recently learned, Finland is currently under-represented in the EU institutions, and it is therefore important to have more Finns employed in the EU institutions to ensure that Finnish views, positions, interests and values are represented at all levels. If you would like to get involved and know more about EU Careers, do not hesitate to contact me!
P.S. As an international student in Finland myself, my goal is to focus on ALL students, not just Finns!
Friday, 27.9.2019
The conference took place at the same hotel we were staying at: Crowne Plaza Brussels – Le Palace. It is a 4-start hotel, located close to the city center, and the service we received was truly amazing. Moreover, Brussels seemed like a very beautiful city with a unique architecture. For instance, we saw many Gothic churches, medieval buildings, green parks, old fashioned cinema buildings and lovely coffee shops. What surprised me the most, however, was the amount of different chocolate shops that you can easily find on every corner (who doesn’t love Belgian chocolate, right?!).
Saturday, 28.9.2019
The first day of the conference started with registration and mingling around the breakfast buffet, followed by high-level opening remarks. Speeches were given by Claudine Camilleri (Head of the EPSO Communication Unit), Rita Hinek and Anne-Claire Gathoye (both EU Careers Ambassadors Project Managers, EPSO).
Later, the conference programme continued with many presentations, speed networking with Staff Ambassadors and different workshops provided by Senior Ambassadors. For instance, we learned about the significance of the EU, the history of EU politics, career opportunities within the European Institutions and EPSO selection procedures.
Evening activities included a group photo shoot, sightseeing around Brussels and finally the gala dinner. Though the weather outside was rather unpleasant (rumor has it that it is raining in Brussels the whole time!), everyone was eager to meet and network with other like-minded individuals.
During the night, we all moved towards the city center where we could better experience the local culture and night life.
Sunday, 29.9.2019
After spending two intensive days of training and doing other activities (and even starting to seriously feel the lack of sleep), the conference was not over yet. On Sunday, we spent half a day learning and polishing our knowledge about public speaking, social media management and discussed the roadmap for implementation.
Once the conference was officially over, we all had lunch together for one last time before everyone left to their home countries. Interestingly, for this academic year there are 171 Ambassadors representing 143 universities all over Europe. My training, in fact, is not over yet. Next week I will be visiting the Prime Minister’s Office in Helsinki where I will also finally meet other Ambassadors representing different Finnish universities.
See you at future events!
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Last updated 5 August 2022
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