Recruitment
Presently the AEC is not looking for new interns. Our next recruitment round will be in the 3rd-4th quarter of 2013.
Below you can read some information about possible internships offered by the AEC
Short description of the organisation
The European Association of Conservatoires (AEC), founded in 1953, is a dynamic European cultural and educational network with more than 280 member institutions for professional music training in 55 countries (conservatoires, music academies and universities, musikhochschulen, etc). AEC’s objective is to support professional music training in Europe through the organisation of European projects, congresses and seminars, exchanges, research and by representing the interests of its members on European, national and international level. The AEC has recently relocated its offices to a lively environment in Brussels. Each year the AEC organises, in a different European country, the Annual Meeting for International Relations Coordinators of European Conservatoires and the AEC Annual Congress, with the aim to discuss relevant subjects in the field of professional music training in Europe and to exchange information (see webpage Events). The AEC coordinates the biggest European project on professional music training called 'Polifonia' (http://www.polifonia/tn.org) and is also involved as partner in various other projects (see webpage Projects).
Internship quality assurance and accreditation
Since 2008, AEC has been providing a new service to its member institutions as a response to the developments initiated by the Bologna Declaration in terms of quality assurance (i.e. the systems by which courses, qualifications and the institutions which run them are monitored). This service is offered in two forms:
1) AEC Quality Enhancement Processes: an international group of colleagues/peers visits a conservatoire during 2-3 days, meets with staff, students, alumni, and professional representatives, and produces an advisory report with recommendations;
2) Joint accreditation procedures carried out in collaboration with national accreditation agencies in Europe: AEC wants to ensure that the evaluation and accreditation processes of conservatoires and music academies take into account the specificities of the music institutions. The Association therefore provides peers and advice in terms of evaluation criteria and procedures to national accreditation agencies evaluating universities in every country. Thus AEC has so far collaborated with such agencies in Switzerland, Lithuania, Russia and Germany.
Given the successful results of this approach to evaluation and accreditation, which is both European and music-specific, the Association has started to conduct a feasibility study concerning the future of these activities (i.e. if they should be continued, how they should be formalised and improved, how the Association can fit the conservatoires´ needs which differ from country to country).
AEC is currently looking for an intern who could assist the Association with the general organisation of its Quality Enhancement activities, as well as with this feasibility study.
Description of the internship
The internship will focus on AEC´s activities in the field of quality enhancement and will consist in assisting the General Manager with the general organisation of AEC quality enhancement activities and with the preparation of the feasibility study mentioned above. This will include, among others, the following tasks:
- Organising meetings for the AEC Working Groups in the field of quality enhancement (practical organisation and preparation of documents), attending these meetings and writing draft minutes [this may involve some travel]
- Organising some of AEC Quality Enhancement Processes (practical organisation)
- Contributing to the communication about this specific service offered by AEC (developing website pages on this topic, creating news items, possibly creating a flyer, etc.)
- Working on improving and updating the AEC Register for Peer-Reviewers (i.e. an ACCESS database listing the experts/peers who regularly visit/evaluate conservatoires all over Europe)
- Searching information on the latest developments in higher education in general (all disciplines) at European level in the field of quality enhancement, quality assurance and accreditation (by consulting websites, reading relevant documentation, and possibly interviewing some representatives of quality assurance agencies active in Europe) and reporting (verbally and in written)
- Searching information on this topic in higher music education (by interviewing representatives of conservatoires to learn about the situation in their country and about their needs) and reporting (verbally and in written)
- Contributing to the day-to-day running of the organisation.
An internship fee of 400€/month is provided, as well as a small compensation for travel costs based on the distance between the work place and the residence in Brussels.
Duration and starting date of the internship: ideally 6 months from April 1st, 2013 but other periods can be considered.
Requirements
- This internship is highly suitable for students enrolled in European studies, organisational sciences, or related humanities programmes, as well as in quality management programmes, wanting to have experience in working in a cultural organisation on European level and interested in the topics of higher education, the quality of higher education and the way it is evaluated.
- No knowledge of higher education / higher music education is required, but such knowledge is definitely an asset.
- An excellent level of English is required (spoken and written), and knowledge of French, German or Italian is a plus.
- An internship contract between the intern, the higher education institution/university and the AEC is compulsory for the duration of the internship.
- Commitment to the organisation and willingness/ability to work in a small international team are very important.
Other information
If you are interested, please contact the AEC directly by sending a short CV and a motivation letter. Contact person: Maarten Aarse, AEC Office Coordinator Email: info@aec-music.eu
Projects internship
An internship with the AEC can consist of one or more of the following components:
This internship is highly suitable for students in cultural management courses or in European studies, social studies, or related humanities programmes, wanting to have experience in working in a cultural organisation on European level and in working with European funding programmes in education and culture. A high level of English is required, knowledge of French, German or Italian is recommended. N.B. Legally the AEC is only able to hire students as interns. Therefore, please make sure you are enrolled in a higher education institution or can provide a contract signed by such an institution for the duration of your internship. Other information
Candidates can contact the AEC directly by sending a short CV and a motivation letter. The internship can start in any given moment of the academic year. Length of the internship and internship fees are to be discussed. Contact person: Maarten Aarse, AEC Office Coordinator Email: aecinfo@aecinfo.org