The Konrad Adenauer Foundation is one of the largest in Germany
Rafal, a postgraduate student at the University of Warsaw, is writing a PhD dissertation in Germany, for which he received a scholarship from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung). According to him, without this he could hardly have financed his stay in Germany. However, as the young scholar notes, a scholarship is not just financial support.
"Through the foundation, I learn a lot about Germany. Seminars are held for scholarship holders with very interesting speakers. They tell us many things about Germany's history and its current life," the scholarship holder shared in an interview with Deutsche Welle.
Rafal is lucky, because there are no more than three thousand foreign scholarship holders in Germany. For comparison: the number of vacancies for German applicants reaches 200,000, so sometimes foundations cannot even find enough scholarship holders. However, foreign applicants are not any better off, and they face quite high requirements.
"In addition to excellent academic performance in the subject, the applicant's personality is very important to us," says Detlev Preusse, head of the foreign scholarship holders department at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. "A scholarship applicant must demonstrate a desire to apply the knowledge acquired in Germany for the benefit of their country."
By providing financial and ideological support to foreigners, the foundations expect that the scholarship holders will return to their home countries and make every effort to develop cooperation between their country and Germany. After defending his dissertation, Rafal plans to return to Poland and enter a diplomatic school. He already has experience in international dialogue: the seminars organized by the foundation provide ample opportunities for this.
In addition to the scholarships from Germany's eight major political foundations (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz Foundation, Hanns Seidel Foundation, and Rosa Luxemburg Foundation), there are also more specialized scholarship programs. For example, for students and postgraduates of a specific profile or state scholarships.
Yekaterina Mingaleeva studied in a master's program at the University of Ludwigsburg in European Management. The student from St. Petersburg managed to receive a Walter Hallstein Scholarship from the state of Baden-Württemberg.
Katya believes that for German foundations, the social competence and activity of the applicant play a huge role. "Foreign students cannot compete with Germans in grades. It is quite natural that German students have better grades. Therefore, to get a scholarship, foreign applicants must make up points through social work," Katya says from her experience.
Katya completed her master's in Germany and is now actively looking for a job or internship. In her opinion, having a scholarship on your résumé positively influences a potential employer's decision, because during interviews they often ask: "How did you finance your studies?" "When you answer that you had a scholarship, it makes an impression," Katya shares her experience. "The employer's logic is: if someone has already recognized this person, then they are not just an average student."
Katya is convinced that it is worth trying to apply for a scholarship in any case. It is worth the effort: the time spent searching for information and preparing documents will pay off handsomely. "If you don't try, you won't get anything," the Russian graduate is sure.
According to her, it is not as daunting as it looks from the outside. There are a huge number of scholarships specifically aimed at Eastern Europe. They are not always easy to find on the Internet, but still, not impossible. "Our students have good chances of getting such a scholarship," Katya believes. She is convinced that by applying for a scholarship, you gain invaluable experience that will definitely come in handy when looking for a job.
Viktoria Kleber, Olga Sosnitskaya.
Deutsche Welle