Pan-European Seal Professional Traineeship Programme

In 2021, the University of Stirling became the first Scottish university to join a prestigious partnership with Europe’s leading Intellectual Property (IP) organisations: the European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

Thanks to this partnership, all Stirling students and recent alumni (from all backgrounds, not just law) will have access to the Pan-European Seal Professional Traineeship Programme.

The main benefit of this programme is a one-year-long fully paid traineeship at the EPO (Munich, Germany) or at the EUIPO (Alicante, Spain).

During this most sought-after European professional training, students will follow a tailored development programme covering different IP rights, while being coached by leaders in the field, working in a multi-cultural environment, and learning other European languages. As a Pan-European Seal trainee, Stirling students and recent alumni will get a foot in the door of the competitive world of IP through valuable on-the-job diverse professional work experience.

To find out more please visit the following websites: 

How to apply

Current Stirling students in their final year and students who graduated in the last two years at Stirling can:

  • apply to Edit Frenyo, the point of contact for the Pan European Seal at the University of Stirling
  • be shortlisted by the University of Stirling for consideration by the EPO / EUIPO

You will be provided with further information about the programme and how to apply in January each year. 

Apply direct

In order to apply, you have to contact Edit Frenyo at edit.frenyo@stir.ac.uk with the following:

  • Curriculum Vitae (Europass CV template available here)
  • letter of motivation
  • statement of completion (name of the course you are/were enrolled on, date of completion – or of expected completion). If you are a current student, you have to complete your degree by September.

The deadline is 14 February 2025.

If you are shortlisted

If you are shortlisted by the University of Stirling, in February you will have to submit your applications for the traineeship via the via the EPO and EUIPO’s websites:

Applications by students who have not been shortlisted by the University of Stirling will be disregarded.

You will have to submit the following documents to EPO or EUIPO:

  • Europass Curriculum Vitae
  • letter of motivation
  • University diploma (for applicants who have not yet received their official degree certificate, a statement from their university confirming their degree result is sufficient).

EUIPO applicants will also be asked to submit a certificate of completion of EUIPO's online course ‘EUTM in a Nutshell' or ‘RCD in a Nutshell’.

The EPO / EUIPO will evaluate the shortlist of Stirling candidates for access to the Pan-European Seal Programme. If you are successful, in June you will receive an offer for a traineeship with EUIPO / EPO for a duration of 12 months starting in September. The contractual relation is between the selected candidate and the EUIPO or the EPO.

What criteria will EPO and EUIPO consider in selecting the trainees? Both academic excellence and motivation count equally in the competitive selection procedure.

Areas of expertise

For the 2024 - 2025 traineeship at EPO, there are vacancies offered in the following areas:

  • Science & Engineering - 32%
  • HR and Business Administration - 10%
  • Law (including Patent Law) - 20%
  • International Relations and Communication - 20%
  • Economics and Finance - 9%

The EUIPO is looking for the following traineeship profiles:

  • Law
  • IP law (including industrial design)
  • IP and Knowledge Management (e.g. IP research, online training)
  • Political Sciences & International Relations
  • Linguistics
  • Economics and Business Administration/Entrepreneurship
  • Information Technology:
    • Data Analysis
    • IT Security
    • Business Analysis
    • Software Engineer
    • Customer Service Solutions
    • Process Automation
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Communication and Visual Design
  • Facility Management:
    • Architect
    • Civil engineer
    • Logistics management
    • Human Resources

Further information

Please browse the Pan European Seal website, read carefully the EPO FAQs, the EUIPO FAQs, as well as the EPO’s and EUIPO’s respective General Instruction Guidelines (GIGs), where you can find detailed information including the eligibility criteria and the traineeship profiles, which are different in the two Offices.

If after reading the relevant documents you wish to discuss further, you can email Dr Edit Frenyo.