Position 
Research Intern
Nationality 
Belgium
At UNU-CRIS 
16/08/2023 to 12/09/2023
Biographical Statement 

Merel Claeys was a research intern at UNU-CRIS. Merel holds her Bachelor’s degree in Economic Sciences from Ghent University. Soon, she will start her Master of Science in Economics, majoring in Financial Institutions and Markets. Merel’s interest in international economics and international treaties started while working on her bachelor's thesis regarding the CETA agreement.  

During her internship at UNU-CRIS, Merel was responsible for updating the RISK database on regional integration agreements. This involved updating the membership information of all RIAs in the database, identifying and adding new treaties, filling in any gaps, and much more.  

In addition to this, she calculated a number of regional integration indicators related to trade, investment and migration. While doing so, Merel focused on a specific organization and document her findings in a report. 

Within the Economic Interactions’ Cluster and the RIKS Cluster, under the supervision of Glenn Rayp and Samuel Standaert, she internied at UNU-CRIS until mid-September.