EU Careers Event

Tue, 1 March 2011, 5-8pm

Venue:
UCL Careers Service
4th Floor ULU Building,
Malet Street,
London WC1E 7HY
MAP

The UCL European Institute is organising an EU Careers Event for undergraduate and graduate students, in cooperation with the UCLU European Society. It forms part of the International Careers Week organised by the UCL Careers Service.

This is the first event of this kind at UCL. It will offer students an overview over career options with EU institutions, UK civil service, regional representations and relevant private and third-sector organisations. The event will also give students insight into access pathways and entry criteria.

The evening has two parts:

5.15-6.45pm: PANEL

Presentations and discussion with six panellists from EU institutions (EPSO, DG Interpretation, MEP assistant), the UK Civil Service (European Fast Stream), a public affairs consultancy and a think tank. See speaker biographies below. Presentations are followed by a 30-min Q&A.
Total capacity: 60 students.

6.45-7.45pm: NETWORKING SESSION

Set up in a dedicated room, this session will allow all 6 panellists plus representatives from the NGO lobby, regional representations, translators, the media and other institutions to talk more in-depth with students and offer information material. More details below. Drinks will be made available and students can roam and approach presenters.
Total capacity: 120 students

REGISTRATION

Students can register online for both parts of the evening, and any other event in the International Careers Week, here: www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/events/getinto/internationalcareers

Registration is now open!

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

Huw Davies, European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO)
EPSO carries out the assessment that all candidates need to go through to become a civil servant of the EU Institutions- including the Commission, the Parliament and the Council. Huw manages EPSO's communcation team who try and help more people around Europe to learn about careers with the EU. Huw is on secondment from the UK Civil Service Fast Stream where he previously worked as a Private Secretary to two Ministers, as well as working on policy areas such as Education and Renewable Energy. His first post in Brussels was a 5 month secondment to the Cabinet of Baroness Ashton during her period as Trade Commissioner.

Daniel Pashley, DG Interpretation
Daniel Pashley, 38, has been working full-time as an interpreter for the European Institutions in Brussels since 2003, firstly as a freelance and then since 2008 as a member of staff at the European Parliament. After completing a BA in French and German at Kings College London in 1994 he spent several years working in publishing and marketing in London before deciding to take an MA in interpreting and translating in 2002. He now interprets from French, German, Dutch and Swedish. The European Parliament's DG Interpretation is one of the largest employers of interpreters in the world, providing interpreters for MEPs' multilingual meetings on a daily basis in Brussels, at the monthly plenary sessions in Strasbourg and to accompany MEPs on their travels all over the world.

Ben Jones, former MEP assistant
Ben Jones is currently a Senior Consultant at Interel Consulting UK. From 2007 until June 2010 he was Foreign Affairs and Defence Adviser to the Liberal Democrats. Between 2001 and 2004 he worked in Brussels as a European Commission "stagiaire", an Assistant to Diana Wallis MEP and as Head of Media for the British Liberal Democrat MEPs. He also spent a year working for the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU. Before joining the Liberal Democrat Policy and Research Unit in Westminster he worked as Chief Press Officer to the Britain in Europe campaign. He holds a BA in Politics from the University of Sheffield and an M.Phil. in History of Political Thought from Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He was a Visiting Fellow at the EU Institute for Security Studies in Autumn 2010. Ben is happy to talk to students about opportunities for work as an MEP's Assistant. Their responsibilities vary according to the requirements of different MEPs, but tend to include diary management, ad hoc research, support for specialist committee work, liaison with constituency offices, press and communications, meeting with lobbyists on the MEP's behalf and providing political advice.

Lucy Johnson, European Fast Stream (UK Civil Service)
Lucy Johnson is a European Fast Streamer in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). She is currently working as a policy advisor in her first Fast Stream role on the Sustainable Energy-using Products team and is responsible for developing the UK's negotiating position for EU product regulations. Her role involves working with UK industries, other government departments, EU member states and the European Commission. Lucy has a BA (Hons) in Modern and Medieval Languages from Oxford University and applied to the Fast Stream shortly after leaving university in 2009. The European Fast Stream is a specialist option of the Civil Service's Graduate Fast Stream, which enables graduates to develop their language skills, gain experience in EU-facing posts in the UK and receive specialised training for the EU Concours. Lucy will be available to answer questions from those interested in applying to the UK Civil Service, either as general or European Fast Streamers, as well as anyone interested in the Concours and the EU Commission's selection procedures.

