The Pan-European Seal Professional Traineeship Programme (Pan-European Seal) is a comprehensive traineeship programme that bridges academia and the labour market in different fields (IP, law, finance, business, engineering, etc.) to promote and disseminate Intellectual Property among the Academic Community.

It is promoted in partnership with two of the world’s largest IP offices, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in Alicante, Spain and the European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich, Germany and their strategic University partners.

This programme gives high-achieving, young university graduates access to a year-long (12 months) paid traineeship at either the EUIPO or the EPO, helping them get a foot in the door of the competitive world in a variety of fields through valuable, on-the-job, multicultural and professional work experience.

Within the context of the ongoing fight against high levels of youth unemployment in Europe and the commitment thereof to social responsibility, the Pan-European Seal will offer traineeship posts every year to graduates of their university partners, administered by both of the abovementioned offices. The number of posts offered is determined on an annual basis.

The Pan-European Seal should not be mistaken for a quality accreditation or certification process. Universities are contacted directly by the EUIPO and/or the EPO to take part in the programme and these contacts become established over several phases.

The implementation phase began in September 2015 and involved the universities that had joined the programme. Prior to this, the EUIPO ran a pilot phase with the European Intellectual Property Institute Network (EIPIN) that included just five university members.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishes the terms and conditions under which the parties cooperate in the fields of IP awareness and education under the framework of the Pan-European Seal. Its members endeavour to promote the EUIPO’s Academy Learning Portal and the EPO’s e-learning portal, as well as the use of the IP Teaching Kit, amongst their teachers and students, mainly through publication of all this information on their websites.

The MoU is available upon demonstration of interest to participate in the programme.

The MoU proposal will be made available upon demonstration of interest in participating in the programme.

 

Participation criteria (according to each University/ Academic area’s own specificity):

• Universities already participating in EUIPO’s University Network (UniNet).
• History of cooperation with EUIPO/EPO.
• Participation in IP Networks (eg. EIPIN, EIPTN, ATRIP).
• Universities’ IP Programmes (i.e. IP Centres; IP Courses -LL.M.; M.B.A.; Masters; PhD; Postdoctoral; etc. -or even IP contents, seminars, etc.) from EUIPO and EPO Member States.
• IP and/or Transfer Technology Research Centres.
• Cover the eligible Academic areas.
• Participating in and developing international mobility programmes (eg. Erasmus).
• Multilingual teaching.
• Use of eLearning tools.
• ECTS Label achievement.
• Supplement Diploma Label achievement.
• THE (Times Higher Education) ranking.
• CWTS Leiden Ranking.

Universities that have not been contacted but are interested in participating in the Pan-European Seal programme can apply to become a member by sending an email expressing their interest to:

Pan_European_Seal@euipo.europa.eu

The Pan-European Seal Professional Traineeship Programme is a vehicle for early talent detection among Europe’s brightest and highest-achieving graduates. It targets young, aspiring graduates from several academic backgrounds (IP and non-IP) who will be sponsored by the EUIPO and the EPO for one year-long, paid traineeships.

Each member of the Pan-European Seal is entitled to submit yearly two shortlists, one for the EUIPO and one for the EPO, from which an average of around 100 trainees in total are selected, according to each student’s profile and considering each Office’s needs. Traineeships take place either at the EUIPO or the EPO with a monthly training allowance, as well as other benefits.

Trainees have the opportunity to benefit from on-the-job coaching by staff, as well as online training, e-courses in their field of expertise and language courses in one of the official languages of each office.

Information regarding traineeships at the EPO is available on its official website.

Each Pan-European Seal edition ends with a ceremony at each office to award every trainee with an attendance certificate and the best trainees with a merit diploma.

