Internships
FSFE is a charity dedicated to empowering users to control technology. We are working to build freedom in digital society. We operate in a lively environment of numerous volunteers from many countries and several full-time employees.
My eleven months as trainee and part of the FSFE's international team, have been full with new things to learn, great people to meet, challenges to overcome and opportunities to grasp. There was never a boring day. I was involved in high-level legal and policy work as well as community building and awareness-raising activities. I was in the core preparation team of short and long-term campaigns.
Olga Gkotsopoulou, Intern 2017
FSFE is looking for smart, motivated interns to join our team. We offer
- A truly challenging and exciting time with a dynamic NGO working internationally
- A close-up view of organisational and community processes
- A chance to take the initiative and put your ideas into practice
- The opportunity to meet and work with Free Software advocates across Europe
What you'll do:
- Contribute to FSFE's ongoing projects, working with one or more of our staff and volunteers.
- Communicate with contacts from the FSFE community, NGO, industry, and public administrations.
- Coordinate volunteers and others in the work on various projects.
- General office tasks.
- Find your own strengths, and do something you care about.
- Other tasks outlined in the job description when an opening is announced (see below).
My internship at FSFE was great! The team was amazing and the work taught me a lot about Free Software, it opened my eyes to a lot of things. I enjoyed every second of my internship, I met different kinds of people and gained friendships that I will treasure forever.
Cellini Bedi, Intern 2016
Basic internship facts:
When an internship opening is announced (primarily in our newsletter), you will find more details about each specific internship there. Sometimes we offer longer internships, and other times we seek applicants with a specific focus (for instance students for summer internships).
- Duration: 4 months or longer, full-time.
- Location: Berlin, Germany.
- Compensation: Interns receive a basic compensation, the amount of which is announced when an opening is announced.
- Requirement: The internship is open to EU citizens, and anyone else holding a residence permit and a work permit for Germany.
With my internship at the Free Software Foundation Europe, I was given the opportunity to work together with amazing and highly motivated people. I could bring in my existing skills in a meaningful way, as well as learn a whole lot of new technical methods and ways to enthuse people. In my usual field of statistics and data analysis, Free Software and Open Data becomes increasingly important and is a key to privacy-friendly and ethical Data Science, which is why I am so delighted to be able to contribute to the work the FSFE is doing.
Jan Weymeirsch, Intern 2018
Who we're looking for:
FSFE interns are a pretty diverse bunch. If you are interested in working on the frontline of technology policy and activism, then you've come to the right place. You're fired up about a free information society, and you've already done something to tell others why freedom matters? Then this internship is for you. Your academic background and qualifications matter less than your experience, your will to learn, and your ability to get things done. We expect:
- Solid basic knowledge of, and considerable interest in, Free Software (required)
- Fluent English (written and spoken) is a requirement; a working knowledge of other languages is an asset.
- Basic acquaintance with working on GNU/Linux systems (desirable)
- Ability to be creative, responsible, and to multitask.
- Ability to integrate into a young, motivated and professional team
- No programming skills required. Programming is one of the few things you probably won't be doing during your internship, unless you're applying for a technical internship.
- We want more women to be involved in Free Software. That's why when there are candidates with equal qualification, we will give preference to applications from suitably qualified female candidates.
I am passionate about Free Software and I always wanted to help with its promotion. That's why an offer to help the FSFE was a perfect fit for me. During my internship, I worked mostly on developing the FSFE's infrastructure and helped by adding documentation for specific tasks involving different services. Interns at FSFE are really useful, as they bring their experience and knowledge to the FSFE and, given the structure and openness of the organisation, are able to do meaningful work that has a real value.
Vincent Lequertier, Intern 2018
How to apply:
When there's an open position for an internship, this will be announced in our newsletter including information about the application deadline.
Currently open positions:
Each application must include, in English:
- The reference number of the opening for which you're applying
- A letter of motivation
- A CV
- References
We do not generally accept unsolicited applications, but you can contact us at contact@fsfe.org. Please do not send any documents in Microsoft Word document format. We won't read them. Best use PDF instead.
We look forward to your application!