During my exchange period, I had the opportunity to pursue an internship in my home city of Bucharest, Romania. It was an excellent offer which I took without thinking twice. The achievements gained from this internship are not small, and I will be part of a competition law litigation case that will take place in the Romanian court system later in 2021

I chose to pursue an internship while studying in the LLB programme* to gain some experience with real competition law cases, and to have an opportunity to learn and watch from the best. Not only did I have the chance to put into practice the theory that I have learned during my LLB, but I managed to test myself in a new way while working on a real case. Another trait which I have always wanted to gain was to build some confidence in what I can do - the internship not only helped me in learning how to handle cases, but gave me the possibility to demonstrate my own abilities to working professionals.

As soon I decided that I wanted to pursue an internship, I began searching for one. It was a truly lengthy process, with lots of paperwork to do and having some necessary personal connections, but in the end I can say that it was all worth it. First, I knew of a particular competition law case that was happening at the national Romanian airline company, T.A.R.O.M., and so based on this knoweldge, I contacted them and presented them my thoughts on the case. I wrote a case solution for what I though it was the right direction for the case and after sending it to them, they decided to take me on as an intern to work alongside their own company lawyers. I was confident about my knowledge and my abilities, and showed this in the research that I conducted and presented to the company.

The main tasks that I had to perform during the internship was to check laws, research case law, and make a detailed plan for how the airlines should approach their upcoming litigation. It felt like a real-life problem solving essay question that we usually have at our exams! The courses I completed in the LLB have prepared me all along for this kind of task - and of course I could not have done it without one of our most important courses - European Law**. Problem-solving skills, critical thinking, research abilities, and a good knowledge of Competition Law were all required to successfully perform my internship. Luckily, these were all skills for which the LLB has long prepared me for.

Ultimately, my future career goals are to work within the competition law field; I want to perform research, as well as work as a lawyer specialized in competition law. The internship that I took in Romania has given me a taste of what it would be like to become a fully fledged lawyer within this field, as I was working side-by-side with professionals and had been in an office working environment researching case material every day. It was the most helpful, and challenging, experience that I took as a part of my extra-curricular activities during my LLB studies and is definitely one to remember. During my internship, I learned how the phases of a legal case are conducted and I have built important connections for beginning my career after I complete my studies.

For LLB students that are thinking of pursuing an internship while studying at the same time I have one key, essential piece of advice: time-management. I cannot stress enough how important discipline and time-management are; without these, it would not be possible to complete an internship and study for your LLB courses at the same time. If one manages to master time-management skills, then everything comes naturally. Pursuing an internship is one of the most helpful activities that you can take during your studies. You will only have potisitve things to gain; experience, knowledge, networking, and building a good CV are amongst some of the most important achievements. I strongly believe Internships help you consolidate the foundation for your future career in law.

- Cristiana Zamfir, Romania, International and European Law student

*Please note that internships are not part of the curriculum of the LLB programme and students that choose to pursue such do so at their own initiative and external to the programme.
**This course is now known as "Law of the European Union".

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