internship - Anonymous employee Finabel European Army Interoperability Centre Employee Review

The only real "pro" to working at Finabel is that you're all in the same boat—basically just looking for a filler internship to complete your degree. While you might get the title of "intern," the actual experience is far from enriching. You’re tasked with research and writing assignments that rarely have any impact or see the light of day. The work feels more like a checkbox exercise than a meaningful opportunity to develop your skills. if you’re hoping for real professional growth, mentorship, or a dynamic work environment, I’d recommend looking elsewhere.

As a university student intern, I was excited to get hands-on experience and contribute to real projects. However, the reality was far from expectations. Interns are tasked with writing and researching topics that often never see the light of day, and the work often feels like busywork rather than meaningful contributions. The internship was also marked by very limited access to resources—especially when it came to internet connectivity, which made completing tasks challenging and frustrating. On top of that, the work environment itself was far from inspiring, with most of us stationed in a poorly-lit, isolated area within an old military base. Ultimately, the lack of direction, mentorship, and clear purpose made it difficult to feel that my efforts were valued. There seemed to be no real investment in the interns’ growth or learning, and the lack of proper compensation only added to the sense of disillusionment.

Highly motivated, ambitious and knowledgable colleagues. Everyone is in the same boat. It is also an advantage that you can write about topics you find interesting.

Given that the traineeship is not remunerated, you may expect something in return, but besides a place to publish, the traineeship virtually offers nothing. It does not offer access to otherwise inaccessible networks of knowledge, people, or events; all events I attended I could have gone to without this. Nor does Finabel offer unique opportunities to establish connections with military officials; I have asked about this on various occasions. Worse is the lack of interest from the two only paid (permanent) staff. I stayed in Brussels, an expensive city, for about four months, and they were unbothered to personally introduce themselves or engage with the staff doing unpaid work for them (except for periodic meeting with the research managers), despite the considerable costs involved in staying there. Moreover, there has often been radio silence for extended periods of time from the (paid) person who is supposed to run this organisation, who came to the office only four times during my stay (yet he is very adamant that everyone should be at the office between 9 and 4). I would describe his management style as controlling and heavy-handed, often relying on directives and showing no interest in engaging in dialogue with research staff (he simply has not). This is also not his full-time occupation, but appears to be a hobby in which he is increasingly losing interest. Aside from the question of whether their backgrounds are suitable for this type of organisation, I find the clear lack of interest profoundly disrespectful towards their unpaid staff. There is, moreover, absolutely no reason to be at the office, except for socialising with colleagues. It was only during several management changes (of unpaid managers) that we had some meetings with each other; before that, everyone just showed up to work on their own project. To my knowledge, there were no collaborative papers published during my time there. It should either be a remote traineeship or provide real reasons to come to the office. The office itself is anything but inspiring. It is an old military base with improper chairs and tables to work on for extensive periods of time, during the summer there is only a obnoxiously loud and old AC unit, and do not expect your coffee is free. There is a coffee machine in the office but during my time there we paid for our own beans and cups to drink from.