My experience as Research Executive at Rud Pedersen

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m Lola Rondeau, a 23-year-old French student in European Affairs. Passionate about European politics, travel, and wine & cheese. Being born at a time when the EU was fully established, I always took it for granted, but through my studies, I really understood its necessity and I decided to dedicate my professional career to it. For this reason, I did a master's degree in European Affairs at Sciences Po Bordeaux and will join the College of Europe in September.

In between my masters, I had the opportunity to do a six-month traineeship and decided to join Rud Pedersen in Brussels as a Research Executive in the Tech & Finance team.?

How would you describe your experience at Rud Pedersen?

After years of studying (and dreaming of) the “Brussels bubble”, I took the plunge and joined Rud Pedersen Public Affairs. For six months, I had the opportunity to witness – and myself do – Public Affairs at the EU level. While I had certain expectations before joining, I realised that EU affairs in practice is far different from the theory, but there’s no better learning method than good old ‘learning by doing’.

This experience not only further developed my adaptability to work with different profiles (policymakers, engineers, or business executives) but also allowed me to develop expertise on various EU policy files.

I will fondly remember the diversity of profiles, nationalities, and backgrounds that represents the strength of RPPA Brussels. This multicultural environment is reflected in the quality of our work as well as in discussions around the kitchen table. The working atmosphere allows you to reach the best version of yourself in the professional context.

If you had to pick, what was the most interesting topic or project you worked on? What did you learn from it that will help you in your future career?

Tricky choice… My traineeship started at the beginning of the French Presidency of the Council, a key period for the digital files I was following and for a French Europhile! That being said, one of the most interesting topics I worked on was the Platform Workers Directive, as I had full responsibility for this file. I did my best to understand the proposal, follow the negotiations, and provide our client with the most relevant assessments and insights. Besides this personal challenge, I worked with the Rud Pedersen office in Berlin and met new colleagues, killing two birds with one stone!

I’ll undoubtedly use the knowledge gained at Rud Pedersen throughout my career. It’s not just about the daily work but also the management and professional support, the transparency in decision-making, and the willingness to maintain a great corporate culture. ?

What do you think makes RPPA stand out in Brussels? Would you recommend applying for an internship at RPPA to your fellow students?

What makes RPPA stand out is that it remains a human-sized consultancy while growing fast with more than 14 offices all around Europe. This is a real added value as it gives you the opportunity to work with other offices, meet new colleagues, and discover different ways of working in Public Affairs. Moreover, we all have one cornerstone, the European project!

Therefore, if you are willing to discover EU public affairs, have a hands-on approach and are eager to deal with a lot of responsibility early on if you’re good enough, and you enjoy a flat-hierarchy environment – where everyone from Partners to Directors to Senior Advisors is always accessible and available to everyone – then RPPA is the right place for you!

On my side, I’ll remember a rewarding experience in a dynamic consultancy with a caring, inquisitive, and driven team, right at the heart of the EU bubble. On top of that, I’ll carry with me plenty of great discussions on European politics, food, and national clichés!