The call for applications to participate in the UP 2026 International Internship is now open

The Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine announces a call for teams to participate in the UP 2026 International Internship for students of legal clinics. This year, teams are invited to reflect on the topic “Human-Centred Public Service: European Standards, Regional Policy, and Innovative Governance Models.” Public service in Ukraine is undergoing profound transformation. It is becoming more service-oriented, transparent, and focused on people. We are looking for participants who are ready to observe and support these changes, explore international standards, and propose innovative solutions for public servants.

The internship will enable legal clinic students to see how human-centred public service operates in practice, gain a deeper understanding of European human rights standards, and attempt to apply them while working with real cases in the field of public administration. At the same time, UP will contribute to the development of teamwork skills, analytical thinking, and public speaking competencies.

The internship is implemented in partnership with the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service as part of the International Scientific Congress “Society of Ambient Intelligence,” under RWI’s Human Rights Infrastructure for Ukraine (HRIU) Programme (2025–2027) funded by the Swedish government through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), with ALCU as the implementing partner.

How is the internship structured?

The UP International Internship consists of two interrelated stages: an academic (online) stage and a practical stage.
The academic stage will take the form of a Legal Essay Competition. During this stage, teams, under the supervision of academic mentors, will prepare legal essays addressing the internship theme. Teams will present their work at a public event. Based on the evaluation by the Expert Commission, up to five teams will be selected to continue to the internship’s practical stage. During the practical stage, finalist teams will work on real cases, develop legal solutions, and present them to the expert community. Participation of the five winning teams in the practical stage is fully funded by the internship organisers.

What does participation in UP 2026 offer?

Participation in the UP 2026 International Internship provides an opportunity to:

Who can apply?

We invite teams from legal clinics consisting of two legal clinic students, working under the supervision of an academic mentor.

Legal Essay Competition conditions

Only original legal essays prepared by teams of legal clinic students within the internship theme “Human-Centred Public Service: European Standards, Regional Policy, and Innovative Governance Models” are eligible to participate. Teams may choose one of the following tracks or propose their own within the general theme:

· Practical aspects of implementing a human-centred public service;
· European human rights standards in public administration;
· Ethics and ethical dilemmas in the work of public servants;
· Instruments of public participation and regional policy;
· The role of legal clinics in promoting human rights standards.

Essays may be written in Ukrainian or English and must reflect the authors’ independent analytical position, drawing on contemporary research, European human rights standards, and practical examples. All submissions will be checked for plagiarism and the use of artificial intelligence.
All essays recommended for publication will be included in the electronic international collection of student papers of the “Society of Ambient Intelligence” International Congress.

Essays must be submitted by 23 February 2026 by providing team information and uploading the essay via the following link:
https://forms.gle/GCn6vBN9CUPaS3Jq5

Before starting work on the essay, we strongly recommend reviewing the Internship Regulations, which provide detailed information on formatting requirements and evaluation criteria.