- The Regional Academy on the United Nations (RAUN) program lasts for 9 months and involves hands-on research projects in different prestigious global organizations.
A quarter of the students selected for the United Nations internship program come from Catalan universities. Specifically, eleven young people have been selected to join the group of 40 students to participate in the internship program of the Regional Academy on the United Nations (RAUN), which supports master's and doctoral students who want to start an international career.
This international educational program allows participants to carry out practical research projects, over the course of 9 months, in different prestigious global organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) or the Ban Ki Moon Center for Global Citizens (BKMC). This year, the face-to-face seminar will take place on September 18 in Barcelona, under the title "Crisis and resilience management: responding to future global challenges".
The prestigious RAUN program welcomes students from Catalan universities thanks to the collaboration promoted by the Catalan Department of Research and Universities, through the Inter-University Council of Catalonia (CIC), and the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia in Central Europe, based in Vienna, as well as the Regional Academy on the United Nations.
The collaboration began in 2021 and has allowed, with this year's participants, a total of 48 students from Catalonia to join the prestigious RAUN program. The agreement became official in 2022, when the Department of Research and Universities of the Government of Catalonia signed a memorandum of understanding with the director of the Regional Academy on the United Nations (RAUN).
This year, the opening seminar will take place on September 18 in Barcelona, under the title "Crisis management and resilience: responding to future global challenges” and will be hosted by Pompeu Fabra University (UPF).
The General Secretary of the Inter-University Council of Catalonia, Laura Román, highlighted the work of the Government of Catalonia in terms of internationalization of the Catalan university system, and welcomed the opening session of the program taking place in Barcelona. In addition, Román also stated that "the participation of Catalan students in the RAUN program demonstrates the excellence of our educational system and helps to promote talent from Catalonia".
For her part, the Delegate of the Government of Catalonia to Central Europe, Krystyna Schreiber, spoke about the continuity of the collaboration: “Vienna, where our Delegation’s headquarter is located, is a hub for international organizations, therefore the Delegation is launching and supports sustainable cooperations with international stakeholders that benefit Catalan citizens and foster international talent exchange”.
Master's and PhD students
Among the 82 applications received for this year's edition, 27 came from Catalan universities, and of these, 11 correspond to the finally selected Catalan students, of which there are 6 men and 5 women who are studying master's degrees (4) and doctoral programs (7). Specifically, there are 3 students from the University of Barcelona (UB), 2 students from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), 3 students from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), 1 student from Ramon Llull University (URL) and 2 students from the University of Girona (UdG). The thematic areas of the students are incredibly varied, there are students of economics, sustainability sciences, sociology, architecture, political science, communication, education, biotechnology, among others.
The universities of the Catalan university system have experience in organizing international internships in companies for students and graduates and agree on the objective of establishing a collaboration with the RAUN, and thus promote international and multidisciplinary higher education programs for the training of young people in issues related to the United Nations and international cooperation.