With the end of May, the 2025/26 cohort of the European Regional Master’s Programme in Democracy and Human Rights in South East Europe (GC SEE/ERMA) concluded its mandatory internship period — one of the most distinctive elements of this one-year, full-time master’s programme run jointly by the University of Sarajevo and the University of Bologna, and co-financed by the European Union through the Global Campus of Human Rights.
This year, ERMA students were hosted by 22 organisations spread across seven countries — Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia — representing a broad cross-section of civil society, media, research, and public institutions active in the field of human rights and democratic development across the Western Balkans.
“The internship enables students to take their academic knowledge into the field — gathering data for their thesis, building professional networks, and navigating an intercultural working environment in a country other than their own. They meet peers from other regional countries, participate in different initiatives and enjoy meeting and spending time with their peers from the region, exchanging and comparing their experiences.” Alina Trkulja, program coordinator
A Cornerstone of the ERMA Experience
The internship is a mandatory, credit-bearing component of the programme’s second semester, worth 7 ECTS. Taking place each May, it requires students to spend four weeks embedded in an IGO, NGO, think tank, or research institute operating in the field of human rights and democracy. What makes the ERMA placement distinctive is a firm rule: students must complete their internship in a country other than their own — a deliberate design choice aimed at fostering intercultural competence, adaptability, and the kind of professional mobility demanded of experts working across the region.
The choice of organisation is not arbitrary. Students select a host whose work aligns with their MA thesis topic, making the internship simultaneously a professional placement and a research expedition. The data gathered, the interviews conducted, and the institutional contacts made during these four weeks directly feed into the thesis writing period that follows in June and July at the University of Bologna’s residential centre in Bertinoro, Italy.
Beyond research, the placement period is designed to accelerate students’ professionalisation: sharpening analytical skills, situating academic knowledge within real organisational contexts, and building the professional networks that will sustain careers in human rights work long after graduation.
22 Organisations Across Seven Countries – a diverse host ecosystem
This year’s cohort was dispersed across a notably wide geography, reflecting the programme’s longstanding commitment to regional mobility. The host organisations span seven countries, with Serbia hosting the largest number of placements followed by Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia.
The range of organisations hosting ERMA students this year reflects the programme’s deliberately pluralist understanding of where human rights and democratisation work happens. The host organisations can be broadly grouped into several categories:
Human Rights NGOs/ Think Tanks & Research / InstitutesMedia & Journalism/ Gender & Women’s Rights/ Children’s & Social Services/ Education & CultureCivic & Community Organisations/ International Organisations.
We are truly grateful to our internship host partner institutions and organisations for their hospitality and expertise shared with the ERMA students.
- Artpolis Kosovo
- Balkan Migrations and Displacement Hub, Save the Children Serbia
- BEFEM Serbia
- BIRN Serbia
- CREDI Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Danski dom Montenegro
- CESI Croatia
- Civic Alliance Montenegro
- Communication for Social Development (CSD) Kosovo
- Helsinki Committee for Human Rights Serbia
- History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Impress Croatia
- Institut Alternativa Montenegro
- Institute for Advanced Studies Montenegro
- Mediacenter Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Polekol Serbia
- Radio Rojc Alliance Croatia
- Rainbow Ignite Serbia
- Sarajevo Open Center, Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Sombor Educational Center (SEC) Serbia
- Tiiiit! Inc. North Macedonia
- Women on Boards Adria (WOBA) Montenegro
Here is what some of the students say about their experience:
“The internship was highly beneficial for my research. Rainbow Ignite’s community-based work and extensive NGO network enabled me to establish contacts with potential interlocutors relevant to my topic. Access to the Arkadija archive was particularly valuable, as the archive contains materials directly connected to my research interests concerning LGBTIQ histories and activism in the former Yugoslavia. The internship also enabled me to conduct interviews and gain insight into archival and community-based methodologies relevant to my academic work.” Matej Vrebac, BIH
“During my internship at Women on Boards Adria (WOBA), I worked on research related to women’s representation in corporate governance and decision-making positions in Montenegro. Being based in Montenegro enabled me to gain a better understanding of the local context, establish contacts with relevant stakeholders, and conduct in-person interviews for my research. It also provided valuable insight into the country’s EU accession process, gender equality framework, and corporate governance environment.” Hana Granulo, BIH
What Comes Next
With the internship period now concluded, ERMA students are entering the final and in many ways most intensive phase of their year: thesis writing. In June and July, the cohort travels to the University of Bologna’s residential centre in Bertinoro, a medieval hilltop town in Emilia-Romagna, where they will transform their field research into completed master’s dissertations. Short seminars and lectures complement the writing process, and students benefit from individual guidance from programme tutors — typically drawn from the ranks of recent ERMA graduates — as well as access to Bologna’s library and research facilities.
Final theses are submitted by early September, with defences held at the University of Sarajevo in October. Upon successful completion, students receive a double-degree diploma from both the University of Sarajevo and the University of Bologna, along with 60 ECTS.
Since its founding, the ERMA programme has placed students with more than 100 partner organisations from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia — a network that has grown organically through years of collaboration and that continues to expand with each cohort. Applications for the academic year 2026/27 are currently open! Read the CFA here.