Ideal Profile of the Pan-European Seal Trainee:

• Nationality from at least one of the EUIPO and/or EPO member states (or candidate). A limited number of trainees may be selected from third countries.
• A relevant degree/Masters in any of the eligible academic areas from the strategic university partners (in the case of the EPO, regarding the fields of search and examination, traineeships are also open to final-year students);
• The EUIPO candidates must have completed at least one online course from the EUIPO’s Academy Learning Portal, while the EPO might request the completion of at least two e-learning courses depending on the traineeship area.
• A minimum certified CEF B1 level (Common European Framework of reference for languages) in at least one of the five working languages of the EUIPO (DE, EN, FR, IT, or ES) or one of the three working languages of the EPO (EN, FR or DE).
• Previous participation in international programmes, such as Erasmus+, is considered favourably.
• Customer service skills; communication skills; capacity to analyse problems and find appropriate solutions; ability to work independently as well as part of a team; responsibility, professionalism, flexibility and self-initiative; capacity to work in an international environment.

The EUIPO organises supporting training activities for qualified professionals via the following three main training paths.

On-the-job training

Trainees are integrated into the EUIPO’s departments through a supervision and support system within a multicultural work atmosphere. They gain not only technical knowledge through their professional experience but also valuable skills such as team work, time management and problem-solving.

E-learning

Trainees can access the entire course catalogue of the EUIPO Academy Learning Portal, which includes courses in intellectual property, Information Technology, finance, Human Resources, etc. As a result, trainees enjoy the same e-learning opportunities as the EUIPO’s staff.

General activities

The EUIPO organises and supports a large variety of activities, some of them especially designed for trainees and all of them free of charge, to include:

o Induction training: organised at the beginning of the traineeship period to provide an overall perspective of the Office.

o Language training: trainees are allowed to enrol in at least one language course (among the official languages of the Office: English, Spanish, French, German or Italian) per quarter.

o Pan-European Seal IP Campus: a three-day network event that takes place in the spring of each edition. Career guidance and visits to local industries are included.

o Conferences and webinars: trainees may freely attend IP seminars and conferences as well as the Tuesday webinars organised by the EUIPO’s Academy. The webinars can also be accessed from the trainee’s desktop via streaming.

o Publication of thesis/articles: trainees are encouraged to get involved in research activities that give them the chance to work alongside experts from different areas of IP-related matters.

o End of Stage & Welcome ceremonies: these take place every year at the beginning and end of the programme. Their aim is to welcome the incoming trainees and to close the current edition. Thus, both editions of trainees can get together to share information and their experience of the traineeship period. Additionally, during the End of Stage ceremony, the exiting trainees are provided with an attendance certificate and, in a few exceptional cases, a merit diploma.

Please find further information of the EUIPO’s training plan in this pdf:

Under specific agreements the EUIPO supports activities promoted by its members in order to boost IP awareness and education among the university members of the Pan-European Seal and beyond.

Some of the initiatives organised by the EUIPO’s Academy are:

Pan-European Seal members as part of the EUIPO’s activities

The EUIPO’s Academy organises different activities on an annual basis, such as conferences held at the premises in Alicante, or webinars broadcast every Tuesday morning, which are addressed not only to the EUIPO’s staff and national offices, but also to professionals and law students alike.

We welcome speakers from among the Pan-European Seal members who are specialised in intellectual property and/or innovation matters and would like to take part in the abovementioned activities at our premises in Alicante.

E-learning

Through its cooperation with strategic university partners, the Pan-European Seal offers an extensive catalogue of IP training materials, providing professional input to academic education and helping young graduates improve their professional qualifications.

Via their learning portals, both the EUIPO and the EPO and other IP organisations collaborate to make e-learning materials on IP and soft skills available (e.g. leadership, prioritisation/organisation, etc.). These courses are provided free of charge as a professional complement to our partner universities’ IP training modules. The EPO’s e-learning portal also contains some content that is subject to fees.

The course catalogue is structured according to different levels of IP knowledge and intensity — they could be used both by beginners as well as by those already specialised in IP.

Where to start:

• • EUIPO Academy Learning Portal (Tutorial on how to create an account in EUIPO Academy Learning Portal as a Pan-European Seal user)
  • EPO’s eLearning portal
  • IP Teaching Kit

        The IP Teaching Kit has been co­-developed by the EUIPO and the EPO.

