Our Fellows - The European Leadership Programme

Our Fellows

Our Fellows are highly qualified and motivated trainees and young professionals with diverse backgrounds. The ELP recruitment process focus on the diverse backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences of the Fellows. The more diversified the background, the more they can learn and work productively and positively together. Don’t miss the chance to meet each of our Fellows here.

Fall Cohort 2024

Alessandro Brugiolo

Alessandro Brugiolo

Alessandro is a 24 years old graduate from Italy. He moved to Brussels last Mach, and after a traineeship at the European Business Summits, he’s currently working for Kantar as a Market Research Analyst, while at the same time trying to be engaged academically with a Master in Management (VUB).

Blanka Csite

Blanka Csite

Blanka is a 27-year-old professional from Budapest, currently working as a Policy Officer at The Guild of Research-Intensive Universities in Brussels, focusing on research, innovation, and higher education policies. She previously completed a Blue Book traineeship at the European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation.

Borbála Széles

Borbála Széles

Borbála is a 23-year-old recent graduate of political science. Currently, she is a Blue Book trainee at the EU Commission's Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy. Her thesis was based on a feminist political theory through which she showed the current state of reproductive rights for women in Hungary.

Diana Sziváková

Diana Sziváková

Diana is a recent graduate in Health & Social Management, eager to professionally develop in her chosen field by embarking on the Blue Book Traineeship at DG SANTE. Originally from Košice, Slovakia, her academic journey has taken her to four diverse corners of Europe, allowing her to appreciate the common denominators that define the European way of life.

Francesca Di Matteo

Francesca Di Matteo

Francesca Di Matteo is a 28-year-old professional with a solid science, technology, and business consulting background. Born in Pescara, Italy, she graduated cum laude in Industrial and Molecular Biotechnology from the University of Bologna in 2022, where she collaborated with the CINECA .

Hanne-Lise Frateur

Hanne-Lise Frateur

At 26, Hanne-Lise is a Belgian enthusiast for ethics in politics, driven by a strong intellectual curiosity. Her academic journey led her to earn master’s degrees in modern history and applied ethics, and to complete a transdisciplinary honours programme focused on international and intercultural cooperation.

Henrique Gomes

Henrique Gomes

Henrique, 29, comes from the state of Minas Gerais in the countryside of Brazil. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and a master’s degree in Political Science, focusing his research on the intersection between religion and foreign policy. He is now embarking on his international career as a trainee with COMECE.

Judith Benk

Judith Benk

Judith, 25, recently moved to Brussels to begin a Bluebook Traineeship at DG NEAR in the European Commission. She holds a double Master’s degree in International Affairs from Sciences Po and the London School of Economics. Her primary interests include international cooperation on human rights, migration and sustainable development.

Leila Meskelindi

Leila Meskelindi

Leila is a dynamic and innovative leader with a passion for driving positive change and fostering collaboration. With a robust academic background that includes an MA in Peace and Security, an MA in European Law on Migration and Asylum, and an MA in Conflict Prevention Operations, Crisis Management, and Post-Conflict Rehabilitation...

Lise Brument

Lise Brument

Lise is a 25 year old young professional from the countryside of Normandy, France. She completed a master’s degreein human Rights and Humanitarian Action at Sciences Po in Paris, France and a Master’s degree in EU International Relations and Diplomacy at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.

Marcell Oláh

Marcell Oláh

Marcell is a 26-year-old young professional from Hungary with an academic background in International Relations and work experience in the field of public relations. Marcell holds a BA in International Relations degree from the University of Exeter and a Master of International Politics from KU Leuven.

Maria Villalonga

Maria Villalonga

Maria is a young Spanish professional, currently undertaking the Blue Book traineeship at the DG ENER in the European Commission. She holds a degree in Economics and a BBA from UPF, and a Master’s in Environmental and Energy Economics from AgroParisTech. Maria has also been actively involved in the Economy of Francesco initiative since 2020.

Matthias Körner

Matthias Körner

Matthias earned his Master’s degree in International Business and Economic Diplomacy, specialising in International Economic Relations. Growing up in a rural area adjacent to the Czech border in Lower Austria, Matthias studied in Krems, Vienna, Athens and Jerusalem.

Pedro Aoun

Pedro Aoun

Despite a Spanish name and a French passport, Pedro was born and raised in Lebanon. Graduated from the Jesuit University of Saint Joseph as a civil and environmental engineer, he continued his studies in Paris with a degree in Transportation and Sustainable Development at ParisTech. Since then, he has been working at a multinational French company.

Pietro Laurent Signò

Pietro Laurent Signò

Pietro is a graduate of the College of Europe in EU international relations and diplomacy studies and comes from a small French-Italian bilingual region in the Italian Alps. He is currently a Blue Book trainee at the EEAS. After studying in Geneva, he moved to Belgium to continue his studies and career, wishing to become a European diplomat one day.

Sara Zonta

Sara Zonta

Sara is an Italian young professional with Ugandan roots. From a young age, she has felt a deep calling to help others, a value instilled by her family through their involvement in volunteering activities both in Italy and Uganda. Being exposed to marginalized and fragile communities shaped her outlook.

Silvia Lopes

Silvia Lopes

My name is Silvia Seixas Lopes, and I am deeply committed to addressing environmental inefficiencies and social inequalities. As a multidisciplinary sustainability professional, my expertise spans societal transformation, environmental management, innovation, governance, and international relations.

Zvonimir Obradović

Zvonimir Obradović

Zvonimir is a 28-year-old Croatian national residing in Brussels since 2020, where he moved because of his second master’s degree but stayed to pursue a career at European institutions.

Spring Cohort 2024

Agathe Janssens de Bisthoven

Agathe Janssens de Bisthoven

Agathe Janssens de Bisthoven is a 22-year-old Belgian student who just recently graduated with an Honors Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University College of Maastricht.

