Internships Fall 2024

Apply for an internship at the V-Dem Institute

Who we are

Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) is a new approach to conceptualizing and measuring democracy. We provide a multidimensional and disaggregated dataset that reflects the complexity of the concept of democracy as a system of rule that goes beyond the simple presence of elections. The V-Dem project distinguishes between five high-level principles of democracy: electoral, liberal, participatory, deliberative, and egalitarian, and collects data to measure these principles. We are a team of over 50 social scientists on six continents. We work with almost 4000 country experts and a truly global International Advisory Board. Read more about the work we do here.

What we are looking for

We are looking for four highly motivated, self-driven interns who are interested in democracy as a research area. The duration of the internship program is 10 weeks.

The Fall 2024 semester will be divided in two sub-periods:
1st period: 2 September - 8 November 2024 (2 interns)
2nd period: 11 November 2024 - 17 January 2025 (2 interns)

The dates and duration of the internship can be somewhat flexible.

Applicant requirements

  • The applicant should currently be enrolled in a master’s or bachelor's program and do the internship as part of their studies, that is receive academic credit for the internship program at their home university.
  • The working language at V-Dem is English and thus advanced fluency in English is required. Knowledge of other languages such as Arabic, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and/or Russian is an asset.
  • Previous research methods courses are desirable.
  • The internship is unpaid but students will receive academic credits.
  • The internship takes place in-person at the V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg.

Questions?

If you have any questions regarding our internship program, please feel free to reach out.

E-MAIL

ana.good.god@v-dem.net

How to Apply?

Send your CV and cover letter before 26 April 2024 to ana.good.god@v-dem.net. Please add "Internship Fall 2024" to the subject line. Please indicate which period you are interested in in your email and/or cover letter.

Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. Applicants who are not enrolled in a study program, or do not receive academic credits from their university, cannot be accepted.

Interested in doing an Internship during Spring 2025?

Internships for spring 2025 will be advertised during fall 2024. Conditions will be similar to above.

Cecilia Faverio_internht23

Message from a previous intern

Hi! I am Cecilia, a Political Sciences bachelor student at Università degli studi di Milano. I was an intern at V-Dem in the fall of 2023. I decided to apply because I wanted to gain more experience in comparative politics/regimes studies, and to understand how methodology is applied and carried on.

I chose V-Dem because I have admired their work since I was introduced to it in one of my courses. I was excited for the opportunity to have a closer look at the process of building and updating the democracy indexes. All my expectations were met and exceeded.

As an intern, my tasks were mainly to help coding for the v14 update and assist the expert coding management. I took part in several seminars organized by the Institute and the University of Gothenburg.

I would recommend applying to anybody who is interested in democracy and quantitative methods (the knowledge of the latter does not have to be extensive, but it is the approach you will be confronted with).

Looking towards the future, I believe that this experience helped me get a clearer and stronger idea on what and how I would like to continue my studies. Additionally, it showed me how a healthy and functional workplace looks and how to insert myself into it.