This summer, I had the privilege of interning at the Trade and Economic Section (TES) of the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Canada. As an Economics student interested in domestic and foreign policy, I found the experience to be a significant enrichment to my academic program and professional journey.
The opportunity to intern with the EU Delegation was incredibly appealing as it offered the chance to work in a field related to my academic focus and to develop a deeper understanding of public diplomacy. My primary learning objective was to gain hands-on experience in the field and to gain insight into how international trade relations are facilitated.
The Delegation of the EU to Canada is dedicated to fostering dialogue between EU and Canadian authorities on current significant developments across both regions. It operates through three sections: Political, Press and Information Section (PPI), Trade and Economic Section (TES), and the Administration Section. The broad role of the TES focused on promoting trade between the EU and Canada, particularly under the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and exploring collaborative opportunities in emerging sectors such as technology and environment.
Every morning, Malik (the intern from the PPI Section) and I would prepare a press review of articles relevant to the Delegation in Canada and to headquarters in Brussels. As an intern for the TES, I kept a keen eye on developments that could impact trade relations in the economy, immigration, labour, mining, technology, and environment sectors. Malik and I also aided in the preparation of bi-weekly reports for Brussels, which included a more in-depth write-up of the most significant developments that were covered in daily press reviews.聽
The highlights of my internship were the events organized by the Delegation. In the first week, we hosted a Europe Day reception at the National Gallery, which stood out as it was my first formal reception. It was also a great way to get to know our colleagues in the office, as several of us aided in the setup of the event. Another memorable event was the EU Cultural Fair at Lansdowne Park. This event showcased EU member states' cultures, who set up booths with food, drinks, and games for the public to enjoy. We also had performances of folk songs and dances, which Malik and I had the pleasure of emceeing. This event was one of my favourite memories from the internship as the vibrant energy and enthusiastic participation from the city of Ottawa made it a truly wonderful experience.
The internship did not come without its challenges. The most significant hurdle was adopting a synthesized writing style for reports, particularly for complex and technical topics, such as the opening of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. It was a learning curve to distill only the relevant information from an abundance of media releases to craft a concise report tailored to Brussels' interests. However, as I became more familiar with the objectives of the TES, I quickly adapted to improve my reporting skills.
This internship had a profound impact on my university experience. It greatly developed my professional communication and allowed me to meet passionate and supportive individuals from the Delegation and embassies. Furthermore, some of my work involved monitoring current developments in trade tensions and protectionist trade measures, particularly for electric vehicles and critical minerals, which directly complements my academic interests. I am receiving academic credit for this internship and working on a research paper of a game-theoretic analysis of trade tensions between economic powerhouses, supervised by Professor Licun Xue from the Economics department.
I am grateful and thankful for the generous support from the Arts Undergraduate Improvement Fund, which enabled me to relocate to Ottawa for this internship. Lastly, I extend a heartfelt thanks to everyone at the Delegation for welcoming me as if I had always been a part of the team.
