INTERN &
SPECIALISTS

Interns and Specialists are the people who bring extra hands and extra expertise to HDRI's work, usually for a defined period or a specific project.

​

Interns join HDRI through the HDRI Internship Programme, which opens a new intake every two months. Each round of interns joins one of our Departments to learn hands-on how a youth-led advocacy organisation actually works, drafting grant applications, supporting events, researching policy, or contributing to a publication. It's a two-way arrangement: interns gain real, practical experience in EU civil society work, and HDRI gains motivated people who help our projects move faster. Each internship runs for a fixed term aligned with the bimonthly cycle and is supervised by a Department lead or Board member.

​

Specialists are brought in when a project needs a specific skill set that goes beyond what our regular team covers, things like legal review, translation, data analysis, or expertise in a particular policy area (say, digital rights, migration law, or youth mental health). Specialists might be HDRI members with a relevant background, or outside experts we partner with for a single project or grant. Unlike interns, they're usually engaged for their existing expertise rather than to build new skills, and their involvement is often shorter and more targeted.

​

Together, Interns and Specialists give HDRI the flexibility to scale up capacity exactly when and where a project needs it, without changing the size of our core team.