INTERNATIONAL
MASTERS
IN ECONOMY,
STATE & SOCIETY
with reference to
Central and Eastern Europe
Erasmus Mundus Funding Category A deadline: 17 December 2010
Erasmus Mundus Funding Category B deadline: 29 April 2011
IMESS Bursary deadline: 29 April 2011
Non-scholarship deadline: 29 April 2011
Visiting Scholars deadline: 31 January 2011
IMESS Student Handbook
Why do IMESS? A Careers Perspective
Our IMESS students come from academic backgrounds which are as diverse as their thirty plus countries. Some already have degrees in the study of our area. Others have degrees in specific disciplines but less acquaintance with our region. In all cases IMESS compliments these student's existing skills and provides a vital stepping stone to a range of careers.
IMESS graduates are qualififed to progress to doctoral research in the European area; others may advance to careers in governmental organisations, or international organisations (EBRD, UN, World Bank etc) and may specialise in finance, commerce, analysis or consultancy. Others still may seek a career in diplomacy, or in journalism, or in non-governmental organisations. Indeed, the scope of IMESS is broad and so too, correspondingly, are the post-IMESS possibilities.
The IMESS Careers Programme
IMESS students are offered a tailored careers support package within the structures of the wider UCL and SSEES career support structures. In particular, during year one the SSEES Careers Advisor will run special sessions on 'Writing successful Applications and CVs' on Tuesday 24 November 2009 and on 'Preparing for Assessment Centres' on Thursday 14 January 2010. Additional to this, during the spring term, SSEES hosts a 'Careers Evening' on Wednesday 10 March 2010 in which many of the most significant employers are represented. The Careers Advisor has a weekly drop-in session during term-time and can provide information on the full range of the events and activities that the UCL and University of London Careers Services offer.
Many IMESS students are interested in undertaking an internship in-between year one and year two and, to this end, we have created a very useful database detailing possible internship opportunities and we encourage students to apply to these firms and organisations. Other IMESS students prefer to head early to the second year country and, to this end, our East European language teachers are normally able to advise on summer schools and language preparation courses.
UCL SSEES Careers Advisor
UCL subscribes to ‘The Careers Group - University of London’ which supports UCL’s dedicated Careers Service. IMESS students are entitled to use UCL’s extensive services at any time during their period of study. UCL SSEES has its own Careers Advisor who will be available to IMESS students throughout the programme. The advisor can assist you with relevant guidance on your career planning, as well as helping you to build up your key skills for job-hunting (e.g. CV presentation and interview technique). There are weekly ‘drop-in’ sessions for short individual discussions on site at SSEES, on Wednesdays (11.00 - 1.00 in Room 503) during term time. Longer appointments are held by arrangement on Wednesday afternoons at the main UCL Careers Office.
You can contact the careers advisor by dropping into the Wednesday morning sessions at SSEES or by calling in at the UCL Careers Service (see http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/about-us/team.htm). Please note: the UCL Careers Service is located on the 4th Floor of the University of London Union Building, Malet Street, (opposite Waterstones).
The Careers Service is frequently contacted by employers with offers of part-time, temporary as well as full-time work in which you might be able to use your specialist skills. Details are kept in files behind the Issue Desk in the Library. Details of talks, dedicated skills sessions, and other careers information will be found at UCL Careers.
Other sources of information
During 2009 the IMESS Alumni Association will be launched. This will give further access to careers networks and opportunities. For current IMESS students the IMESS Virtual Learning Environment (Moodle) has a regularly updated careers page, which includes listings of PhD and other opportunities as well as advice on writing research proposals and the database of internship contacts. Finally, the SSEES website has links to various useful sources.