The ECF office is located at the heart of Brussels, advocating daily for a better, greener and more sustainable world. All the successes and achievements we've enjoyed in the past years would not have been possible without the work of charismatic and motivated young people who choose to start their career fighting the good fight on the side of cyclists everywhere. But what happens to interns when they leave ECF? What kind of careers do they opt for ? What do they think about their experience in an office with 25 employees holding 18 nationalities? We decided to ask them and present their testimonials. Let's hear what they have to say: 

Acacia Smith, New Zealand / UK / Switzerland

I am a Policy Officer at the Brussels office of the International Road Transport Union, working on EU goods transport and logistics and environmental affairs. My internship at ECF definitely helped me progress my career in the EU transport policy sector. Working with member associations was particularly useful experience in the EU context.

Brendan Culley, Ireland / Belgium 
I had the chance to work as a communications intern at ECF for 8 months in 2014, and the experience will remain for me a professional and personal benchmark in many respects. Firstly, it is a source of great personal pride to have met and worked with the people behind ECF. All were kind without reserve, and welcomed me into their workplace in the best possible way. But an internship at ECF is more than just about meeting the people – you work on meaningful projects too. Although my main tasks involved manning the Comms deck, over the months I got a glimpse of all aspects of ECF's work: policy papers, MEP advocacy, conference organisation, member outreach, grant applications, etc. The only reason I got the chance to dab at the multiple facets of ECF's activities is because its staff trusted me and gave me responsibilities that went above and beyond what I could have dreamt of on my first day at the office. For that I am thankful, and I will always cherish my time spent there.

Kaisa Juosila, Finland

Internship with ECF was a real steppingstone for my career. Coming from a corporate HR background I had never worked in the policy advocacy and communications field but desperately wanted to. ECF gave me the tools I needed to restart my career. I learned a lot about policy advocacy, communications, public outreach as well as building and maintaining networks and partnerships. I also gained many technical skills related to communications such as using different content management softwares and databases. Before I finished my internship I landed a job as Development and Communications Manager in a UK based political think tank and even though the field we operate in differs from the cycling world I have been able to apply what I learned at the ECF directly in my new work.

Vizma Bramane, Latvia

My internship at ECF was wonderful experience! I spent total of 10 months there and was a communications intern. It was the perfect mix of learning to be autonomous but also receiving advice when needed, which helped me to test my professional skills in practise and gain new ones. It was a great pleasure to work with people who were so professional and knowledgeable in their field. The team itself at ECF is another spectacular bonus! They are always there to share their knowledge, have wonderful conversations at the lunch table or grab a beer after work. You will never be left behind if you are new to the town of Brussels! My time at ECF was a very important step in my career and has helped me to find employment opportunities afterwards. ECF is a great ground for professional development and growth!

Thomas Mouray, France

Thanks to my internships at ECF (EuroVelo intern and Policy intern), I acquired many skills in project management, communication (I created my Facebook account thanks to ECF) and interest representation. I also gained an excellent knowledge of the European urban mobility policies and got a good overview of the different stakeholders in this field. My experience definitely helped me a lot to get my first job in Brussels, at Polis (network of local authorities working on urban mobility) where I worked on European projects on urban mobility.

Jean Steeger, France/Germany

I started working half time as communication officer for CEC European Managers. The internship helped me a lot in the sense that I was able to work a lot independently, take self-initiative such as drafting the EuroVelo communication strategy or propose new communication tools. I was also able to see how to drive the communication with member organisation in this very special European setting. This knowledge helps me to be more sensitive to different expectations. Last but not least the ECF working culture appealed a lot to me. It is something that can be very beneficial for managing other organisations.

Sascha Brose, Germany

At ECF in the Comms team I worked on website design, compiling newsletter, organising events, learned about the various cycling projects across the EU and the fantastic EuroVelo network, etc. On top I attended the world biggest bicycle trade fair in Friedrichshafen. The colleagues at ECF make the difference, I had a great time with great people. 

Now I'm doing another traineeship with a related NGO advocating for sustainable transport solutions.

Gergely Nagy, Hungary 

Good cause, great people and hard professional work - that is what interning at ECF showed, taught me during the months I was with this incredible organisation in 2015. Working as a journalist before, communications was not far away from my field, however, being able to work at a European level organisation provides that plus that many employers are looking for when they are trying to find the most fitting employees. The many fields that you have the ability to touch at ECF - and also to possess a really hands-on attitude -, the true European spirit and in addition, the 10 or more types of English accents teaches you many things about diversity and the respect for others. I think all these together make ECF interns stronger players on the labour market and definitely contributed to my career development landing finally as a senior researcher at a distinguished executive search company back home, in Hungary