We are looking for a motivated intern who wants to work with us on the transition of EUR to an impact-oriented university. The ideal candidate will be part of the DIT platform, a strategic EUR initiative that empowers new ways of doing research, education and engagement in the support of societal transitions towards just and sustainable futures. DIT develops new institutional conditions and designs to strengthen transdisciplinary and impact-oriented academic work, based on collaboration, engagement and academic entrepreneurship. We work on various activities, including creating a community on transformative academic work, developing educational programmes (minors and a master’s programme) and setting up research projects. We understand transformative research as follows: “transformative research aims to address the grand challenges of our time by creating and deploying new ideas, methods, and tools to challenge, alter and replace current unsustainable formal and informal institutions. It is based on systems thinking and includes transdisciplinary research endeavours that allow for creating scientifically valid and socially robust knowledge, with the mission of fostering sustainability transitions” (DIT Narrative for Change, November 2021).

Your main tasks
As a DIT intern, you will work closely with our DIT Academic Transformative Research, on the following tasks:

• Carrying out a literature review and empirical work on different institutional designs of university institutes working on questions of sustainability, innovation and transformation 
• Support in general research assistance activities including interview transcriptions and literature reviews.
• Support in the preparation and organization of events, sessions and/or webinars.
• Support in writing reports, and blogs and communicating your insights and analyses on the DIT-platform website and social media channels.

You are the ideal candidate if you:

• Follow a master’s study in the field of social change, sustainability, justice, development, innovation, and/or other related fields;
• Have affinity and experience with sustainability, justice, transitions, transformation, social innovation, university transition, organizational studies, and/or related themes;
• Are comfortable writing academic as well as non-academic text in English and Dutch (native or C1 level required);
• Are an ambitious problem-solver and critical thinker; 
• Are proactive, collaborative, and can work independently and remotely;
• Are curious and not afraid to dive into a subject or learn a new digital tool.

It is possible and even advisable to combine this internship with writing a thesis on a research topic in line with DIT's work.

We are looking for an intern who can start working as soon as possible, preferably for a period of 6 months. We would like to have you on board for a minimum of 4 months (32 hours a week).

Dienstverband voor bepaalde tijd: 6 months.

DIT offers a safe, inspiring and thought-provoking work environment where you can experiment to the fullest, collaborate with like-minded colleagues and contribute to the necessary transitions that society and the university are needing. We work together based on trust, an entrepreneurial attitude and societal engagement.

You will get the opportunity to take responsibility and work as a member of the DIT team, joining meetings and events next to the project you’re working on. You can also work flexibly: partly at our DIT office on the Erasmus University campus in Rotterdam, and partly outside the office. You will have access to an internship supervisor, with whom you can discuss the progress of your internship. It is possible to combine this research internship with writing your thesis, possibly with guidance from DIT.

With a full-time internship (40 hours per week - 1.0fte), we offer an internship allowance of 450 euros per month (incl. travel allowance).

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR)

Erasmus University Rotterdam is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’. EUR is home to 3.700 academics and professionals and almost 33.000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way – Making Minds Matter. We’re global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR’s distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. www.eur.nl.