Alessandro Brugiolo

Alessandro Brugiolo

Alessandro is a 24 years old recent graduate from Italy. He just moved to Brussels for starting a traineeship at the European Business Summits, after completing his master in International Cooperation at the University of Turin and his working experience as Operations Officer Trainee at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Milan.

Antonello Pistritto

Antonello Pistritto

Antonello is an Italian civil servant, with nearly 5 years of experience, who works as a European Affairs Official at the Brussels representative Office of the Valle d'Aosta autonomous Region. In his work, Antonello deals on a daily basis with European funds.

Blanka Csite

Blanka Csite

Blanka, a 26-year-old young professional from Budapest, currently serves as a Blue Book trainee at the European Commission's Directorate General for Research and Innovation, where her main interests, research, innovation, and higher education policies intersect.

Benjamin Christopher Ilg

Benjamin Christopher Ilg

Benjamin is 29 years old and comes from Esslingen in the South West of Germany. He has worked as Briefing and Communication Coordinator in the European Commission (JRC) for a year, after having done a traineeship in the EU Delegation to Mexico. His educational background is in international politics and economics.

Caroline Halfvarson

Caroline Halfvarson

Caroline is a 26-year-old Swedish young professional currently in Brussels as a Blue Book legal trainee at the European External Action Service (EEAS). Before joining the EU bubble, Caroline has explored different corners of Europe, originally hailing from the university town of Lund, Sweden, from where she also gained her LL.M.

Daniel Lakatos

Daniel Lakatos

Daniel is a 25-year-old young professional, originally from Budapest, Hungary. After graduating high school, he completed his higher education in the Netherlands, France, and the United States, but also lived in Switzerland when he was younger.

Elena Perez-Velasco

Elena Perez-Velasco

Elena Pérez-Velasco is a young Spanish professional starting her career as a trainee at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). Elena takes every opportunity she has to get to know human stories and immerse herself in heart-to-heart conversations.

Gergő Barna Balázs

Gergő Barna Balázs

Gergő is from Hungary and is currently doing an internship at the NATO Headquarters. An enthusiast of public international law, he studied law in Hungary, France and in the UK and gained experience in research and practice in the public and the private sector. Gergő’s ambition is to drive positive change through a career in law combining research, practice and teaching.

Jeannette Bangoura

Jeannette Bangoura

Jeannette is an Afropean logistics manager who has had the opportunity to work internationally for both large multinationals and start-ups. She spent 4 years in Germany and is now up to new adventures in Belgium; therefore she speaks fluent French, English and German.

Luisa Dorianna Bemba

Luisa Dorianna Bemba

Luisa is a third-culture child of French and Italian nationalities, born in Germany, but the truth is her Europeanness was unveiled during her Erasmus in Potsdam. Polyglot, she effortlessly bridges cultural gaps, acutely epitomizing multicultural communication. Her international background has led her to develop a keen interest in international cooperation and diplomacy.

Maria Cordero-Fernández

Maria Cordero-Fernández

Maria Cordero-Fernández, a 27-year-old Nicaraguan woman, demonstrates a profound commitment to socio-environmental justice. Her journey through a Jesuit school provided her with the foundational elements to develop her passion for combating injustices.

Maria Ilona Stark

Maria Ilona Stark

Mária is a young Hungarian expert of international environmental and water governance. Her training background is in international relations, as well as international environmental and water governance and diplomacy. She currently works as a Blue Book Trainee for the Directorate General for Environment (DG ENV), where she specializes in clean air policies

Mariana Perez Medina

Mariana Perez Medina

Mariana Pérez Medina is a dedicated and passionate professional with a strong academic background in Biology and Neuroscience. Her journey in the field of science is fueled by a personal experience that sparked her interest in understanding the complexities of the brain.

Milena Machała

Milena Machała

Milena is a 25-year-old Polish professional. Her academic journey took her from the University of Warsaw, where she pursued her law degree, to the University of Poitiers, expanding her international perspective. Additionally, she completed a British law course at the British Law Centre, a joint initiative by the University of Cambridge and the University of Warsaw.

Nina Danisova

Nina Danisova

Nina comes from Košice, Slovakia’s second-largest city, and is set to embark on an internship journey at COMECE from March until July 2024. During her university studies in Political Science at Comenius University, Bratislava, she delved deeper into theology, moral, and political philosophy through a two-year liberal arts residential program at the Collegium of Anton Neuwirth.

Rebecca Schöler

Rebecca Schöler

Rebecca Schöler is a 22-year-old German ELP fellow currently completing an internship at the public affairs agency Erste Lesung GmbH in Brussels. After participating in various cultural exchange programs in France, the US, the UK, and Brazil during and after high school, she decided to major in International and European Governance.

Regina Buono

Regina Buono

Regina Buono is a young Italian professional who graduated with a master's degree in Languages and Cultures for International Cooperation and Communication from the University of Milan. She also holds a bachelor's degree in Intercultural Mediation. Born in Ischia, an island in Southern Italy, Regina has always been passionate about languages and cultures.

Sara Zonta

Sara Zonta

Sara is an Italian young professional originally from Uganda. She always felt a calling for helping others and her family always involved her in volunteering activities since she was young, both in Italy and Uganda, being exposed to marginalised and fragile communities she then decided to pursue her university studies in Political Science and Human Rights at University of Padua.

Zuzana Boháčová

Zuzana Boháčová

Zuzana is a programme manager and former civil servant coming from the Czech Republic. She holds a Bachelor's degree in International Territorial Studies and a Master's degree in International Security Studies, both earned from Charles University in Prague.She also completed study exchanges at the University of Twente in the Netherlands and at Sciences Po Lille in France.

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