Trainee (Handling of protected personal data (PPD), a cross-divisional analysis)

This traineeship placement at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) focuses on a cross-divisional analysis of the handling of protected personal data (PPD).

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is a decentralised agency of the European Union (EU), located in Amsterdam. It is responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines in the EU.

About the traineeship programme

The Agency is looking for motivated, qualified recent graduates or students on an Erasmus+ or other programme, or PhD students or Master's students (who posses a previous degree), who are interested in gaining experience and contribute to the Agency’s work for every patient in Europe.

The purpose of a traineeship at the Agency is to perform tasks that are predominantly in the interest of the trainee’s training and principally serve to increase the trainee’s knowledge and to gain relevant experience.

Placement description

We are looking for a trainee in the Access to Documents Office.

Specific objectives and projects

Transparency is key to EMA, and so is the protection of personal data (PD). This traineeship will allow you to understand how the two aspects are balanced across EMA’s Divisions. The protection of PD is enshrined in the EU legislation and it is a fundamental right of EU citizens. Thus, PD should be anonymised in order to avoid the disclosure of the information/documents undermining the privacy and integrity of any individual.

As part of this project, you will learn how PD is analysed and protected in the context of Access to Documents (ATD) requests, you will be involved in analysing how protected personal data (PPD) is handled across different Divisions and Offices in the EMA, you will assess the possible differences and their impact and propose possible alignment solutions and improvements.

Additionally, you will participate in exploring transparency related matters with a focus on Access to Documents (ATD) activities, and also explore regulations and initiatives that concern proactive publication of documents on the EMA website.

Learning outcomes

• Obtain an overview of the functioning of EMA and learn about regulatory procedures within the mandate of EMA (and beyond)
• Learn about regulations linked to transparency (ATD Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, EUGDPR …) and related policies (Policy 0070, Policy 43 …)
• Learn how ATD requests are processed and how PPD and commercially confidential information (CCI) are assessed in EMA documents
• Understand EMA’s stakeholders’ requirements and how EMA interacts with its stakeholders in multiple areas of activities
• Support delivery of a project across Divisions, develop analytical skills, build working relationships
• Build a communication strategy to present the final results of the analysis within EMA

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for consideration for this placement, you are required to:

1. enjoy full rights as a citizen of a European Union Member State or Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway;
2. possess a university degree in Life science (e.g. pharmacy, biology, chemistry, biochemistry, public health, epidemiology, biostatistics) or Human/Veterinary Medicine (minimum of three years or more) that must have been obtained between 6 May 2025 and 6 May 2026 or be a university student on an Erasmus + or a similar programme or a PhD student or a Master's student with a previous fully finished degree in the areas mentioned before.
3. a thorough knowledge of English (at least level C1) and good knowledge of other official EU language (at least B2) of the Common European Framework for Languages

Additional skills

Organizational and analytical skills; process improvement skills; communication and presentation skills; knowledge and/or experience in regulatory affairs/ pharmacovigilance/ clinical trials/ drug development.

Behavioural Competencies

You will demonstrate the following behavioural competencies:

• Communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Working with others
• Adaptability
• Research and analytical skills
• Learning and development

Conditions of traineeship

The traineeship is offered for 10 months (1 October 2026 – 31 July 2027) and takes place at the Agency’s premises in Amsterdam with possibility for teleworking up to 40% of working time from The Netherlands and occasional teleworking from outside The Netherlands. Traineeships are offered for either full-time or part-time (80% or 50%) if combined with university studies.

The Agency pays a monthly stipend of €2,049.77 for a full-time traineeship (reduced accordingly for 80% or 50%) and a travel contribution upon joining the Agency.

Each trainee will have a mentor at the Agency who will guide the trainee through the programme.