Internship OT-27592
Internship proposal Master 2 – 2025-2026 Exploring and benchmarking European public policies supporting the development of geographical indications. An institutional perspective
91120 Palaiseau
INRAE presentation
The French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) is a major player in research and innovation. It is a community of 12,000 people with 272 research, experimental research, and support units located in 18 regional centres throughout France. Internationally, INRAE is among the top research organisations in the agricultural and food sciences, plant and animal sciences, as well as in ecology and environmental science. It is the world’s leading research organisation specialising in agriculture, food and the environment. INRAE’s goal is to be a key player in the transitions necessary to address major global challenges. Faced with a growing world population, climate change, resource scarcity, and declining biodiversity, the Institute has a major role to play in building solutions and supporting the necessary acceleration of agricultural, food and environmental transitions.
Work environment, missions and activities
Objective
The objective of the internship is to analyze the role of EU and national policies in strengthening the contribution of geographical indications (including Protected denomination of origin PDO – or PGI) to sustainability and smart territorial development. Over the last three decades, the legal protection of geographical indications has played a key role in EU agricultural exportations, as well as in consolidating the reputation of well-known food products and heritage. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is nowadays giving more leeway to EU countries for prioritizing public interventions and financial support at national or regional levels, through different intervention instruments such as EcoSchemes, European Agricultural Fund for Rural development (EAFDR), agricultural R&D and innovation systems) as well as Common Market Organization (CMO) for different products (mild, olive oil, wine, etc), which may also include specific support for production systems and products labelled with geographical indications.
Missions
The missions to be achieved during the internship are part of the EU project GI SMART. It includes the realization of desk research and selective survey of the grey literature on EU public policies and the way they can be supporting the development of Geographical Indications and their contribution to smart territorial development and sustainability. It will include : i) the identification of key GIs products and production systems in a sample of EU countries; ii) an analysis of key set of policy instruments (EcoSchemes, EAFDR, CMO, R&D policies, collective action), and documenting, compiling and processing existing public data sets on their role in supporting GIs in the selected key countries; iii) exploring prospective elements with regards to the implementation of the new EU regulation 2024/1143 on the sustainability of geographical indications, as well as to the new orientations under discussion of the Common Agricultural Policy. The analysis will especially emphasize policy instruments supporting newly established GIs schemes, especially from Eastern and Central European countries.
Internship duration : 6 months internship from march to august 2026. Mainly desk research. Possibility of travelling for interviews and for the project purposes at EU level.
Training and skills
Master 2 in agricultural economics (market design, contract theory, collective action, legal rules) or Agricultural Engineering with a strong interest in economic public policies (especially those related to agriculture, food, market, rural development and innovation) at EU level. Good knowledge of regulations supporting quality policy and geographical indications in different EU countries. Good relational, communicational and redactional skills in English. A good command of other European languages (German, Italian, etc.) is a plus. Motivated by team work. Interest in food quality schemes, especially GIs.
INRAE's life quality
By joining our teams, you benefit from (depending on the type of contract and its duration):
- up to 30 days of annual leave + 15 days "Reduction of Working Time" (for a full time);
- parenting support: CESU childcare, leisure services;
- skills development systems: training, career advise;
- social support: advice and listening, social assistance and loans;
- holiday and leisure services: holiday vouchers, accommodation at preferential rates;
- sports and cultural activities;
- collective catering.
How to apply
I send my CV and my motivation letter
All persons employed by or hosted at INRAE, a public research establishment, are subject to the Civil Service Code, particularly with regard to the obligation of neutrality and respect for the principle of secularism. In carrying out their functions, whether or not they are in contact with the public, they must not express their religious, philosophical or political convictions through their behaviour or by what they wear. > Find out more: fonction publique.gouv.fr website (in French)