AUSTRALIAN Catholic University students would get the rare opportunity to shadow the country’s top diplomat in the Vatican as part of an agreement struck with the Australian Embassy to the Holy See.
ACU Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Zlatko Skrbis and Australia’s Ambassador to the Holy See Chiara Porro signed a memorandum of understanding in Rome last week detailing the internship program, which would be open to current ACU students in 2022/2023.
“The Australian Embassy to the Holy See has worked closely with the Australian Catholic University’s Rome campus since it was first opened in 2015, including supporting ACU’s Conaci Scholarship program for Indigenous students,” Ms Porro said.
“We have co-hosted several initiatives, including last year to mark the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.
“We are pleased to further strengthen our relationship through the launch of the Rome Internship Program, which will provide ACU students with a unique insight into Australia’s relations with the Holy See, and practical experience working on international issues.”
Professor Skrbis said the internship agreement between ACU and the embassy marked a significant step in strengthening the university’s identity in Rome.
He said Ms Porro represented Australia’s most senior diplomatic presence in the Vatican, and he was “immensely grateful that she has acknowledged ACU and our commitment to education excellence through this internship”.
“The Rome Internship Program is an extension of ACU’s commitment to deepening our place in Rome, the spiritual and administrative home of the Catholic Church, as well as our first international campus,” he said.
“I encourage all students with a keen interest in international politics and international relations to consider this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work inside one of the most important diplomatic headquarters in the world.”
The internship would see students with an interest in international relations undertake work inside the embassy’s headquarters in the Vatican for between four and 12 weeks.
Through the Rome Internship Program, students would have the chance to manage the embassy’s social media, support public diplomatic events, draft reports on developments in the Vatican, audit international meetings, and respond to inquiries from Australian departments and the public.
Ambassador Porro will welcome the first ACU student intern in Semester 2 2022.
Ms Porro is Australia’s fourth ambassador to the Holy See – but second female diplomat – and the youngest person invited to be part of the Vatican’s diplomatic corps.
The Holy See first established diplomatic relations with Australia in 1973.