Dorothée D'Herde, External Relations, McKinsey
Dorothée D'Herde is Head of External Relations at McKinsey, Sustainability and Resource Productivity Practice, where she works to develop the global thought leadership agenda on climate change, sustainability and resource productivity, handles media relations and manages the firm's reputation. She was previously account director at GPlus Europe, a London and Brussels based public affairs consultancy specializing in European Union political strategy, policy development and media and public relations. She has also worked in the Cabinet of the Belgian Deputy Prime Minster and Minister of the Interior, for a Network of European Foundations and for the Euroepan Commission Spokeperson's Service. She holds a Master of European Social Studies from the College of Europe (Bruges) and a BA in Linguistics and Literature from the Universityies of Ghent and Nijmegen, as well as a Teacher Training Degree from the University of Ghent and the Universidad Complutense in Madrid.

Gavin Ellwood, Ellwood & Atfield
Gavin is a main Board director of E&A and works in the London Search practice. He has more than 15 years' search and selection experience and has recruited senior and specialist communications and public affairs professionals for a diverse range of organisations and global brands. He is a Freeman of The Guild of PR Practitioners, and Executive Committee member and Honorary Treasurer of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations Government Affairs Group. Gavin has a degree in Philosophy & Psychology.

Fiona Harris, DG Translation/European Commission Representation in the UK
Fiona Harris is a staff translator with the Directorate-General  for Translation (DGT) - the translation service of the European Commission. She is currently on secondment to the UK where she has been responsible for setting up a Field Office, based in the European Commission's Representation in London. Her role is to promote language learning and provide information on careers using languages, particularly within the EU institutions. Fiona has a BA (Hons) in Dutch and Scandinavian Studies from UCL and a Masters in Translation from the University of Surrey. The translation service of the European Commission is facing a pending shortage of translators who offer English as their main language and two other EU languages. Fiona will be on hand to speak to students about working as a linguist for the EU institutions. She can also answer questions on traineeships - both general and in the DGT. She will have an array of literature on hand. 

Jonathan Millins, East of England Brussels Office
Jonathan is Senior European Policy Officer at the East of England Brussels Office, specialising in European transport, maritime, rural development and innovation policy. He is responsible for assisting local authorities on European policy development, facilitating successful European funding bids and working to promote regional businesses in Europe. Jonathan also has responsibilities for working with MEPs, the European Commission, UK government and other European institutions. Jonathan read Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent and gained a Postgraduate Diploma from the University of Leeds in European Parliamentary Studies. He undertook a stage (internship) with a British MEP in Brussels before moving on to become the European Information Officer with the Greater Manchester Brussels Office. The East of England Partnership is a growing alliance of public and private sector agencies in the East of England working to ensure the region plays its full part in Europe for all citizens

Michael Shackleton, UK Office of the European Parliament
Michael Shackleton is the head of the UK Information Office of the Parliament in London. He first joined the Secretariat of the European Parliament in 1981. From 1985 to 1992 he was on the secretariat of the Committee on Budgets, and then worked within the division responsible for relations between the European Parliament and national parliaments; during 1996 he was Head of the Secretariat of the first parliamentary Committee of Inquiry, which examined the Community transit system; from 1997 to 2004 he was Head of the Service responsible for conciliations under the codecision procedure between the Council and the Parliament; from  2005 to 2009, he was responsible for establishing a European Parliament web TV channel, known as europarltv, which was launched in September 2008.  Michael Shackleton received his first degree in Politics and Philosophy in 1972 at Worcester College, Oxford. He obtained an MA in International Relations from the University of Sussex in 1973, and was awarded his Ph.D. in International Studies. He has lectured and published widely on European Community topics.