Pan-European Seal

NOVA University Lisbon is part of the Pan-European Seal Network and has recently extended the Pan-European Seal Traineeship Programme, offered jointly by Europe's two largest Intellectual Property (IP) organizations - the European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

What is the Pan-European Seal Traineeship Programme?

This traineeship program provides young graduates or high-performance university students, in their final year of studies, with access to one-year paid traineeships at EPO (Munich, Germany) or at EUIPO (Alicante, Spain), contributing to their insertion in the competitive world of IP through an enriching multicultural professional experience, advanced training and teamwork.

What are the criteria for eligible candidates?

EPO:

Nationals of any of the 38 EPO member states or future member states, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina;
Have obtained a full undergraduate/Master degree or its equivalent no later than two years prior to the date of the application, or be currently enrolled in PhD studies (finalist students with prospects for completing the course by September 2021 may also be accepted);
Have completed the indicated EPO e-learning courses (additional information will follow only to selected candidates that will integrate the NOVA’s shortlist);
Have knowledge of one of EPO's three working languages (German, English or French) at a minimum level of B1.

EUIPO:

Trainees shall be selected from nationals of the Member States of the European Union and candidate/third countries.
Have obtained a full undergraduate/Master degree or its equivalent no later than two years prior to the date of the application (finalist students with prospects for completing the course by September 2021 may also be accepted);.
To complete the EUIPO online courses (additional information will follow only to selected candidates that will integrate the NOVA's shortlist).
Have knowledge of one of EUIPO's five working languages (German, English, French, Spain or Italian) at a minimum level of B1.

How can I apply?

Candidates can only be accepted if nominated by their university. Therefore, you should start by filing this form until March 2^nd, 2021.

The NOVA Impact office, in articulation with NOVA’s Organic Units, will select the candidates that will integrate the shortlist to send to EPO and EUIPO. These candidates will be directly contacted by this office to submit their online application and complete the e-courses required by the institution to which they apply for. Learn more about these e-courses at EPO and EUIPO websites.

Note: Students from the NOVA School of Law must contact directly the responsible services of this School (Careers and Institutional Relations) informing about their intention to apply to this Programme.

Due to the limited number of vacancies in the entire Programme, candidates appointed by NOVA must commit to undertaking the traineeship if they are subsequently selected by EPO or EUIPO.

Deadlines:

Internal application submission – 2 March;
Deadline for university to provide their shortlist to EPO/EUPO– 8 March;
Shortlisted candidates to submit their online application – 31 March
Communication of results to candidates by EPO/EUIPO – end of May
Programme start date and opening ceremony at the EPO /EUIPO – 16 September

Monthly fee:

EPO: 2000€/ month.

EUIPO: 1000€/month

The information available on this site does not exempt you from consulting the EPO's and EUIPO's webpages, as well as the information available on the following documents:

For additional information, please do not hesitate to contact the NOVA Impact office: novaimpact@unl.pt

Watch this video to get an insight into the Pan-European Seal Traineeship Programme and the first-hand experiences of former Trainees at the European Patent Office:

More information on: epo.org/pan-european-seal