EUIPO Academy monthly activities

All members of the Pan-European Seal receive monthly updates of information on upcoming events and activities of interest, including the details of the Tuesday webinars that are organised by the EUIPO’s Academy.

Since 2016, as a result of the close partnership and cooperation between the EPO and the EUIPO, the Pan-European Seal Exchange Programme has been established. The Exchange Programme constitutes an ensuing development of the Pan-European Seal Professional Traineeship Programme.

On an annual basis, the Exchange Programme allows Pan-European Seal trainees that are currently working at the EUIPO to apply for an exchange opportunity and second traineeship at the different premises of the EPO, as well as for the Pan-European Seal trainees of the EPO to take the opportunity and apply for an exchange traineeship at the EUIPO.

In this way, the selected trainees from each Office are given the possibility to continue their professional training at either the EUIPO or the EPO for an additional period of 12 months, thus broadening the scope of their academic background and the knowledge they gained from their first traineeship in their field of expertise, and, in general, increasing their networking opportunities that could be helpful for their future career.

Founding Members (since 2014):

• Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute (QMIPRI), Queen Mary University of London – UK
• Magister Lvcentinvs, University of Alicante – Spain
• Advanced Master in Intellectual Property Law and Knowledge Management (IPKM), Maastricht University – The Netherlands
• Centre for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI), University of Strasbourg – France
• Munich Intellectual Property Law Center (MIPLC) – Germany

Members: 

• Máster en Propiedad Intelectual, Industrial y Nuevas Tecnologías (LLM IP & IT), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid – Spain
• Hanken School of Economics – Finland
• Masaryk University Faculty of Law – Czech Republic
• Centre for Intellectual Property Rights (CIR) / Interdisciplinary Centre for Law  and ICT (ICRI), Leuven – Belgium
• Iustinianus Primus Faculty of Law, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University (IPUKIM), Skopje – Macedonia
• Intellectual Property Research Center, Istanbul Bilgi University (BILFIM) – Turkey
• Master in Intellectual Property, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid – Spain
• Jagiellonian University – Poland
• Faculty of Law, Lund University – Sweden
• The Nova Law School, New University of Lisbon – Portugal
• Universitat de València – Spain
• Institute for Legal Protection if Intellectual Property (UPODV), Metropolitan University of Prague (MUP) – Czech Republic
• European Legal Studies Department, the College of Europe, Bruges – Belgium
• Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki – Finland
• Centre for Intellectual Property Policy & Management (CIPPM), Bournemouth University – United Kingdom
• Faculty of Law, University of Turku – Finland
• Católica Global School of Law, Portuguese Catholic University - Portugal
• Institute of Intellectual Property, Competition and Media law (IGEWEM), Dresden University of Technology – Germany
• LUISS Business School, LUISS Guido Carli University - Italy
• Riga Technical University – Latvia
• University of Ljubljana – Slovenia
• Faculty of Law and Administration, Łazarski University – Poland
• Faculty of Legal, Political and Social Sciences, University Lille 2 - France
• University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1) – France
• School of Law, University Jean Moulin Lyon 3 – France
• Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law (CIPIL), University of Cambridge – United Kingdom
• School of Law, Trinity College Dublin – Ireland
• University College Dublin (UCD) – Ireland
• Technical University of Vienna – Austria
• School of Law, University of Leeds - United Kingdom
• University of Innsbruck – Austria
• Tallinn University of Technology – Estonia

• University of Messina – Italy

The EUIPO and the EPO will be granting the members of the Pan-European Seal, a non-exclusive, non-transferable, free-of-charge license to use the Pan-European Seal logo. The logo will be published on the members’ websites.

The logo and any present or future related Intellectual Property Rights are and will remain the sole property of the EUIPO and the EPO and be represented by any two versions of the following sign (dark and light):

EUIPO - European Union Intellectual Property Office

Avenida de Europa 4, E-03008 Alicante, Spain

(+34) 965 137 897

Pan_European_Seal@euipo.europa.eu

euipo.europa.eu